"The Sound Of Music"

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

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 Nonberg 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, Uncle Max Detweiller 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.

Erin Hill plays Maria and what I liked about the way that Erin played the role was the connection that she had with, not only the children, but also with Captain von Trapp. Maria is an intelligent woman and this is shown throughout, and especially when one of the children pretends to be another; she sees through it straight away. The connection that grows between Maria and the Captain is highlighted in one section in Act two when they sing to each other and the intensity of their eye connection is electric. Anyone who has seen Erin before knows what a lovely clear voice she has, so this role is the perfect vehicle to show off her vocal talents.

Naval Lieutenant Commander Captain von Trapp is the father to the children and is played by Sam Howard. You can see, and feel the icy, regimented Captain melting like an iceberg in a heatwave, and Sam brings the mellow melting, especially when he realises what he is missing with his children, as advised by Maria. Sam also knows how to emote; just see him sing "Edelweiss" near the end, in the Salzburg Festival, you can almost see the lump in his throat as The Captain realises that he is escaping from a country that he loves but can now not call his own.

Emily-Hope Wilkins plays Leisl von Trapp, the eldest of the children at sixteen. Emily shows the free spirit and rebel side of Leisl, and there's a lovely scene with Rolf where they sing "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" with a lovely choreographed section, including a bit of tap. I can remember the dance section for this scene in the film but can't recall this section being this length in the stage version, and not that I am complaining because it showed the wistful, teenage love this pair have in the musical. As always with Emily, a lovely vocal performance on every song.

Friedrich von Trapp is the oldest boy in the family and is played by Sonny Noble and Brogan Haynes. On Thursday night it was Sonny's time to shine. I last saw Sonny playing Doody in "Grease" at the Arts Theatre last year, and this is a very different role for Sonny. He is a very confident performer, and you can see that he enjoys his time on stage.

Louisa Von Trapp is played by Daisy Hillery and Kate Russell. Thursday's show saw Daisy's turn. Like Sonny, Daisy is building up a lovely musical theatre CV after being in "Grease" last year.

Kurt is played by Liam Brown and Harry Keiller. Liam played Kurt in this performance. I've seen Liam in several shows now, and notably playing Oliver in "Oliver", and since then he has grown, quite literally, as a performer.

Brigitta Von Trapp is played by Amelie Tindle and Grace Moroziuk. Thursday night saw Amelie play the role. I don't recall seeing Amelie before, so it's nice to see a new face on stage. Another confident young lady and I can't wait to see what Amelie appears in next.

Marta Von Trapp is played by two young ladies, Orla Donohue and Atia Morrell. Orla I can remember being part of the ensemble of "Oliver" around a year ago.

The youngest of the Von Trapp children is Gretl and is played throughout the week by three young actors, Esmae Rhodes, Lauren Burton and Ella-Louise Rhodes. I think that it was Ella-Louise that took the part on Thursday night, and what a cutie she is. I don't know why it surprises me to find one so young being so confident in front of a full theatre, because there are so many youngsters finding drama in local theatre and being so good at it and not being phased by anything.

Uncle Max Detweiler, is played by Shantanu Bhumbra. Shan seems to be able to morph into any role, and with the help of costume and make up, and Shan's acting skills, as Max, he looks a lot older than he actually is. He carries off this mature role well, his voice sounded good and blends in nicely in the duets he has in this show,

Pippa Ward plays Elsa Schraeder, Von Trapp's short term fiancée. There is a wonderful scene where she breaks off the engagement in front of Von Trapp and Maria, and the withering look she gives Maria is marvellous, showing that Elsa has read the room perfectly on stage. Love the wig as well.

Frau Scmidt, the von Trapp housekeeper, is played by Alison Russell and Franz, the butler is played by Michael Coles.

Louis Chadburn plays Rolf Gruber, the telegram boy who's fallen for Liesl. Everyone knows what a big fan of Louis I am, and in this part he turns from being a lovelorn seventeen year old into a rather nasty Nazi, but we know that Rolf's feelings for Liesl come through at the end, saving the family. Knowing what an absolute gem of a young man Louis is away from the stage, it's really good to see him stretching his acting talents to bring out a darker character.

Vocal wise, I don't really need to express my appreciation for his vocals, but I will. He nails "Sixteen Going On Seventeen". I am looking forward to Louis's first album of musical theatre greats - and just before Louis gets inundated with enquiries about this, there isn't one, but a reviewer can wish can't he?

