We got some free tickets to see The Sound of Music this week. It's being performed at a
local outdoor ampitheater. The usually have good productions there. Last year we were able to see My Fair Lady, which was fantastic! So we were excited to get use these tickets.
When going into a play that you are familiar with, it's always difficult to view it in the same way you would a play you've never seen. It's natural (at least, for me) to compare this "new" version with the familiar one. Hopefully, there is something new and fresh that each actor can bring to thier part and directors and designers can bring to the stage. I felt that this production had a good start on this from the moment Maria came out singing in her hills. She brought something unique and interesting to the roll. She gave a fantastic performance, and with only a couple of exceptions, forgot that I had ever seen Julie Andrews performance. Her counterpart unfortunatly, just didn't live up to that standard. Rather than an honest performance, it felt "put on" and over acted. That was disappointing. But, it was one of the few disapointments. The Baroness, who is briefly engaged to Captain Von Trapp, did a wonderful job! She was so funny and spunky! The children all did a great job. The youngest, Gretl, was especially fun to watch. She also happened to be the daughter of our previous Bishop, but I think I would have enjoyed her portrayal either way! :)
The music was fun as always, and I got to hear a couple songs that aren't in the movie-or at least not in thier entirety. The orchestra here is not always top notch, and can be disappointing for someone (like Aaron) who listens to a lot of top notch stuff. But it was good enough. They didn't distract from the voices onstage, and there were no really terrible moments-just no really great ones. The singing was at moments heavenly. The nuns choruses were flawless. They harmonized perfectly! Maria was no disappointment in this area either. She had a lovely voice and used it well. However, the Captain was once again disappointing. At parts he was good, but not great. At other times, he was obviously struggling. The children were good. Occasionally the complex harmonies got the better of them, but on the whole, they were very good.
For me, the acting and music in this play are probably the most important aspects, but there were a couple other moments that I felt really made this experience unique. The first was just fun! In the movie, there is a scene where the children and Maria put on a puppet show. I knew that this scene was added for the movie, and didn't know how they would pull it off in a live performance, so I assumed it would be left out. Luckily for us, it was not! But instead of puppets, we saw live dancers on the ends of strings! I chuckled when the first human puppet appeared, and continued to be delighted by the dancers' bobbing heads and whimsical movements. It was so much fun to watch! The second moment was toward the end of the play when the family sings at the music festival. It was something I don't recall experienceing at any other play. We became not only veiwers of the play, but players. Not that it was a difficult part to play-we played the audience of the music festival. We aplauded each song and while they sang "Edelweiss," Maria looked into the audience and requested that we all sing along. I felt like we were all singing our farwell to the Von Trapps and sharing in the love of thier homeland. It was amazing to be included as part of the performance. It was a moment that I felt truly a part of what was happening on the stage.
I enjoy good theater so much! It was wonderful to be able to see this performance. Although it was imperfect, it had many fun and touching moments. I know I've already said a lot about it, but I feel like I could go on! It was certainly a worthwhile evening.
