Possibly the world’s most beloved musical, The Sound of Music opened at The Teatro at Montecasino on 5 April. This is an Andrew Lloyd Webber production, and presented in South Africa by Pieter Toerien, David Ian and The Really Useful Group. It features a stellar cast of South African performers, including popular Afrikaans singer Andre Swartz as Captain von Trapp and Bethany Dickson as Maria.
The plot is simple and predictable. But it’s not the plot that has been drawing audiences since the production premiered on Broadway in 1959 – it’s the music. Just about all the songs in The Sound of Music will make any lover of musical theatre melt. It’s 1930s Austria, war is imminent and a young woman called Maria is failing at her attempts to become a nun. She takes a job as a governess and must manage a rebellious bunch of seven siblings whose father runs his home like the naval ship he captained.
The opening scene is green sloping mountainside, with Bethany Dickson performing the production’s namesake. And it is perfect – the Alps, the changing colours of the sky and Dickson’s magnificent and captivating voice; one that certainly does justice to the play’s most well-known song.
And the magic continues. The Von Trapp children are delightful in their performances of ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ (No one will ever tire of the yodelling). Not only do their youthful voices harmonise beautifully, but they also perform with a quirky chemistry that is palpable.
To say that soprano Janelle Visage – who plays Mother Abbess – has a superb voice would be an insult to a performer who is without doubt of an international standard.
Bethany Dickson, known for her performance as Sandy in the South African production of Grease in 2010, cannot be faulted. Her interpretation of the unconventional and steadfast apprentice nun Maria is testament to her all-round talent as actor, singer and dancer.
The set is modest yet sophisticated; moving from hillside to abbey, and to the interior and exterior of the Von Trapp residence. It’s a friendly set; owing to the Teatro’s intimate design and state-of the-art facilities, which are – among other things – acoustically designed for large-scale music productions. The theatre is big enough to be a first-rate venue, but it is cosy too.
A little known fact, for people of my generation anyway, is that The Sound of Music is based on true events. Maria and the Von Trapp family did exist; and they did sing a whole lot; eventually calling themselves the ‘Trapp Family Choir’ – as they do in the play; which was also made into a film in 1965, starring Julie Andrews as Maria.
Go see the play. It’s wonderful and I loved almost every moment; barring a few when I struggled to make sense of Janelle Visage’ words. But her singing voice makes up for it; and she doesn’t speak a lot, so not to worry.
The Sound of Music is currently running at the Teatro at Montecasino until 8 June.