Rebecca Burgess plays the Mother Abbess for most of the run, but tonight (Thursday) we experienced Lindsey Jaycock. I first saw Lindsey in a musical called "The Legend Of Lady Rock" eight years ago, and instantly became a fan. Lindsey brought the tingles on again with an incredible, powerful rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" which completely raised the roof. I had not realised what a beautifully operatic voice Lindsey has, until tonight. It also goes without saying that her acting ability as the gentle and caring Mother Abbess matches that beautiful voice.

Eloise Lowe plays Sister Sophia, Emily Hudson plays Sister Margaretta and Emma Nicol plays Sister Berthe whose voices harmonised so well in the song "Maria".

The Postulants are Sophie Benner, Olivia Rose Bonham, Hermione Cumbers, Evelyn Johnson and Connie Thomas, who created such a heavenly sound, it was like being in church.

Mark Russell plays Herr Zeller, the enemy of the Captain and the villain of the story! Mark is only in a few scenes but what an impact he made on the audience who booed him when he came on for his final bows. This reaction of course shows that the audience completely believed the villainy provided by Mark.

Another villainous character in this musical is Von Schreiber. An admiral in the Nazi navy, who arrives to collect Captain von Trapp and bring him to Berlin. Played by Joe Pritchard, he also received his fair share of the final bow boos.

The dinner party guests included Barry Hobbs as Baron Elberfield and Barbara Benner as Baroness Elberfield.

The Ensemble are made up of Barbara Benner, James Fleming, Barry Hobbs, Isobel Munden, Arlo Perrons - another young actor to keep an eye on, Joe Pritchard, Mark Russell and Roy Smith.

Directed by Lindsey Jaycock, this musical is a longish one, but it didn't seem to be as long as I was expecting, mainly because of the way this musical is paced; there's no waiting around for anything, which is a tribute to the stage crew as much as Lindsey.

The Stage Crew, under the Stage Managers of Anna Humphrey and Matthew Allcock, are George Wilson, Andrew Burton, Cathy Bodman, Ian Hadlington, Hollie Harvey, Riya Passmore and Louis Barnes-Cupit. The work they have put in meant sure that this show was possibly one of the smoothest flowing shows I've seen at the Arts Theatre.

Choreographed by Daniel Stringer. What I noticed was that there appeared to be more choreographed pieces than I remember from previous productions of this musical. Now, that may be because of the quality of the choreography. I do like a nice tap routine, and there was just enough tap by Louis and Emily-Hope to satisfy my tap fetish. The scene where Von Trapp shows Kurt how to dance with a woman was mesmeric.

Musical Director is Jonah Williams, one of the busiest men in theatre at the moment. I chatted with Jonah in the interval and found that his diary is even more full than mine! I love some of the new arrangements for the songs, especially the "Do Re Mi" sequence. You would think that there was a full orchestra in that pit but you'd be fooled. The sign of an excellent MD is to ensure that the cast hit their marks perfectly and Jonah has obviously worked close with everyone on stage to bring this about.

Someone else who has worked close with the cast is the Vocal Coach Rebecca Burgess. Quite a lot of this musical borders on the operatic scale, and when it doesn't it's the harmonies that come to the fore. Both these areas sound wonderful, again showing a lot of hard work invested by Rebecca and delivered by the cast.

Of late there have been several classic musicals performed around the area; this is another classic musical, and along with that brings a classic soundtrack. "My Favourite Things", "Do Re Mi", "Sixteen Going On Seventeen", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Edelweiss", "Maria", "So Long Farewell" as well as the sweeping title track.

Set Design is marvellous and what I appreciated was the back drop scenic curtains which meant for a swift change of scenes. Scenic Projects have created a realistic group of scenes for this production and they look good.

The costumes are provided by Molly Limpets Costume Hire and really add to a production like this.

Sound Design is by Oliver Read, and while there were a few missed mic cues, and let's face it, there were many bodies on stage with mics to operate, I did expect a few. I've said it before, Sound Operators have to be born part octopus. The sound itself was lovely and clear and on just the right level.

Lighting Design and operation is by Evie Webster; another excellent lighting performance.

"The Sound Of Music" is one of my guilty musical theatre pleasures. The soundtrack is wonderful, this cast are excellent, there's a lovely light and shade in the story, and it deserves the label of "classic". Don't believe me? Go grab yourself a ticket.

"The Sound Of Music" is ringing out at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Saturday 24 February.