Theater review: The Sound of Music

by Richard Goulde of John Garcia's The Column

Superb singing isn't enough to save this show. I walked out of the show feeling dismayed. It was a foray into unfamiliar territory for me: my first time for both the Garland Summer Musicals and The Sound of Music (now showing at the Patty Granville Arts Center). Yes, somehow, amazingly, I've managed never to see either the movie or the stage version, although it's impossible not to know the music of a show that has so thoroughly seeped into popular culture.

I had heard wonderful things about both the theater and musical. Indeed, the Garland Summer Musicals are housed in a lovely arts complex across the street from a DART rail station, and it offers all the features and amenities of a first class theater. But, if I am to judge by this performance, it doesn't seem to have shed the pervasive unevenness of a local community theater. This may have something to do with the fact that GSM combines professional and educational theater, but I nevertheless found it jarring.

The Sound of Music follows the musical journey of an Austrian family who, in 1938, are facing imminent invasion of their country by Nazi Germany. The patriarch of the household, Captain Georg von Trapp (Jay Taylor), is an aloof and cold man until he meets Mary Poppins, um, I mean Maria (Nikki Andoga). Maria has agreed to serve as governess to the Captain's unruly children.

The first act merely hints at the threat from Germany. The Captain is a patriot of Austria and fiercely anti-Nazi. For the first act, however, his role is mostly to court aristocratic Elsa Schraeder (Elise Libbers) while simultaneously falling in love with Maria. What's a Captain to do?

Sing, apparently.

The music is superb, although I could have done without hearing practically every song twice. Every other aspect of the performance is inconsistent, ranging from excellent to poor.

So let's start with the music. Kudos to the orchestra for a marvelous job. Several of the cast members also offer tremendous talent. Lead Nikki Andoga (Maria) and Kristin Spires (The Mother Abbess) have gorgeous voices, and Jay Taylor's deep, rich tones were silky smooth. Jason Bias (Rolf Gruber) also handles the song "Sixteen Going On Seventeen," which can be tricky for the male role, with commendable aplomb. The entire cast just sounds delightful with every catchy, upbeat, well-known song.

If we left the show at that, I'd tell you to drop everything and go see this at once.

However, for any performance to truly shine, it must exceed the sum of its parts. It must bring all its disparate aspects – sound, visuals, acting, staging, direction – into alignment so that each element dances nimbly with every other.

The show does not succeed in this regard. Unevenness in virtually every aspect of the performance undermines it from the first act until the final number.

The most glaring issue is sound. People speak at different volumes at different times, and it's clearly thanks to some technical issue with the microphones or sound booth. During the second act, the actors keep bumping into one another's microphones, and two or three times the sound would fade for a split second before coming back.

Thankfully, the songs aren't impacted quite as much as the dialogue, but they suffer as well. Sometimes the songs are clear and crisp; at other times, I can barely make out what's being said. And from time to time, it's like the singers are battling the orchestra for dominance. It's not too bad, but it detracts from the experience.

The specific performances are also inconsistent, ranging from very good to barely passable. (Again, this may have something to do with throwing theater students in with professionals. )

Still, it's strange to watch one performer bring his or her role to life, while engaging in a dialogue with someone who is merely reading lines. For their performances, I would commend the leads and all seven children – Liesl (Emily Hawkins), Friedrich (Cayman Mitchell), Louisa (Meagan Hullett), Kurt (Luke MacKinnon), Brigitta (Nicole Tompkins), Marta (Kendall Tubbs) and Gretl (Jennifer Andrews) – who are all quite charming on stage.

However, I was not altogether impressed how the children were used in the show, but that's an artifact of awkward pacing, not the children themselves. During the first act, a lengthy scene of dialogue and song would be followed by a brief bit, mostly using the children, included solely to elicit some audience laughter. Repeat. I wouldn't mind – the comedy is handled adroitly, mostly – except that it throws off the overall rhythm of the show. This production needs a snappier pace.

There is no doubt The Sound of Music is a particularly challenging play for a director: an enormous cast, tons of set and costume changes, complicated music, seven children and (at the GSM, at any rate) neophyte actors mixed in with the pros. I'm sure director Buff Shurr could have wished only for an animal or two to be included to make his directing life complete. Nevertheless, this is a long story, and if he can't keep his actors absolutely on top of their lines and cues, the potential for the play to start dragging multiplies. And unfortunately, that's exactly what happens. I alternated between periods of being entranced by the music and humor, and periods where I found my thoughts drifting.

It was worse during the second act. If I had left the theater after the first, I'd say the show suffered from some minor inconsistencies, but overall offered an enjoyable experience.

Alas.

The performance sacrifices the story at the altar of the music. The political undercurrent bubbling under the surface of the first act erupts in the second, but it all flies by in fast-forward. The narrative depth is shallow at best, the songs aren't as much fun and we listen through several reprises (my own reprise: again, did they really have to sing practically every song twice?). The second act stalls the show.

I must emphasize this is not entirely this production's fault. Some of my comments are directed at the way in which the story was adapted for the stage. Nevertheless, a snappier pace in the first act, and more drama and better acting in the second, would have helped enormously.

I can understand a political story in an otherwise good-natured musical playing second fiddle to the more mundane but also more universal drama of the human heart. Still, even that plot gets short-thrift in the second act, which is more like a succession of songs interspersed with some barely functional plot points. It doesn't help that the minor characters in Act Two don't have much (any) depth. I kept expecting the one-note villains to start twirling their mustaches at any minute.

But then, that's me: Always looking for depth and provocative questions in my theater. That didn't seem to be the goal of my fellow attendees, many of whom were happily humming or singing to themselves along with the music. (This is not a sing-along, though. Not intentionally, anyway).

The story aims more for Life is Beautiful with Roberto Benigni than The Great Escape: no matter what political or social winds whip around us, life goes on. We keep to family, follow the currents of our hearts, and do the best we can in the face of trial and tumult.

While I can appreciate the value of "My Favorite Things" when you're forced to flee home and country (as the von Trapp family must, after the Nazis try to recruit Captain von Trapp into their navy), I wish I had heard just a tad less song, and seen a bit more of the incredible drama this real-life family had to endure. I don't even mean the life-and-death flight portrayed in the show. I wish the show had paid more service to the sheer character and strength of conviction it requires to say "No" in the face of overwhelming peer pressure, captivity and even death. Couldn't they have done a song about that?

I suppose Rodgers and Hammerstein didn't think that would sell. And unfortunately, real-life Maria von Trapp sold all rights to a German film company, so she could exercise no legal influence. She seems to have been fairly satisfied with Hollywood-ization of the story, however. (1)

Speaking of the production aspects, set designers Kelly Cox and Rodney Dobbs really put on their creative hats for the show, and they do a good job of providing scenery for a multitude of different sets. The house set in particular is lavish, gorgeous and takes maximum advantage of the stage. The other sets are less impressive but serve their purpose ably. The scene changes proceed quickly and gracefully, and some of the costume changes happen impressively fast. Kudos also to stage manager Vivienne McNeny.

On the whole, you will enjoy this performance if you just love the songs. If you are one who would be humming under your breath (or wanting to), by all means, check it out. The high caliber of the music and singers will appeal to you. But for everything else, keep your expectations low.

(1) "Meet the Real Maria von Trapp," The CBC Digital Archives Website, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 29 May 2008. http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/music/clips/15252/ (retrieved 15 June 2009).