Sound of Music

The Sound of Music is set in Austria as the Second World War looms, where a Postulant named Maria is sent from Nonnberg Abbey to become a governess to war hero Captain Georg von Trapp’s seven children. It is one of the most watched movie musicals of all time and is still one of the most popular stage shows still being performed today.It is based on the memoirs of Maria von Trapp, called  The Story of the Trapp Family Singers and has inspired audiences across the world. The show has music written by Richard Rodgers  with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, it was first performed on Broadway in 1959. Sadly it was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere in 1959.

As the show opens we see the nuns getting ready for prayers when they realize Maria who loves music, singing and has a bright free spirit is missing again, Liz Wainwright gave us a delightful interpretation of Maria, she was forthright but also vulnerable, she really suited the role. She also appeared to have a good rapport with the children ,you could feel her empathy with them. Mark Charnock was suitably assured as the strong-minded strict Captain von Trapp, Liz and Mark worked well together making the story very believable and then there was an enjoyable and sometimes comedic performance from Jim Briscoe  as impresario Max Detweiler.  Beth McClelland was very stylish as Elsa Schraeder, singing very well her voice really suited the part, the two musical numbers performed by Elsa, Max and Captain Von Trap were excellently performed and very enjoyable. Shelagh Swift as the Mother Abbess gave a sympathetic motherly characterization and she was supported nicely by Dorothy Prothroe as Sister Bethe,  June Beswick as Sister Margaretta and Ruth Grant as Sister Sophia who in turn were supported by the chorus of nuns from the Abbey and there were also other interesting characters. Hannah Charnock as Liesl with Scott Allen as Rolf Gruber sang and danced their duet Sixteen Going on Seventeen’ very nicely with tenderness. Good characterizations were also produced by Fiona Bailey as Frau Schmidt the housekeeper and  Jamie Mather as Franz  the Butler.  There were other small supportive  roles, Herr Zeller played by Ricky Ball, with Steve Coghlan as Admiral von Schrieber. The children were all very charming they included Alex Procter as Friedrich, Millie Pendleton  as Louisa, Toby Wainwright as Kurt,  Chantelle Procter as Brigitta,  Isla Graham as Marta and Eden Wainwright as Gretl who all played their parts with lots of enthusiasm, looked good and sang nicely together, they also appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely and were very believable as a family. On alternate nights the other group of children included Brontie Geldart as Liesl, Harry Geldart as Friedreich, Charlize Wheble as Louisa, Meg Clark as Brigitta, Charlie Geldart as Kurt, Anna Spence as Marta and Megan Lawson as Gretl.

The band  of three led by Musical Director  Nancy Wells on the keyboard 1, Shaun Geldart on Keyboard 2  and Vince Wilcox on drums, supported the cast, played well and were not too loud  and choreography was by Gemma Briscoe and was performed by the children with enthusiasm. The set was just right and there was smooth transitions between scenes, but just a  small constructive comment you could see people waiting to come on stage in the wings from where I sat. The majority of the costumes were made by Pleasure Folk members and were just right for this show, allot of thought and hard work must have gone into producing and making these costumes, well done.

The Sound of Music is a timeless, warm and wonderful feel good musical as I am sure the audience will attest to, this performance had all the charm and drama that is to be expected from this show. Well done to Director Steve Coghlan  and to all involved with this production and thank you for inviting me.

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