The National Tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music"
The Sound of Music is one of the world's most popular musicals. Most people have seen the movie at least once in their lives and avid theatergoers have likely seen a numerous amount of productions throughout the years. The 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is a charming family musical that delights young and old, alike, in addition to carrying social and political themes that continue to resonate, even in today's political climate. I actually re-watched NBC's 2013 live broadcast of the musical a few months ago and was really struck by the message that the musical carries of taking a stand against the heinous acts of government officials, even when what is happening does not effect you directly. The musical has a surprising amount to say about politics in the its second act, even though all you see at a glance is "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things." The touring production that played at El Paso's Plaza Theatre this past weekend was an incredibly strong production that fell more into the lane of the charming family show, while the politics of the weren't as striking l as I had most recently remembered them and hoped they would be this time around. There is one visually impactful moment in the second act that elicited gasps from the people sitting around me, but about 90% of the show was the happy go-lucky musical that most people think of when someone says "The Sound of Music." That being said, the current national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music (with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) is an excellent production. The production is not without its faults, but I thought that it was incredibly entertaining and quite exquisite.
I really enjoyed this production of The Sound of Music. I have said it many times before, but I am in love with musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Although I have seen the majority of their musicals more than once, you can slap their names in front of the title of any musical and I am there. I am sure I am not alone when I say that The Sound of Music is the very first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that I ever saw. Along with Wicked, it was one of the very first shows that I was ever obsessed with. I have seen a few different productions of it (including a mostly middle school production where in the entire audience clapped along to the scene change music as the Von Trapps were escaping the Nazis. These are the theatre memories that last a lifetime.), but this is the first time I have seen it done professionally. Judging from the magnificent performances of the cast and the quality of work being put out by everyone working on the production, I caught a pretty remarkable touring production that surely stands out among many other Broadway, touring, and regional productions of the show.
I have never heard the score of The Sound of Music more beautifully performed than I did on Saturday night. Robert Russell Bennett's gorgeous orchestrations provided a lush accompaniment to the company's heavenly voices. This production contained what quite possibly is one of the best orchestras (led by Michael Gilden) I've heard at a musical. The illustrious talents of Jill-Christine Wiley (Maria Rainer), Mike McLean (Captain Georg Von Trapp), Lauren Kidwell (The Mother Abbess), and Lauren O'Brien (Liesl) brought the score to new levels of enchantment.
The very first thing we hear in the show, following the sound of the Nonnberg Abbey bells, is the sound of Lauren Kidwell's voice. Kidwell is quite exceptional as The Mother Abbess. Her rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" at the end of the first act was incredible and it didn't seem there was a dry eye in the house, because when the house lights came up for intermission, everyone pointed out how amazingly she interpreted that song. It was musical theatre magic. She sings the song to Jill-Christine Wiley's Maria Rainer. Wiley is a wonderful Maria and she leads the company with beauty and grace. Playing opposite her as Captain von Trapp is Mike McLean, who also has a splendid voice and shares a perfectly sensual chemistry with Wiley.
Of course, there are also the children, who are all adorable. I would be lying if I told you I didn't "awe" when Gretel (Quinn Titcomb) said she couldn't sing because of her sore finger. I must single out Lauren O'Brien as Liesl, the eldest of the von Trapp children. I imagine Liesl often gets singled out in reviews of The Sound of Music because she and Gretel are the some of the only ones whose name you can remember, in addition to the fact that she is the one in the musical who is given the secondary romantic subplot with a telegram boy named Rolf (played by a vigorous Hunter Brown). I single out Ms. O'Brien here, not only for that reason, but because she was one of the tour's biggest standouts. She sang her songs excellently and the director (Jack O'Brien, no relation to Lauren, I presume. Matt Lenz recreated his direction for this tour) gives her a little more substance than in most productions of The Sound of Music. I personally really appreciated how innocently Ms. O'Brien portrayed the role and how it was reflected in her blocking and choreography (by Danny Mefford, recreated for the tour by Jonathan Warren). It really felt like Liesl finally had a real character arc, which I loved. In fact, I am just going to come right out and say it, I think Lauren O'Brien is the best Liesl I have ever seen.
