Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
It’s time to climb ev’ry mountain
‘Sound of Music’ on in city
THE hills will certainly be alive with the sound of music in the city next month.
The musical, The Sound of Music, arguably the world’s most popular, opens on May 6 in Cape Town. With words and music by Rogers and Hammerstein ( Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I), and written by Howard Lindsay and Richard Crouse, this evergreen classic burst on to Broadway in 1959 with record-breaking advance ticket sales.
It went on to win eight Tony Awards – including Best Musical.
Two years later, it opened in London and became the longest-running American musical of its generation.
Most people are familiar with the 1965 classic film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
It scooped five Oscars, including Best Picture, and became the highest-grossing film in history. With the turn of the century, The Sound of Music continued to win fans with major productions around the world.
It opened to full houses at the Wales Millennium Centre in July 2009, following a record-breaking 954 performances at the London Palladium, where more than two million people were enchanted by its universal story of love, loyalty and family values.
The musical tells the story of the Von Trapp family’s flight across the mountains from Austria, and includes some of the most memorable songs performed on the musical stage: My Favourite Things, Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, and The Sound of Music.
The latest production is presented by Pieter Toerien, David Ian and The Really Useful Group and features an all-star South African cast back from international tour. Andre Schwartz is Captain von Trapp while Maria is performed by Carmen Pretorius.
“Amazing”, “a triumph” are just a few of its rave reviews. It’s on at the Artscape until May 27 and bookings are through Computicket.