Theatre review: A handsome, wholesome Sound of Music
Credit to Author: Jerry Wasserman| Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2019 19:16:14 +0000
The Sound of Music
When: To Jan. 5
Where: Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
Tickets: From $39, artsclub.com
First, a confession: The book and songs of The Sound of Music are not a few of my favourite things. I know, it’s a beloved classic. I’m just sayin’.
It’s a strong story. Spunky governess comes into sorry rich guy’s household, seduces him and his kids with her music and good vibes, then leads their escape from the Nazis. But everything in Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s book is so perfunctory. Nearly every plot obstacle is overcome with almost no resistance.
Rodgers and Hammerstein were no slouches. You do leave the theatre humming those key tunes: Do-Re-Mi, My Favorite Things. But dare I say the music as a whole has started to feel old-fashioned and treacly. This is a 1950s musical set in 1930s Austria.
Still, Ashlie Corcoran’s Arts Club production is enjoyable, frequently fun and visually a treat. The voices are excellent, often spectacular. Synthia Yusuf’s energetic Maria and the seven cute kids hold the stage, and some secondary characters are refreshingly dynamic.
The opening scene in the abbey features beautiful harmonies as the nuns sing in Latin amid the first of Drew Facey’s handsome, monumental sets (he also designed the sumptuous costumes) and Itai Erdal’s sharp lighting. Credit musical director Ken Cormier, his six-piece orchestra and Chris Daniels’ crystalline sound design along with the great voices, especially Annie Ramos as the Mother Abbess, whose powerful operatic soprano ends both acts with the anthemic Climb Ev’ry Mountain.
Synthia Yusuf as Maria.
Both the Abbess and novice Maria are so consistently nice they could be Canadian. When Maria leaves the nunnery to be governess for Captain von Trapp (Jonathan Winsby), who demands regimented discipline from his children, there should be fireworks. But within moments Maria has the children singing and playing, and von Trapp gives in almost as quickly. Yusuf’s lovely, relaxed soprano is particularly impressive yodelling The Lonely Goatherd.
The kids are sweet, especially Georgia Acken’s Brigitta, Xandrie Umandal’s Kurt, and delicious Naomi Tan as little Gretl. The oldest, Liesl (Jolene Berbardino), has a romance with neighbour Rolf (Jason Sakaki), a sort-of good Nazi. The two of them shine in Sixteen Going on Seventeen, despite the sexist lyrics. Their lithe dancing is choreographer Shelley Stewart Hunt’s best opportunity to do her thing.
The other side-plot involves von Trapp’s classy, pragmatic fiancée Elsa (Meghan Gardiner) and his impresario friend Max (Andrew Cownden). Along with the precocious kids, funny Cownden provides the comic relief. The Elsa-Max-Captain trio does a great job with two of the show’s lesser-known, livelier songs, How Can Love Survive and No Way to Stop It.
When the Captain’s anti-Nazi sentiments cause Elsa to leave him, Maria slides right in. Winsby’s rich baritone is a welcome addition to the vocals, though his Captain has little more chemistry with Maria than he had with Elsa.
This is family entertainment for the holidays, as wholesome as it gets.
A sad footnote: John Mann died on Wednesday, much too young. He did some of his best work on the Stanley stage in Cabaret, Miss Saigon and Les Miz. A huge talent and a sweet man, he will be dearly missed.