MOUNTAIN PLAY: The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rogers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Suggested by”The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp. Directed by Jay Manley. Musical direction by Debra Chambliss. Choreography by Dottie Lester-White. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mt. Tamalpais, Mill Valley, CA. 415-383-1100 or www.MountainPlay.org. 2013 Season Performance Dates: May 19, May 26, June 2, June 8 (Saturday)June 9 and June 16. All shows start at 2:00 pm.
Would you believe that the Mountain Play has reached its 100th birthday? Believe it and selecting The Sound of Music for this momentous occasion was perfect since the first song after the liturgical “Preludium” sung by the nuns of the Abbey and the Brothers of the Monastery, the opening number fills the amphitheatre with lyrics including “the hills are alive with the sound of music.” Award winning director Jay Manley who is making his debut on the mountain has cleverly directed the heroine Maria to sing those lyrics as she descends the stairs from the rear of the 3500 seat amphitheater 2000 feet up on Mt. Tamalpais on a beautiful sunny day.
The always imaginative Jay Manley has taken liberties with the script adding a group of Benedictine Brothers. He also writes: “And for this production of The Sound of Music, we have interpolated two songs written especially for the film version, and retained a couple from the original stage musical that may be unfamiliar to your ears. With these and other touches, I hope we are putting a fresh face on this musical classic.”
This Mountain Play version certainly has a fresh face with an excellent cast performing on a marvelous set with rotating sections that keep the time intervals between scenes to a minimum. This is set designer Ken Roland’s 26th year with the Mountain Play and he has come up with another beauty.
Most of you must be familiar the musical story of vivacious Maria (Heather Buck), a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey who does not seem to be cut out for a life as a nun in 1938 Austria. The Mother Abbess (Hope Briggs) sends Maria out to experience the outside world before committing her vows. She becomes the governess to the seven von Trapp children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp (Ryan Drummond). He has regimented the children but their shenanigans have driven away previous governesses. Marie wins them over teaching them to appreciate music starting with the charming “Do-Re-Mi.” In doing so, love blooms between the Captain and Maria that eventually leads to marriage. All this happens when Nazi Germany is taking over Austria prior to WW II. The Captain politically disagrees with Nazism and is forced to abandon his homeland with his wife and children.
Heather Buck as Maria is a joy to observe and her strong yet dulcet toned singing voice is pitched perfect. Ryan Drummond conveys the stern nature of the Captain and his voice almost matches the quality of Heather Buck. Hope Brigg’s powerful operatic voice brings down the house with her rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” at the end of act one. It was W.C. Fields that warned against playing on stage opposite children. That dictum may hold true since the seven von Trapp children from sixteen year old Liesl (Emily Libresco) down to the diminutive Gretl (Elana Gnatek)hold their own (and even steal a scene or two) with the adults. In the Broadway production the entire children’s cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two children were boys. They earn a Tony in this year’s Mountain Play.
L to R: Elena Gnatek (Gretl von Trapp), Brigid O’Brien (Marta von Trapp), Claire Lentz (Brigitta von Trapp), August Mesarchik (Kurt von Trapp), Jenna Herz (Louisa von Trapp), Dillon DeVille (Friedrich von Trapp), Emily Libresco (Liesl von Trapp), and Heather Buck (Maria Rainer).
There are many accolades to shower on this production of The Sound of Music from the terrific score beginning with the title and continuing with “Maria”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “My Favorite Things”, “How Can Love Survive?” “So Long, Farewell”, “The Lonely Goatherd” and “Edelweiss” that has almost become the national anthem of Austria!
All that beautifully directed music (Debra Chambliss) is complimented by the multiple costumes (Patricia Polen) and energetic choreography (Dottie Lester-White). At the risk of overusing a cliché, the air on top of Mt Talamapias is filled with music. Grab the kids, pack a lunch and “climb the mountain.” Running time about 2 hours and 30 minutes including the 20 minute intermission. (Top photo by www.cynthiapepper.com. Lower photo by Robin and Chelsea McNally)
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
