The Sound of Music

I went along to see The Sound of Music performed by St Gabriel’s ADMS at Rochdale Curtain Theatre, it was lovely to see so many people in the audience. Sarah Croke as Director had taken a slightly different way with the production and while, personally, I found some choices didn’t work for me (there were far too many blackouts that lasted too long, too many Pinteresque pauses in dialogue and the pace was out within some scenes) the audience were enraptured. The set was fairly minimal and the cast on stage moved easily around, I particularly liked the house with steps and balcony set. The stained glass windows in The Abbey were very pretty and stood out well.  Erin Croke as Musical Director had worked hard and it was obvious that the ladies playing the nuns had been well drilled, they were ably led by Andrea Chadderton Mulrooney as Mother Abbess. Andrea had poise and a simple elegance to her performance. Anne Ingham as the ever complaining Sister Margaretta gave us some great facial expressions that even were conveyed right down to her feet.  Michaela Coward as Maria gave a pleasant performance, but personally I saw no onstage chemistry between Maria and Captain Georg Von Trapp (Neil Teggart). Angelique Sheherd as Frau Schmidt gave a superb performance, I loved her eyebrow raises and altered tone when she first met Maria. Tommy Ingham as Franz was very believable, his demeanour visibly changed as the threat of occupation became more real. Dave Edwards as Max Detweiler was a large presence on stage, his verbal exchanges with Elsa Schroeder (Sarah Croke) had some good pace and direction, Sarah as Elsa used her facial expressions and pauses well, the audience were never in any doubt of her thoughts. The performance I saw, the Von Trapp children were played by Team Vienna, all the children had a nice presence on the stage, they all brought their own individual character to life. The costumes throughout depicted the era well, it was interesting to see the “Lonely Goatherd “ song brought to life the way it was – very nice cameo from Georgina Sutton.

Thank you for inviting me, myself and my guest enjoyed your performance of The Sound of Music, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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