"The Sound Of Music" by Kristian Thomas Company.
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.
It's been too long since "The Sound Of Music" graced a local stage, so it was with great pleasure that I popped along to The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton to see this classic musical once more.
The 1965 film was adapted from the 1959 stage musical and has since been a favourite of many film lovers as well as musical theatre patrons. This production follows the stage version as opposed to the film version, so you may spot a few songs in different places.
Maria is a free-spirited young Austrian woman studying to become a nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg in 1938. The Mother Abbess sends Maria to the villa of retired naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp to be governess to his seven children—Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl, who she managed to win over with her attentiveness and kindness, as opposed to Captain von Trapp's military upbringing. This causes friction between von Trapp and Maria and orders her back to the Abbey.
Music saves the day after he hears the children singing, which brings back memories for the Captain. After Maria returns to the villa, she learns about the Captain's engagement to the Baroness Elsa Schraeder and agrees to stay until they find a replacement governess. The Captain though has feelings for Maria which are now stronger than those for the Baroness, so calls of the engagement and marries Maria instead.
While they are on their honeymoon, family friend Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival against their father's wishes. The couple return home, where a telegram informs the Captain that he must report to the German Naval base at Bremerhaven to accept a commission in the German Navy. Strongly opposed to the Nazis, the Captain tells his family they must leave Austria immediately. That night, the von Trapp family attempt to flee to Switzerland, and it is the Music Festival, that the Captain was set against taking part in, that enables their freedom.
Shannon O’Donnell plays Maria and what a perfect piece of casting. Shannon has a wonderful voice and brings out the maternal side of Maria's character brilliantly. I need to say nothing more than this was perfection.
Captain von Trapp is played by Dave Partridge, who I raved about in "Company" just a few weeks ago. Dave has one of those voices that just hits you in the right spot. Controlled and powerful. When he gets to the part in the play when he hears the children singing "Sound Of Music", and the memories come home, you can really see that reminiscence in his face.
The Mother Abess is played by Adela Green. I am not going to go on and state what amazing voices every actor on stage has, even though this is a fact, but when Adela sang "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", I was half expecting the roof of the theatre to open and a shaft of life shine through from the heavens. Simply glorious! And I was not the only one to acknowledge this powerhouse of a performance as, listening to the audience reaction at the end of Act One, they were in full agreement.
Daniel Robb plays Max, the family friend who arranged the music festival and tried to convert the Captain to follow the predicted German route. Very confident actor who looked completely at ease in the role.
Natasha Cartwright plays the role of Elsa Schraeder, the Baroness. I've seen some actors come over as quite bossy as this character but Natasha presented a softer and more personable side of the Baroness, which made her character really likeable.
Marcus King played the role of Rolf in tonight's performance (Wednesday). Prior to this role I've seen Marcus in youth productions but he is more than capable of making the transition to the adult group, as he shows here.
There are two sets of children in this production, Team Blossom and Team Bloom, and on Wednesday night I watched Team Bloom. They consisted of Hannah Riley (Liesl), Harrison Ince (Friedrich), Grace Kolasa (Louisa), Kodie Foxon (Kurt), Daisy Hamilton (Brigitta), Isla Baskill-Conroy (Marta) and Daisy Peel (Gretl). So much talent, so young.
Sister Bertha/Frau Scmidt was played by Sandy Lane, Sister Margaretta was played by Amelie Turner and Sister Sophie was played by Celia Grantham.
Franz, the male servant at the von Trapp residence was played, with authority, by Stan Cook.
The ensemble consisted of Alison Bond, Hannah Riley, James Dean, Molly Elliott, Nadia Potter and Naomi King.
The set design was marvellous and made the Duchess stage appear so much larger with its' floor to ceiling set design by Proscenium LTD. The sets changed with ease from the nunnery to the lavish von Trapp residence to the graveyard where the family hid out before their escape. Some wonderful props in this show as well.
A wonderful wardrobe for this show with some very smart suits for the men and some incredibly glamorous gowns for the ladies. The wardrobe department was in the excellent hands of Kim Tuplin-Mace.
Lighting Design was by Stephen Greatorex and operated by Sophie Smith, and like the rest of the show, was perfect.
Sound Design by Harry Greatorex and operated by Pete Gough, and although there were just a couple of mic minor issues, this also was practically perfect. Nothing to moan about here.
Musical Director was Tom Bond, and you just knew that this was going to be a class production because the men wore tuxedos and the ladies were in their poshest black frocks. The smartest orchestra I have seen for a long while. The sound from this group of musicians was note perfect, as expected from the calibre of musicians on show.
Alysha Gomes does an incredible job as Director by keeping the pace up throughout.
Kristian Cunningham waved his magic wand over the choreography. As with Tom Bond with the music, whenever you see Kristian's name credited for the choreography, you can expect this area of the musical to be of the highest quality; and I was not disappointed, I never am. Kristian was assisted by Samuel Holden - who you can catch performing in "The Cher Show" on the UK Tour.
There are so many well-known pieces from this musical, "Maria", "Sixteen Going On Seventeen", "My Favourite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", The Lonely Goatherd", "Do Re Mi", "Edelwiss", "So Long Farewell" as well as the title track.
This production is as close as you'll get to a professional touring production as you will ever get. It's pure enjoyment from start to end, and the litmus test for this is that when it comes to the end of Act One, you've been watching the show for a full ninety minutes and it did not seem to be a fraction of that time.
I've never seen a bad production from the Kristian Thomas Company. They really do seem to have that Midas touch when it comes to sourcing talent and putting on amazing pieces of theatre, and we are the beneficiary of that talent.
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