The Sound of Music photograph by James Morgan.
The Sound of Music is one of the world’s most loved musicals, both on stage and screen. And what’s not to love? It has a superb Rodgers and Hammerstein score, brilliant songs, a fairytale setting, adorable children and nuns – there’s always something inherently funny about nuns on stage! All this, plus a storyline about courage and determination that is based on real events.
Unfortunately, the huge success of the Julie Andrews film makes it very difficult for any other adaptation to be viewed favourably. The Sound of Music aficionados will be devastated to see that some key scenes have been cut and the placement of songs has been changed. “That’s not right,” they will mutter darkly. And how can anyone compete with the image we all have of Julie Andrews as Maria?
Amy Lehpamer is quite delightful on stage but falls short of this iconic musical theatre role. She clearly has talent as a comic actress but over-plays the gaucheness of the young governess – making Maria seem awkward when she should be endearing. Perhaps director Jeremy Sams could have encouraged a more subtle performance. Vocally, Lehpamer’s skills don’t quite meet the demands of the role. She has a pleasant soprano voice but it never reaches the cut-glass perfection we all expect and is a little dull in the lower register.
Cameron Daddo is also a little inadequate in the role of Captain von Trapp. This is a complex character, a man who is a well-respected naval commander and a principled patriot; he is also a widower struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife. Daddo brings out little of this depth and complexity, playing a more ‘hail fellow well met’ interpretation.
The most significant flaw in this production is the lack of any believable connection between Daddo and Lehpamer. This is partly due to the script giving insufficient time for the requisite emotional development; it’s also a casting problem because we just don’t feel it for these two together. Similarly, this anodyne script virtually eradicates the emotional tension between Baroness Schrader and Maria. It is Baroness Schrader’s venom that sends Maria back to the Abbey in the original story, not just Maria’s shyness and uncertainty about her place in the household.
There are some excellent aspects to this production. The set design by Robert Jones is masterful, especially the first set change from the hills to the abbey and the superb setting for the wedding. The remote-controlled set changes are quick and precise. And the small orchestra does a splendid job in the pit under musical director Luke Hunter.
The show really belongs to the supporting cast. Marina Prior gives Baroness Schrader a worldly elegance and David James is delightful as Uncle Max. Lorraine Bayly is wonderful as the aging housekeeper and John Hannan, as Franz the butler, is always engaging. Stefanie Jones and Du Toit Bredenkamp are charming as Liesl and Rolf, the young lovers torn apart by circumstance. Opera star Jacqueline Dark, playing the pivotal role of Mother Abbess, provides the production’s few spine-tingling moments with her magnificent singing.
Perhaps inevitably, the real stars are the six younger children, played by an alternating cast of local performers. Children can be excruciating in professional productions, but every one of them was superb on opening night. It seems unfair to praise one in particular when they were all so polished, but Anna McAuliffe was totally gorgeous as Gretl, the youngest von Trapp. Full marks to her dance teacher Barbie Jayne, and all the other local coaches and teachers. They were a credit to you!
This is essentially a production for grandmas and children. All the emotional drama has been washed away as has the awful reality of the Nazi invasion and the desperation of the von Trapp family’s bid to escape across the mountains to Switzerland. What’s left is a feel-good show for all the family.
The opening night ended with rousing applause, hearty cheering, and a standing ovation, but sadly, there was no sing-along encore. Is that too much to ask?
The Sound of Music is at the Adelaide Festival Theatre until 4 September. It opens in Perth on 14 September.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The Sound of Music
Presented by Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian, John Frost and The Really Useful Group
Adelaide Cast:
Anna McAuliffe – Gretl
Danika Roach – Marta
Alicia Hammond – Brigitta
Oscar Bridges – Kurt
Jacinda Tsakalos – Louisa
Nathan Stafford – Friedrich
Festival Theatre Adelaide​
