Sound of success for classic
MUSICAL
The Sound of Music
Regal Theatre
REVIEW RON BANKS
4 stars
From the first sounds of the nuns singing in the Nonnberg Abbey it is evident this production of the world's most familiar musical will be a class act. Composer Richard Rodgers' stab at liturgical music is right on the mark, and the local chorus playing the nuns are in wonderful voice.
It's an auspicious start to this wholesome, oh-aren't-those-kids- cute kind of musical that follows the fortunes and some tribulations, of the von Trapp family and their naval commander father's encounters with would-be nun Maria, who turns up in the Austrian mountains as governess to his seven children.
You know the plot already from the rotation of the film version on TV over the past four decades, so we won't go into any more detail.
From a theatre point of view the von Trapp family story is told crisply and economically. The popular film version was far more meandering than the original stage production that ran on Broadway for 1443 performances from 1959.
Local producer Ian Westrip, who has staged some classics such as Les Miserables and Cats quite successfully in recent years has again chosen his director and cast wisely. They serve him well.
The production team, led by director Mark Barford, did not have a big budget but the minimalist set of a mountain backdrop and a few drapes hanging from the ceiling are serviceable enough.
Our eyes and ears are on the characters because this is a character-driven show. The success of The Sound of Music depends on how we engage with Maria, who must show us her journey from shy postulant (an apprentice nun) to a woman willing to literally embrace a man and take on his children.
Stephanie Gooch is completely engaging as Maria and her opera training allows her to negotiate Rodgers' masterfully melodious tunes with style, passion and humour. Ian Cross, a travel agent by day and an imperious naval commandeer by night, may not have had Gooch's vocal training but his natural vocal talent is easy and relaxed, and his acting is perfectly pitched to the role.
The other side of the success equation is how well the children convince us of their adorability. There are no weak links - whether it's Alexander T-J (that's what the program says) as 16-year-old Liesl down to the littlest in Caitlyn Steele who has the natural charm of a precious six-year-old. (There is a second cast of children.)
Under Maria's tutelage they blossom into a fine ensemble act. Support characters such as Max (Igor Sas), Elsa, Capt. von Trapp's original intended (Julia Hern) and Rolf (Jake Tolich), the telegram boy who fancies Liesl, contribute strongly. And as Mother Abbess, Nola Formentin's vocal talent is gloriously uplifting.
The orchestra, under Ian Westrip's musical direction, never puts a note wrong. There is a lot to admire in this production's style, confidence and dramatic intensity, with the dark edge of the nazis moving to annexe the von Trapp's homeland conveyed with some convincing tension.
