Review of THE SOUND OF MUSIC: Warm, Winning and Worthy

October 5, 2017

I first knew of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" the 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. I believe it is the first live-action movie I had ever seen as a child, not sure if it was on the television or on videotape. We had a long playing vinyl record of the original soundtrack which was played on repeat. I guess it is safe to say that it was "The Sound of Music" that set me on my road to enjoying musicals on film as well as on stage.

There had been several productions of "The Sound of Music" by local theater companies over the years. 

There was the seminal 1980 production by Repertory Philippines directed by Zeneida Amador, with Baby Barredo as Maria, Chito Ponce Enrile as Captain Von Trapp and Celia Diaz-Laurel as the Baroness. That show gave us eventual theater stars Menchu Lauchengco, Monique Wilson and Lea Salonga who made their theater debuts as Von Trapp children, and Audie Gemora as Rolf. 

In 2006, Rep restaged the show directed by Barredo. It had Lauchengco and Wilson (with Liesl Batucan) alternating as Maria and Gemora (alternating with Michael Williams) as the Captain, with Cherie Gil (alternating with Rina Reyes) as the Baroness. Liesl was played by Vanessa Paoleli, Criselda Consunji or Menchu's daughter Nicole Yulo. Rolf Gruber was played by Topper Fabregas JM Rodriguez, Irra Cenina or Jaime Barcelon. This show was the only stage version that I got to watch. 

In 2011, the Resorts World produced its own version of the show directed by Roxanne Lapus. This starred Joanna Ampil or Cris Villonco as Maria and Audie Gemora, Ed Feist or Jon Joven as the Captain, and Pinky Amador or Lynn Sherman as the Baroness. Liesl was played by Tanya Manalang or Rachel Coates, while Rolf was played by Marvin Ong or Bryan Homecillo.

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This September-October 2017, Concertus Manila (after successful runs of "Wicked" and "West Side Story" also this year) brings us the London West End Production of "The Sound of Music" at the Theater at Solaire.  This touring production was met with much excitement earlier this year when it auditioned local kids to be cast as the younger Von Trapp children last May, the list of which was announced last July. 

As expected it was certainly nostalgic to listen all these classic songs performed live on stage. These are songs whose lyrics I've known by heart since childhood, so the temptation to sing along audibly really took a lot of self-control to repress. It felt unusual to hear some songs in different parts of the play than it was in the film. "My Favorite Things" was sung in the abbey by the Abbess and Maria. In place of that song in the thunderstorm scene, Maria and the kids sang "The Lonely Goatherd" instead. "Edelweiss" was only sung once by the Captain, and that was at the concert. 

There were also two songs by Max (Jonathan Taylor) and the Baroness (Haylea Heins) that I first heard now. The satirical "How Can Love Survive" in Act I, the two sing about love among the rich and famous. The political "No Way to Stop It" in Act II was about convincing the Captain to accept the inevitability of the Anschluss (occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany). While they were catchy ditties in their own way, with their mature themes, it was clear why they did not make it into the movie version.

With the film so iconic, it was really very difficult to imagine anybody else as Maria and the Captain other than Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. At first, Carmen Pretorius looked too thin to be the gamine Maria, and Nicholas Maude not dashing enough to be the heroic Captain. but after a few songs all these little details fly out the window. Though the chemistry was not automatically apparent, by the time the Ländler dance scene came along, the audience did feel that romantic spark. When the first kiss came, there was an audible thrill and even applause!

The only first impression that stuck the whole show was that Zoe Beavon was too tall and too mature-looking to be sweet Liesl. As far as the other kids were concerned, aside from that night's Friedrich being shorter than Kurt, their being Filipino never really got in the way. In fact, Rayne Cortez, the girl playing the observant Brigitta and Tory Cortez, who sang some short solos as Kurt, gave standout performances. The touching reunion scene after the Captain joins them to sing the first time was wrought with sincere emotion. Tears will be difficult to rein in. 

For me, the best vocalist of the ensemble would have to be Janelle Visagie who played the wise Mother Abbess. Although she did look too young and pretty (with cute dimples) to be the most senior nun, her full soprano was very powerful. The Abbess' centerpiece song "Climb Every Mountain" ends both Act I and Act II, it was a sure showstopper both times, thanks to Visagie's commanding yet warm-hearted rendition of the classic anthem.

I have to mention the presence of actual Aryans in the cast made the ball scene and the concert scene uncomfortably chilling. The political tension of the musical festival scene was very palpable the way it was executed on the stage with that huge red flag with the eagle insignia. That actor playing Herr Zeller (the Nazi regional officer) can really make a chill run up and down your spine with his hateful character.

The set design and lighting design were beautifully rendered, faultless already in the timing, as it is expected from a touring production. The abbey backdrops give such cavernous depth on that small stage. The wedding scene with those metal gates and the glorious Madonna and Child sunburst sculpture hanging overhead was grandiose despite its short length. If there was any debit, it is probably the "I Have Confidence" scene that felt bare because did not have anything showing in the backdrop at all. Other than that, everything else brought us right into Salzburg in the late 1930s, and back to our own warm childhood memories of the classic film.


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"The Sound of Music" runs from September 27 to October 22, 2017 at the Theater at Solaire.  Showtimes every Tuesday - 8:00PM, Wednesday - 8:00PM, Thursday - 8:00PM, Friday - 8:00PM, Saturday - 3:00PM and 8:00PM and Sunday - 3:00PM and 8:00PM.  

Ticket prices: P7,000 for VIP Orchestra Center; P5,800 for A Reserve Orchestra Premium Gold: P4,500 for B Reserve Orchestra, Premium Gold, P3,500 for C Reserve
Balcony Front and P1,500 for D Reserve Balcony Back.