The Orpheum Theatre is Alive With The Sound of Music in This Fantastic Production, Highly Recommended!

A strange thing happened as I sat in the theater tonight watching the touring company of The Sound of Music. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, and unlike the typical wave that comes and goes, it stayed with me. I’m not sure my eyes ever fully dried; they just kept leaking. Why was this? There is something about art that affects us in a unique way, particularly those works that are our gateways.

The film version of The Sound of Music was a yearly viewing event in my family’s house. Beginning in 1979, NBC began airing the film yearly, usually in February. I can clearly remember the first time I saw it during the 1979 broadcast. I was seven years old. It wasn’t my first film musical; I’m sure that was The Wizard of Oz, but I honestly don’t think of that as a musical for some odd reason, because clearly it is. But it’s a children’s fantasy first and foremost. The Sound of Music was an adult film, and everything about it moved me profoundly.

For years, I thought the dance between Liesl and Rolf during “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” was the most beautiful dancing I’d ever seen. I think Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, was my first celebrity crush. Little did my seven-year-old brain know that by that time, she wasn’t just nine years older than me, surely a number we could work through, but by the time I saw the film, she was 30 years older than me.

So tonight, I think all of those memories, of staying up way past my bedtime, of falling in love with Liesl, of that wonderful dance, and of all those beautiful songs, flooded back into my heart. I was reminded of that first pure love of a musical, long before I had a critical eye with which to view things. I don’t know that any other musical could have had as deep an impact as this one did. Tonight, I was reminded of all of that, and I think I was weeping for all of the reasons above, but also because I had been reminded of my love of the musical as an art form. These songs are like old friends, and seeing the show felt like coming home.

I think for some, The Sound of Music falls under the heading of shows they know well and think they don’t need to see again. To that, I would simply say: You’ve heard Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell a bunch of times. Does that mean you never need to hear it again? Of course not! And that’s why my fellow bloggers and I go and see shows we’ve already seen productions of, because the great shows are like a favorite album. They are a joy to revisit, and they remind you of who you were when you first saw them. Each production is like hearing something new on a well-known album.

Now, fans of the film who have never seen a stage production may also be surprised by several differences. There are two songs in the stage musical that do not appear in the film. They flesh out the roles of Max and Elsa. Truth be told, they were no real loss from the film. But all the songs you know and love from the film are here, though sometimes not when you expect them to appear. “My Favorite Things,” for example, is sung by Maria and Mother Abbess before Maria leaves the Abbey. Missing from the stage musical is “I Have Confidence,” which was written for the film. Oddly, “Something Good,” which was also written for the film, does appear in this version in place of the original song “An Ordinary Couple.”

The changes are ones we note mentally and then let wash over us. They work where they are, just as they worked in the film, where director Robert Wise and screenwriter Ernest Lehman moved them to. There is very little in this production that doesn’t work. It was not just nostalgia that provoked the reactions I was having; it was also a response to this production.

One of the standout elements is the scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt. Something as simple as following Mother Abbess through the Abbey in the opening is made dynamic by the set pieces that move along with her. The transitions are expertly timed and executed by director Jack O’Brien and the stage management team. There are some gorgeous backdrops, and the final set piece, depicting the grounds of the Abbey and the mountains the von Trapp family escapes Austria by climbing over (which they actually do in the show), is brilliantly designed.

The children are all great, as is Kevin Earley as Captain von Trapp. Ariana Ferch, who plays Liesl, is a standout. She is constantly adding little movements that give the character added awareness and depth. When she first plays the guitar in front of her father, sensing his protest, she moves forward in a way that conveys a new sense of defiance and agency, it’s silent, but it speaks volumes.

Lisa Howard plays Mother Abbess with a stunning voice that brings the theater alive with the sound of music. The real stunner, though, was Sydney K. Borchers as Maria, who is in as the understudy. It’s hard not to think we lucked out in getting the understudy, because it’s hard to imagine anyone playing the role better.

Borchers is absolutely a revelation in the role. This is Maria as we know and love her, but she’s also different. There is a freshness, a youthfulness, possibly even a slightly more modern edge to her. No, “edge” is the wrong word. She is not edgy in the slightest; she is sweet, good, loving, joyful, wise, all of those things, but without any of the cornier aspects those words summon.

I’d love to see this production again while it’s in town, but I’d be worried we wouldn’t have Borchers, and at this moment, I have no desire to see anyone else in that role. She is that good. Watching her, I completely forgot Julie Andrews’ performance, and that is really saying something, as Andrews is so ingrained in my mind as Maria.

There was just one casting choice that was all wrong: Dylan Bradford, who plays Rolf. He is supposed to be 17; Liesl is 16, and Ferch looks like she could easily be 16. I’m sure she is really in her twenties, but she doesn’t look it. Bradford looks 34, and it feels weird and just pulls you right out of the play for a moment. You can cast someone who’s 34, but they need to at least be able to pass for 17-ish.

Fans of The Sound of Music, don’t sit back and let this one come and go. Grab your tickets; you will not be disappointed. If you are a fan of musicals but haven’t ever seen The Sound of Music, it’s a musical you absolutely need to see, and this is probably the best stage version you’ll ever see.

The Sound of Music runs through October 25 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to Hennepin Arts.

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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