Jack O'Brien's interpretation of The Sound of Music is exemplary. I think that O'Brien, Lenz, and the entire team have succeeded in creating an entertaining, heartwarming, and alluring production. O'Brien and Lenz use every element of the production to its fullest potential, creating a compelling and visually stunning production. However, it is not flawless. While the entire production is outstanding, it feels as if this The Sound of Music is trying too hard to "go there" and be a fresh interpretation of the musical, but it's just not. This is The Sound of Music as we have always seen it. I admire the fact that O'Brien was trying to do something different from what we have already seen, but there are only so many ways that you can do The Sound of Music and this is just another excellent production with some interesting and confusing choices. I didn't mind a lot of the blocking, but at times it would get strange. For example, the Ländler dance sequence is the part of the show where we truly see Maria and the Captain fall in love. This sequence should be one of the most intimate moments of the show and we as an audience should be entranced by the romantic chemistry that is emerging between the two characters...but the entire ensemble was there and even participating in the dance. It didn't feel as if there was any chemistry building between Maria and the Captain. Other mind boggling moments include when Maria walked around in what felt like twenty circles during the wedding sequence (not a spoiler), Maria hugging the captain too many times, and during "The Lonely Goatherd," when the children pushed all of the bedroom furniture offstage and proceeded to finish the number on a bare bedroom set.
The only element where I feel that O'Brien and Lenz truly missed the mark was the politics. They were able to pull off a few very powerful moments, but most of the scenes in the show that got serious about what was happening in Austria at the time and the fact that they were on the brink of World War II, lacked intensity. The most disappointing moment for me was the final number in the show, which I felt lacked the uncertainty, symbolism, and everything that makes the final moments of the show work. The last moment I am going to single out is the song "No Way To Stop It." This number is not only my favorite song in the entire show, but it is the most jarring, especially listening to it amidst of everything that is happening in politics today. It is a song in which Elsa Schrader (the Captain's fiancee, played by a sumptuous Kate Turner), and Max Detweiler (The Captain's friend, played by a charismatic Jake Mills) sing to the Captain about how he should simply adapt to what is happening and look the other way as the Nazis take over Austria and let everything blow over so he doesn't get himself into any trouble. It is the moment in the show that ultimately drives the Captain and Elsa apart. I didn't feel as if they came to the realization that they could never succeed as a couple because of their ideological differences and the fact that they are fundamentally totally different people. It wasn't jarring. It is a turning point in the show, although it didn't feel that way because of the way that the last lines of the song were delivered.
While this production does get things wrong, it makes up for everything it gets wrong in what it gets oh so right. The reprise of the title song and "Climb Every Mountain," all brought tears to my eyes, the scene where the Captain and Maria confessed their love for each other was sexy, the festival was done almost flawlessly, and the entire production as was something wonderful. Douglas W. Schmidt's scenic design was absolutely stunning (although The Abbey left much to be desired), and I loved how in Natasha Katz's lighting design, the colors of the lights in the background adjusted to what was happening in each scene.
At the end of the day, I thought that this was a superb production of The Sound of Music that I happen to have a lot of criticisms of. If you haven't seen The Sound of Music onstage before, I think that this production is a good place to start. I really did think this was a terrific production that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable night out. It was a lovely night of classic musical theatre that we have been starting to see just a little bit less of. I would call this a good start to the 2018/19 Broadway in El Paso season. Now onto the next.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
For more information on the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC, please visit http://thesoundofmusicontour.com/
At the time I saw the show, the cast of the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC consisted of (in order of appearance):
The Mother Abbess- LAUREN KIDWELL
Maira Rainer, a Postulant at Nonnberg Abbey- JILL-CHRISTINE WILEY
Sister Berthe, Mistress of Novices- ARIANA VALDES
Sister Margaretta, Mistress of Postulants- TERESA WITT
Sister Sophia- ELAINE COTTER
Captain Georg von Trapp- MIKE McLEAN
Franz, The Butler- SCOTT FUSS
Frau Schmidt, The Housekeeper- STEPHANIE GRAY
The Children of Captain von Trapp:
Liesl- LAUREN O'BRIEN
Fredrich- EDWARD TURNER
Louisa- JENNA SEASHOLTZ
