Last night I saw a Preview performance of The Sound of Music at the Citadel. I saw the show the last time they did it and loved it. I have to admit, I am a bit of a fan of the show - having watched the movie over 30 times I am sure. I restrained myself, and although I mouthed the words to the well-known songs, I did not make any sound. They really should do a sing-a-long night though...
Anyhow, I digress...
The show was lovely. There are two things you have to do well to get
Sound of Music right - get the iconography correct and get all the 'kid-stuff' right. This production does well on both those fronts. With such a well-known show, the fans demand certain standards for the stage production. They do not want a re-invention of it. It's historical and since so many are familiar with the movie, they do not want shows to steer too far from what they already know. This production wisely included
I Have Confidence and
Something Good (two songs not in the original stage production, but well known from the movie) - it is always jarring when they are omitted and both actually serve a purpose in the show that I was glad to see them. The children are also quite strong. They sing and act well and stay in the scene always. In fact, when they are on stage they usually steal the show from anyone else onstage with them. The entire family unit of Maria, Captain Von Trapp and the children feels cohesive and I think Director Bob Baker did well to use the creation of the family as the focus of his production. You can see why this might be a terrifying show for professional companies to attempt, as there are no guarantees when it comes to children who can act, sing and dance, but there are no worries with this production in that regard. As Maria, Josee Boudreau is in fine voice and full of enthusiasm. She deals well with the somewhat dated script, infusing it with the conviction and spunk that Maria needs. Rejean Cournoyer is also quite good as Captain Von Trapp. You wish he had more to sing, but the script does not provide for that, but it was quite nice to watch his journey, as he changes more throughout the play than Maria does and he manages to play it all with a nice subtly.
There were a few things that bothered me. I do know, however, that it was a Preview and perhaps that was the reason for some of them. I was a bit disappointed with
Climb Every Mountain as I felt it was under sung and lacked the gravitas it needed to anchor it. The tone was lovely but
Climb Every Mountain should shake everyone in the theatre a little bit and I was left wanting more. I kept hoping the small start was leading to a big crescendo, but it never came. I would have preferred to see Susan Gilmour (Elsa) sing it as she would have knocked that song out of the park. As it was, Gilmour was strong as Elsa, but felt a little mature in comparison to Cournoyer's Captain Von Trapp.
All in all, it was a nice night at the theatre. It's not edgy, ground-breaking theatre, but it does wonderful service to an iconic show and is a great production for the whole family.
* Sound of Music is #18 in my 2012 Theatre Goal - almost halfway there and it's only April!
Comments