The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music
Music: Richard Rodgers. Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II. Book: Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Hornsby Musical Society. Director: Laura Sheldon. Musical Director: Dave Morgan. Additional choreography: Lauren Nalty. Hornsby RSL. April 13 – 21, 2012.

Hornsby Musical Society’s production of The Sound of Music gets off to an outstanding start with the Nuns’ chorus, singing their share of the classic show better than I’ve ever heard it sung anywhere outside the movie.

In an inspired piece of community collaboration, the musical society has joined forces with a large, established local ladies choir (The Spirit of Sydney Chorus).

The musical itself poses the main question - How do you solve a problem like Maria?  Productions succeed or fail based on the casting of Maria, and her relationships with the children and Captain von Trapp.

The answer at Hornsby is a resounding - No problem at all. Emily Potts is a delight in the pivotal role. She’s vivacious, attractive and confident, sings the role impressively, has real charisma, and establishes a warm rapport with the kids.

Two casts of children perform alternate shows. The delightful group of kids I saw had real joie de vivre, firmly establishing their individual characters.

Damien Schmitt’s stature and bearing suits Captain von Trapp, he mellows engagingly in his transition from stern authoritarian, and the key romantic moments with Potts’ Maria have the essential chemistry.

The relationship between Jordan Stam’s Liesl and Steven Kreamer’s Rolf has naieveté, the charm of young love, and a touch of song and dance panache. Both also handle the brief, more difficult second act moments truthfully. It is their relationship which nails the tragedy of the rise of Nazism.

The relationship between Jordan Stam’s Liesl and Emily Potts’ Maria was also affectingly warm and genuine.

Paul Sheldon carried off the role of the opportunistic Max well, while Jenny Farrell brought a mix of poise and insecurity to Elsa. How I wish, though, in this day and age of revising classic musicals, that the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization would dispose of two clunky musical comedy trios for Max, Elsa and the Captain, so wisely dumped, so long ago, for the movie.

Laraine Day brings the necessary warmth and empathy to Mother Abbess.

I do wonder, though, if anyone will ever take the nasty Nazi characters beyond a stiff, not as good as Hogan’s Heroes, stereotype. The occasional Strine accents jarred too.

Auditorium processions, not always a favourite of mine, worked quite nicely, though the performers found the side stage stairways hard to navigate on those final, very visible steps onto the stage. A central stairway, even if it had to split the orchestra, would have massively heightened the impact.

The decision to take Emily Potts onto the flat floor of the auditorium during one of Maria’s big songs was not good in terms of the sightlines of many of the audience.

Regarding sound - I could hear everything very well, maybe too well at times. Why mike the orchestra quite so heavily? When the singers’ voices are brought into balance, weaknesses are amplified as well as strengths. Sometimes too, the amplification of dialogue could have been finessed.

My criticisms, though, are outweighed by the pleasure and engagement I experienced with the classic musical at the heart of this production.

Of necessity the scenery was very minimal. The Hornsby RSL stage has no flying facilities, little wing space, and a largely fixed lighting rig. No stage setting can hope to compare with the film’s gorgeous locations, but the simple set pieces sufficed to announce locations, and avoided slowing the pace.

The story and its relationships stand up well, so simple staging is just a matter of background when the performances can carry the day.

As a recovered one-time Sound of Music cynic, who swore off the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic forever after reaching total saturation, I can recommend a visit to Hornsby RSL.

Neil Litchfeld

Images: Grant Leslie.

Read More - www.stagewhispers.com.au/community-theatre/von-trapp-toddler-sound-music-director

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