The Sound of Music at Mastercard Theatres: Review

How did you restage a musical where the audience were so familiar with the storyline and knew the sequence of songs by heart?  This version by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian took a daring move by condensing the plot and changing the sequence of the songs.  Be mentally prepared.  

It is inevitable audience would compare anyone playing Maria with Julie Andrew.  For this production, we were glad to see Bethany Dickson holding up well in this role, and her singing was commendable.  Andre Schwartz gave a different interpretation as head of the von Trapp family – a more cheerful widower Captain von Trapp.  He had a good voice but unfortunately, the newly written songs sung by him (and other cast members) were not memorable. Janelle Visagie, as Mother Abbess, stole some limelight from the leads with her rendition of Climb Every Mountain.     Last but not least, the von Trapp children played by the Singapore cast.  Eighteen children were selected to play the six children in rotation and they captured the hearts of the audience.

The production design enabled swift scene changes and kept the pace going.  The producers may have intended to trim down the running time to suit the younger audience.  Scenes involving the key characters were not fully developed and hurried through, resulting in a loss of emotional attachment to the plot.   This was my main grouch for this production.

Having said that, the capable cast and the high production standards ensured the audience had an enjoyable evening at the theatre.  It is good to see how an old musical could be restaged successfully to a modern audience.  Recommended.