No problem with Maria
The Sound Of Music Bord Gais Energy Theatre Until February 1 Verdict: Still among our favourite things
IT’S part of the soundtrack to our youth — further proven by the fact that though I didn’t see the film until I was in my late teens, I already knew many of the songs.
The Sound of Music is one of those shows that grew bigger than the stage and infiltrated popular culture — helped, of course, by the success of the Hollywood version.
Rodgers & Hammerstein devised some of the most memorable songs in musical theatre history, among them My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi and, of course, the title track.
Of course, the story is one that’s well told — postulant Maria goes to work as a governess for for the children of a widower, the very strict Austrian Navy Captain Georg von Trapp who runs his home like a barracks.
While the relationship between Maria and Georg is essential to the storyline, the vital connection in this musical is the one between Maria and the children. And in this version it’s magical.
Emilie Fleming is utterly perfect as Maria, while the children all have the requisite levels of talent and cuteness. Nicole Farrar is particularly standout as Liesl. The chemistry between the whole group of them is captivating.
Andrew Lancel as Georg is strong as a man torn between Frau Schraeder, a woman who can greatly advance his business interests, and Maria, a woman who is clearly the better choice for the happiness of his children.
Special mention must go to Howard Samuels as Max Detweiler, who brings most of the comic input, and Megan Llewellyn as Mother Abbess, whose version of Climb Ev’ry Mountain brought the audience to its feet.
Clelia Murphy (above) also revelled in the role of Elsa Schraeder, playing the snooty baroness to perfection. Though a story that most of us have seen and heard dozens of times, The Sound of Music has the ability to entertain over and over again. The hills are very much alive.