The Sound of Music coming to town
Ben McDonald has always liked growing things. He says he could have worked in a plant nursery.
The backyard of his large North Canterbury section is impressive, but for McDonald, gardening is just a hobby.
Instead, he’s spent his career growing a theatre company. Ben McDonald Ltd occupies a pretty unique spot in New Zealand’s theatre landscape; it’s the only professional company that doesn’t rely on public money or corporate sponsorships.
This month, McDonald’s company launched into touring the biggest show it’s ever done: the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
On its nationwide tour, the production, directed by Geraldine Brophy, will play in 23 theatres across the length of the country, coming to New Plymouth on October 14.
That packed schedule is typical for McDonald’s productions. To make any money, he needs to play as many places as possible.
‘‘Nobody does what we do. It’s a pretty relentless schedule, because it has to be. We don’t get funding, we make our money from what comes through the door,’’ McDonald says.
He has been putting on shows since he was 16, when he started a theatre company as part of his school’s young enterprise scheme. Since then, it’s all he’s done.
Musicals are his bread and butter: HMS Pinafore, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Grease and others. The day after Sound of Music finishes its run, rehearsals begin on Saturday Night Fever.
The thing about musicals is they’re crowd-pleasers, he says.
‘‘I like to think what we’re doing with our Sound of Music, it’s quite an original production. The set is original, the costumes are original, it doesn’t look like the film, and yet it still has enough of the film in it for people to recognise it.
‘‘We don’t mess around with it, we’re not suddenly setting it in France . ... But I feel like we’ve got artists that are adding their flavour and their ideas and their creativity to it.’’
For Sound of Music, some of those artists were a shade younger than those McDonald usually takes on. His company auditioned more than 300 young actors to play the Von Trapp children. The 10 who were chosen will be divided into two sets to play alternating nights. Like everyone else involved with the production, they’re paid a full wage.
‘‘What I’m really proud of is that we don’t ask anyone to give their time for nothing,’’ McDonald says. ‘‘I couldn’t in all conscience live in this beautiful house, which we bought from our career, and go on holiday whenever I’ve got the chance, if I knew I’d made that money from doing shows where everybody was doing it for free.’’
There’s even some money left in the kitty for worthy causes.
On a family trip to Cambodia, McDonald chanced upon the Phare Ponleu Selpak school – a free public school with an emphasis on vocational training for the performing arts. His family attended one of the school’s circus performances and were blown away.
A portion of Sound of Music tickets sales will be donated to the school.
‘‘They’re show folk, like us,’’ McDonald says.
The Sound of Music will play the TSB Showplace at 3pm and 7pm.