Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
Cain Park -- Evans Amphitheater, 2001
REVIEWS
OF THE SOUND OF MUSIC
From the moment the opening harmonies of the nun's chorus float over the outdoor amphitheatre, blending with the sounds of evening birds, you might suspect that Cain Park is the ideal place to experience Rodgers and Hammerstein's amiable evergreen, The Sound of Music.
Then director Fred Sternfeld takes you to the place where your heart unlocks, then melts: when Scott Plate as the previously locked-down Capt. Von Trapp first hears the clear tones of his offstage children singing the title song. You watch the play of emotions on his face - surprise, wonder, a grief for what has been lost - and then the transforming moment where, in a rush of awakened feeling, he adds his gloriously resonant baritone to the mix. It's pure transcendent musical theater.
Crafting those revelatory moments - where a song becomes not just a song, but a character's motivating force, a decision, even a spiritual state - is where Sternfeld and music director Larry Hartzell combine forces with a fine group of local actor-singers to make this admirable production shine. The orchestra sounds terrific, and the piece is impeccably cast with both Equity and non-Equity talent, down to the smallest roles.
Opposite Plate's deftly underplayed captain, Jennifer Goodson plays awkward postulant-turned-governess Maria with the zeal of a kid friendly camp counselor. Her sunny, hocky -player heartiness is in perfect contrast to the elegant, subtle Baroness Elsa (a splendid Tracee Patterson). Tom Fulton is superb as the shrewdly opportunistic Max, who engineers the von Trapps' festival appearance. The Max and Elsa songs, absent in the movie version, add tartness and depth to the political dimensions of the show, especially the canny "No Way to Stop It."
Jennifer Cochran's generous Mother Abbess has a powerhouse soprano that nails "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," and Jeanne Task is a delightfully disapproving Sister Berthe. Elise de Roulet as Liesl and Dominic Roberts as her boyfriend, Rolf do a funny "Sixteen, Going on Seventeen." And the kids playing the other von Trapp children are cute and disarming, especially Betsy Hogg's candid Brigitta.
The one production misstep is the addition of the two songs written for the film: the unnecessary, brassy "I Have Confidence," which sounds like it wandered in from a generic Barbra Streisand vehicle, and the undistinguished love duet "Something Good."
If you've only experienced "The Sound of Music" through the Julie Andrews film or tacky "professional" tours, this production will be a welcome eye-opener.
Linda Eisenstein