Kurt- ETHAN DOUGLAS CUTILLO
Brigitta- EMILY STRUGATSKY
Marta- RILEY O'KANE
Gretel- QUINN EDEN TITCOMB
Rolf Gruber- HUNTER BROWN
Elsa Schraeder- KATE TURNER
Ursula- JILLIAN ROSSI
Max Detweiler- JAKE MILLS
Herr Zeller- JAMES PARKS
Baron Eberfeild- JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL
Baroness Eberfeild- ARIANA VALDES
A New Postulant- JILLIAN ROSSI
Admiral von Schreiber- JAMES TAYLOR ODOM
Neighbors of Captain von Trapp, Nuns, Novices, Postulants, and Contestants at the Festival Concert- TOMMY BETZ, MORGAN BLANCHARD, ELAINE COTTER, SCOTT FUSS, KELLY GLYPTIS, STEPHANIE GRAY, LEAH GREENE, JORDYN NORKEY, JAMES TAYLOR ODOM, JAMES PARKS, JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL, JILLIAN ROSSI, ARIANA VALDEZ, TERESA WHITT
Swings- NICHOLAS CARROLL, CHRISTINA TOMPKINS
Performance Reviewed: November 10, 2018 (8:00 PM)
I really enjoyed this production of The Sound of Music. I have said it many times before, but I am in love with musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Although I have seen the majority of their musicals more than once, you can slap their names in front of the title of any musical and I am there. I am sure I am not alone when I say that The Sound of Music is the very first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that I ever saw. Along with Wicked, it was one of the very first shows that I was ever obsessed with. I have seen a few different productions of it (including a mostly middle school production where in the entire audience clapped along to the scene change music as the Von Trapps were escaping the Nazis. These are the theatre memories that last a lifetime.), but this is the first time I have seen it done professionally. Judging from the magnificent performances of the cast and the quality of work being put out by everyone working on the production, I caught a pretty remarkable touring production that surely stands out among many other Broadway, touring, and regional productions of the show.
 |
| Jill-Christine Wiley as Maria Rainer in the national tour of The Sound of Music. Photo by Matthew Murphy |
I have never heard the score of The Sound of Music more beautifully performed than I did on Saturday night. Robert Russell Bennett's gorgeous orchestrations provided a lush accompaniment to the company's heavenly voices. This production contained what quite possibly is one of the best orchestras (led by Michael Gilden) I've heard at a musical. The illustrious talents of Jill-Christine Wiley (Maria Rainer), Mike McLean (Captain Georg Von Trapp), Lauren Kidwell (The Mother Abbess), and Lauren O'Brien (Liesl) brought the score to new levels of enchantment.
The very first thing we hear in the show, following the sound of the Nonnberg Abbey bells, is the sound of Lauren Kidwell's voice. Kidwell is quite exceptional as The Mother Abbess. Her rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" at the end of the first act was incredible and it didn't seem there was a dry eye in the house, because when the house lights came up for intermission, everyone pointed out how amazingly she interpreted that song. It was musical theatre magic. She sings the song to Jill-Christine Wiley's Maria Rainer. Wiley is a wonderful Maria and she leads the company with beauty and grace. Playing opposite her as Captain von Trapp is Mike McLean, who also has a splendid voice and shares a perfectly sensual chemistry with Wiley.
 |
| Mike McLean as Captain Georg von Trapp and the family in the national tour of The Sound of Music |
Jack O'Brien's interpretation of The Sound of Music is exemplary. I think that O'Brien, Lenz, and the entire team have succeeded in creating an entertaining, heartwarming, and alluring production. O'Brien and Lenz use every element of the production to its fullest potential, creating a compelling and visually stunning production. However, it is not flawless. While the entire production is outstanding, it feels as if this The Sound of Music is trying too hard to "go there" and be a fresh interpretation of the musical, but it's just not. This is The Sound of Music as we have always seen it. I admire the fact that O'Brien was trying to do something different from what we have already seen, but there are only so many ways that you can do The Sound of Music and this is just another excellent production with some interesting and confusing choices. I didn't mind a lot of the blocking, but at times it would get strange. For example, the Ländler dance sequence is the part of the show where we truly see Maria and the Captain fall in love. This sequence should be one of the most intimate moments of the show and we as an audience should be entranced by the romantic chemistry that is emerging between the two characters...but the entire ensemble was there and even participating in the dance. It didn't feel as if there was any chemistry building between Maria and the Captain. Other mind boggling moments include when Maria walked around in what felt like twenty circles during the wedding sequence (not a spoiler), Maria hugging the captain too many times, and during "The Lonely Goatherd," when the children pushed all of the bedroom furniture offstage and proceeded to finish the number on a bare bedroom set.
