Reviewed 6/9/05
Few musicals polarize an audience quite so strongly as Rodgers and Hammerstein's final commercial success The Sound of Music . As opposed to the intellectual rending of audiences of a Sondheim or Finn, the two camps on this show are divided by sugar tolerance. These days, a production of the musical lives on its linkage to the wildly successful 1965 movie and can always depend on an audience full of children brought by parents with fond memories from when they were their kids' ages. Broadway Palm West knows their audience, but while they cater to the kiddy set with a menu that includes chicken strips and mac and cheese, Director M. Seth Reines has deviated from the formula in casting in a few specific circumstances to negative effect. This is an evening where most of the performances are great, especially the kids, but key players are allowed to make their own unique choices that range from annoying to despicable.
At the heart of these changes is the casting of the talented Lee Anne Payne in the role Maria. Payne is a triple threat as evidenced in her wonderful portrayal of the title role in Broadway Palm's recent production of Annie Get Your Gun , but she is much too cornpone in her offering of Maria. She sings sweetly and spins around the stage in the classic image lifted by Reines and choreographer Marie Jagger-Taylor's from the original, but it's like someone dropped Nellie Forbush from Rodger's and Hammerstein's other classic, South Pacific , into the middle of the Austrian Alps. She's as corny as Kansas in August and too old for the role, too. Historically, this is a musical that always errs on the side of a too-old Maria, despite the original May/December pairing of a twenty-two year old with the elder Captain, but here Payne just looks wrong, even next to the more age appropriate (and wonderfully performed) Captain ( Kelly King ). While this miscasting is not really the fault of Payne, there is no excuse for the performance of Amanda Morgan as the Captain's other paramour, Elsa Schraeder. Morgan turns Elsa into the bastard daughter of Miss Piggy and Jennifer Tilly with her rolling eyes, annoyingly inappropriate tittering, and mugging. She morphs this sophisticated character into a villainess straight from a Disney cartoon.
Aside from these two missteps, the show is full of strong and often wonderful performances. The best of the adults is King's stodgy Captain. His character movement from ship's tyrant to loving husband and father is strongly portrayed, and he's also a wonderful singer. Kathlen Ruhleder's crystal soprano is a highlight as she belts the show's anthem "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." Rob Watson's Max is a charmingly slimy offering.
This production soars on the Von Trapp children, though, and
the Red Company of the dual cast show is spectacular. Nathalie Wisdom's Liesl
is sweet without being cloying, and her dance with Ricky Oliver's Rolf
is a treat. In fact, Oliver's presentation is one of the best and most believable
I've ever seen for this oft-overplayed role. Taylor's choreography
for their moment is nicely conceived and well performed. Oliver pulls off the
impossible by creating a palpable spark in his dealings with Wisdom. Rachel
Waite's Brigitta is cutely aggressive and Sarah Wantland's Gretl
is one of the best performed I've seen. Kyle Spishock , Lindsay
Wantland's Adam Moffitt , and Katja Smeltzer are
excellent at Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, and Marta.
Rob McKercher's set is functional with few flourishes, and Russell A. Thompson's lighting is passable with one very cool effect later in the show. Mary Atkinson's costumes are at least solid and in the case of the Captain's garments, excellent. On opening night, Chris Kockler's run was full of technical gaffes in lighting and sound cues that should hopefully smooth out. JR McAlexander's orchestra is strong.
I was presented with the option on Friday night of my fifth viewing of the tour of Phantom of the Opera and my umpteenth observation of a musical in which my mother spent a summer as the Mother Abbess. To me, it was a choice between a falling chandelier and free dinner. With a few exceptions, I'm very glad I made the choice that I did.
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