The Sound of Music

For their main show this year CAOS chose the iconic and ever popular “The Sound of Music”. It tells of postulant Maria who leaves the convent to take up a position of governess for the children of Captain Von Trapp. The show takes us through the many trials and tribulations that see her leave the job, return, get married and then escape the clutches of Nazi Germany, it’s a story of love, finding yourself and real family spirit. This is a long show with 18 or more scene changes but the production had pace, scene changes were slick and the time flew by.

The opening of the show gave us beautiful renditions of the Chant, Morning Hymns and the Alleluia perfectly led by Julia Heal who also gave us a lovely portrayal of Frau Schmidt the housekeeper, stoic and reliable. Next we met Claire Garbutt as the perfect Maria, she brought warmth, likeability and a beautiful singing voice to the role. Her acting was gentle and sweet but her optimism and hopefulness shone through. Katie Howes as the Mother Superior portrayed the necessary strength but also the caring and fondness she felt for Maria, her powerful rendition of Climb Every Mountain bringing Act 1 to a heartfelt close. Sister Margaretta, Sister Bertha and Sister Sophia were played by Tracy Young, Faye Docherty and Sarah Pearson, each bringing a unique characterisation to their role and working well together in their scene. Marias first encounter with Captain Von Trapp, played by Steven Udale, introduced her to an overbearing, strict military man who ran his household like his ship, but she warmed his heart and broke down the barriers he’d built. The power couple of Max Detweiler and Elsa Schraeder played by Alan Reiss and Jan Reiss were superb, Jan looked elegant, Alan oozed optimism giving Max the pushy over confidence he needs and their scenes were a delight to watch and their songs well portrayed. Franz was played by Scott Brannigan-Howes with the right level of mystery to his character.  Other cameo roles were well played, Herr Zeller (Bill Collins) Admiral (Gary Nugent), Baron (Andy Key) and Baroness (Ashley Harkness) and the ensemble gave good support throughout.

The younger cast members in this production absolutely shone. Ted Gladstone as Rolf sang well and showed a good acting skills, his duet with Liesel was beautiful and they made the dancing look effortless. There were two sets of Von Trapp Family children and I had the pleasure of seeing “Goatheard Team” my colleague Peter saw “Edelweiss Team” and it seems both were equally strong. The all-round performance from these young people was superb, we had seven very distinct personalities and voices; beautiful Liesl who doesn’t need a governess (Darcy Ranasinghe and Chloe Cutter), the polite young man Friedrich (George Anglesea and Thomas Nugent) a mischievous, prank playing Louisa (Mille Cassin and Sophie Ions), a sensitive and thoughtful Kurt (Joey Howourth and Ollie Carr), the intuitive Brigitta (Erin Kilgallon and Isla Reiss), quiet Marta who loves pink (Ruby Belcher and Daisy Bradgate) and last but not least the loveable Gretl. (Isabella Johnson and Eva Belcher). Every one of you should be proud of yourselves, your singing, dancing and acting was excellent. There was a tangible chemistry with Maria and the children especially in the “My Favourite Things” and “The Lonely Goatherd” scenes.

The music was beautiful and the orchestra sounded superb, we are blessed with some fine musicians in the North East and Rhys had gathered together some of the best.

Congratulations to Lee, Rhys, Katie and Scott for giving us a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment and to the Society for choosing to produce a classic musical.

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