 |
| Jill-Christine Wiley and the von Trapp children in the national tour of The Sound of Music. Photo: Matthew Murphy |
The only element where I feel that O'Brien and Lenz truly missed the mark was the politics. They were able to pull off a few very powerful moments, but most of the scenes in the show that got serious about what was happening in Austria at the time and the fact that they were on the brink of World War II, lacked intensity. The most disappointing moment for me was the final number in the show, which I felt lacked the uncertainty, symbolism, and everything that makes the final moments of the show work. The last moment I am going to single out is the song "No Way To Stop It." This number is not only my favorite song in the entire show, but it is the most jarring, especially listening to it amidst of everything that is happening in politics today. It is a song in which Elsa Schrader (the Captain's fiancee, played by a sumptuous Kate Turner), and Max Detweiler (The Captain's friend, played by a charismatic Jake Mills) sing to the Captain about how he should simply adapt to what is happening and look the other way as the Nazis take over Austria and let everything blow over so he doesn't get himself into any trouble. It is the moment in the show that ultimately drives the Captain and Elsa apart. I didn't feel as if they came to the realization that they could never succeed as a couple because of their ideological differences and the fact that they are fundamentally totally different people. It wasn't jarring. It is a turning point in the show, although it didn't feel that way because of the way that the last lines of the song were delivered.
While this production does get things wrong, it makes up for everything it gets wrong in what it gets oh so right. The reprise of the title song and "Climb Every Mountain," all brought tears to my eyes, the scene where the Captain and Maria confessed their love for each other was sexy, the festival was done almost flawlessly, and the entire production as was something wonderful. Douglas W. Schmidt's scenic design was absolutely stunning (although The Abbey left much to be desired), and I loved how in Natasha Katz's lighting design, the colors of the lights in the background adjusted to what was happening in each scene.
At the end of the day, I thought that this was a superb production of The Sound of Music that I happen to have a lot of criticisms of. If you haven't seen The Sound of Music onstage before, I think that this production is a good place to start. I really did think this was a terrific production that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable night out. It was a lovely night of classic musical theatre that we have been starting to see just a little bit less of. I would call this a good start to the 2018/19 Broadway in El Paso season. Now onto the next.
 | ||
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
For more information on the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC, please visit http://thesoundofmusicontour.com/
At the time I saw the show, the cast of the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC consisted of (in order of appearance):
The Mother Abbess- LAUREN KIDWELL
Maira Rainer, a Postulant at Nonnberg Abbey- JILL-CHRISTINE WILEY
Sister Berthe, Mistress of Novices- ARIANA VALDES
Sister Margaretta, Mistress of Postulants- TERESA WITT
Sister Sophia- ELAINE COTTER
Captain Georg von Trapp- MIKE McLEAN
Franz, The Butler- SCOTT FUSS
Frau Schmidt, The Housekeeper- STEPHANIE GRAY
The Children of Captain von Trapp:
Liesl- LAUREN O'BRIEN
Fredrich- EDWARD TURNER
Louisa- JENNA SEASHOLTZ
Kurt- ETHAN DOUGLAS CUTILLO
Brigitta- EMILY STRUGATSKY
Marta- RILEY O'KANE
Gretel- QUINN EDEN TITCOMB
Rolf Gruber- HUNTER BROWN
Elsa Schraeder- KATE TURNER
Ursula- JILLIAN ROSSI
Max Detweiler- JAKE MILLS
Herr Zeller- JAMES PARKS
Baron Eberfeild- JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL
Baroness Eberfeild- ARIANA VALDES
A New Postulant- JILLIAN ROSSI
Admiral von Schreiber- JAMES TAYLOR ODOM
Neighbors of Captain von Trapp, Nuns, Novices, Postulants, and Contestants at the Festival Concert- TOMMY BETZ, MORGAN BLANCHARD, ELAINE COTTER, SCOTT FUSS, KELLY GLYPTIS, STEPHANIE GRAY, LEAH GREENE, JORDYN NORKEY, JAMES TAYLOR ODOM, JAMES PARKS, JOSHUA CLIFTON POWELL, JILLIAN ROSSI, ARIANA VALDEZ, TERESA WHITT
Swings- NICHOLAS CARROLL, CHRISTINA TOMPKINS
Performance Reviewed: November 10, 2018 (8:00 PM)
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