Sound of Music

The Sound of Music, a musical performed by The Dream Academy of Performing Arts at the Theatre Royal, Corporation Street, St. Helens on Sunday, 18th August, 2024.

The Sound of Music was the final collaboration between two of the most famous musical theatre composers… Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II. The storyline, based on the true story of the Von Trapp Family Singers and captures a personal tale of growth and hope amidst the horrors of World War II. The musical tells of Maria Rainer, a young postulant nun, who takes a job as governess to a large family whilst she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children she’s sent to look after and eventually their widowed father Captain Von Trapp. The captain is ordered by the German Authorities to take a commission in the German Navy but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria hatch a plan to flee from Austria into Switzerland with the children. The musical is littered with songs that have become ‘standards’ …. ‘Do-Re-Mi’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Edelweiss’, ‘Climb Every Mountain’ and the show title ‘The Sound of Music’.

Production Team … Sophie Thow (Director), Lewis Canning (Assistant Director), Grace Faulkner (Choreographer), Harry Moore (Music & Sound Director) and Alanna Brereton (Vocal Arrangements) were the ones handed the challenge of guiding us through the mountains of Austria. Sophie and Lewis had some great ideas for this musical and with a well-rehearsed cast at their disposal, they got the best out of everyone on stage and should be congratulated on their efforts. Grace provided us with some simple yet creative choreography that played to the strengths of all involved… well done Grace.  Harry Moore didn’t have the easiest of jobs looking after the musical accompaniment which was provided by backing tracks, but at no time did the levels overpower the vocals, which isn’t always easy when backing tracks are used … well done Harry. Alanna did a great job with the vocal arrangements, some great harmonies and some great vocals. Well done one and all!

The Cast … we had forty-seven young people on stage for this musical and from the smiles, energy and enthusiasm emanating from stage as soon as those curtains parted, I have no problem in suggesting that this was a show that every cast member had enjoyed being part of!  There were some notable performances and if I may, I’d like to place Amy Hurst in the limelight and name her as MY showstealer, with her portrayal of our lead ‘Maria Rainer’, a role she played with great aplomb. Amy looked so comfortable in this role, confident, great stage presence, great diction, never out of character… was able to show the empathy required toward the children to make the role authentic. Loved her rendition of title song ‘Sound of Music’. What makes a good performance great… detail … and that was to the fore at the very end of the show as the Von Trapps left the Abbey for the mountains… leaving Amy alone on stage… the moment she stopped and looked back brought goose bumps … ‘they say a picture paints a thousand words’ … there it was, lovely touch! This was Amy’s last performance as a member of ‘Dream Academy’ … what a way to bow out, best wishes for your future!  We had three others running Amy close for ‘showstopper’… Max Whalley as ‘Captain Von Trapp’, Charlotte Pennington as ‘Mother Abbess’ Jacob Sayer as ‘Max Detweiler’. Max was the perfect fit for the role of the captain. Loved the character created, confident, dignified, commanding, with great stage presence. He worked ever so well with all cast members especially Maria, Max and Elsa, be proud Max great job. Charlotte provided us with an impressive ‘Mother Abbess’ … a challenging role for an experienced adult, let alone a young actor, but Charolotte made it her own with an impressive characterisation. Charlotte is blessed with great stage presence, great diction and a great singing voice. The challenge for any Mother Abbess is the finale to Act one ‘Climb Every Mountain’ which she sings with the nuns… she brought the house down, be ever so proud Charolotte. Jacob was the perfect fit for the role of ‘Max’ which, he also made his own. If I may, and I hope I don’t offend, never my intention, I’d like to offer just one small piece of constructive advice… I really did love the comedic approach, but I do think Max is more complex than just a comedy role, there’s a serious side to Max, he deals and navigates some serious, important issues and situations, so I would have liked more ‘light and shade’ from the character.  The character created was great and applauded by the audience throughout, I just wanted a little more ‘tone/mood’, to show the serious side of Max which I know Jacob is capable of providing … be proud Jacob great job!  Before moving on to the many notable cameo’s, can I make special mention of two groups … firstly the Von Trapp children, ‘Leisl’; ‘Friedrich’; ‘Louisa’; ‘Kurt’; ‘Brigitta’; ‘Marta’ and ‘Gretl’ played by Demi Moore, Emmett Drinkwater, Daisy Devlin, Jensen Nolan, Graci Wadsworth, Elouise Forrester and Drew Taylor respectively … they all created individual characters that they should all be proud off.  Group two … ‘Sister Bertha’, ‘Margaretta’ and ‘Sophia’ our three lead nuns played amazing well by Iris Wall, Keira Bowles and Jessica Forrester who supported Mother Abbess throughout with great vocals, great characters … be ever so proud!  Remaining cameo cast members created included…  Mia Hurst as ‘Elsa Schraeder’; Libby Wright as ‘Rolf’; Rueben Singh as ‘Franz’, Bethany Addison as ‘Frau Schmidt’; Connie Reid as ‘Herr Zeller’; Ewan Donoghue as the ‘Admiral’; Jason Mercier as the ‘Baron …ENSEMBLE included Noah Alexander, Seth Manchester, Kaitlyn Zarb, Poppy Pye, Annabelle Stott, Ray Lee, Ellen Goodchild, Isabelle Pinder, Ella Nicholson, Lucy Hughes, Amy Johnson, Grace Halliwell, Alice Achilles, Isobel Ford, Laura Atherton, Maisie Evans-Smith, Sakura Griffiths, Violet Howarth, Priya Singh, Drew Taylor, Beth Lee, Kiera Forshaw, Jamie Leadbetter, Zara Twiss, Ava Wall, Jessica Shearman and Nicole Robinson. Be proud each and all… you all contributed towards making this a great show!

Staging/Set/Tech …  loved the ‘size and quality’ of the set used throughout supplied by Proscenium Theatrical Services from Manchester It provided the cast with everything they needed to make this show work. In charge of all things ‘on stage’ was Mike Randolph (Stage Manager) and his team, who provided us with slick, quiet quality scene changes throughout the show. Lighting, bring overseen by Chris Novak was as always here at the Theatre Royal, first class enhancing the production.  Sound… under the watchful eye of Conrad Kemp had a few issues. A number of ‘personal mikes’ went rogue during the performances being replaced during scenes by hand held ones, we also had some quiet mikes. (The young cast should be applauded for coping well with this and not allowing the issues to detract from their overall performances).

Costumes were fabulous and of the era which helped enhance the production … provided by Regal Entertainment Ltd and being overseen by Becci Quinn (Head of Wardrobe).  Props… were first class and used with great effect … congrats to all involved.

From the applause and cheers throughout and at the conclusion of the show, I think we can say, without fear, that this was a production enjoyed by everyone present and I can’t finish without commenting on the finale/final bows… which I thought were done to perfection affording the entire forty-seven cast members their time in the spotlight!  Congrats… to all involved!

Thanks for inviting my wife and I we thoroughly enjoyed the performance and I’d like to thank the lady who looked after us throughout the evening, I don’t know her name unfortunately but thanks, your attention was much appreciated!

Stay safe, Keep well
Stronger Together

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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