The Sound of Music. Photo by Daniel Salmond.
Presented by The Gilbert & Sullivan Society Inc
Reviewed 19 July 2014
Audiences never seem to tire of The Sound of Music. It continues to please no matter how many times it has been performed; it’s the mark of a great musical. The music never fails to enchant and it only falls short when the cast or orchestra are not up to the high standard required. This production never suffers from that.
The nuns’ chorus is beautiful, although the sound was not as full as it should be. The leading sisters were just right and How do we Solve a Problem was well sung and fun thanks to the talents of Wendy Rayner (Sister Bertha), Megan Doherty (Sister Margaretta), Lucy Trewin (Sister Sophia) and of course Marsha Seebohm as Mother Abbess. Maria herself, Claire McEnvoy sang beautifully and had the right mix of naivety, gawkiness and strength to make the character completely believable.
The stars, as always with this musical, were the children, all of whom did well, from the shy Liesl (Kate Price), the bright Louisa (Chyna Hazel Polkinghorne), the out-spoken Brigitta (Henrietta Gray Walters) and the cheeky Marta (Zara Blight), to the incredibly cute Gretl (Trinity O’Shea). We must not forget the boys, who were definitely not out shone: Connor Olsson-Jones, who did well as the withdrawn Fredrick and Thomas Sheldon with his irrepressible smile as an endearing Kurt.
The director, Trish Hart, did not stint with the rest of the cast either. The difficult role of Captain Von Trapp was handled well by Kim Clark, well known for more flamboyant roles (Peter Allen, Trekkie Monster) and Bronwyn Palmer was an elegant Elsa. Richard Trevaskis is the best Max Detweiler I have seen for quite a while and Barry Hill managed to be hateful as Herr Zeller! Damien Quick was a fine Rolf, but didn’t convince me he was in love, a shame. Other good performances came from Grant Topham (Franz), Lorraine Armstrong (Frau Schmidt) and Timothy Blackshaw (Admiral von Schreiber).
The music was handled well by Heather Elliott with the sound in the capable hands of Matthew Curtis. The no-fuss set worked well and was complemented by Mark Oakley’s lighting design. If you are a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan, you should not miss this fine production. If, on the other hand, you have never seen this musical; you should go and introduce yourself to one of the classics.
Reviewed by Fran Edwards
Twitter: @Franeds
Venue: Arts Theatre, 53 Angus St, Adelaide
Season: 19 July-2 August 2014
Duration: 3 hrs
Tickets: $20.00 – $38.00
Bookings: Book online through the G&S website or contact Paula on 8447 7239 or [email protected]
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