The Sound of Music (14/06/11, Leeds Grand)

A number of years ago I was coerced by an ex into being an extra in an amateur dramatic production of The Sound of Music in which he was playing Rolf (or as I spell it in my head, Muppet-style, Rowlf). I got to wear a tux and watch the Von Trapp children sing So Long, Farewell, and later, dressed as a Nazi, I got to run around the auditorium blowing my whistle and flashing my torch, searching for the Von Trapps after the second So Long, Farewell. Other than knowing that particular song quite well I have never seen the film or actually watched the stage show all the way through ever since then. Until last week. 

I have to say that I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed the show, it was funny, full of great songs (nearly all of which I know in some form or other) and there was a really positive feel to the whole thing. I also like the adult themes and the dark side of the story, set against the Nazi takeover of Austria, in the shadow of WW2, where Captain Von Trapp is so crushed at the death of his wife he shuts out his children and music. It's really quite tragic, but then Verity Rushworth's perky Maria Rainer comes on the scene suddenly everything doesn't look quite so bleak. 

My favourite songs were those sung by the children and the nuns, the group numbers. The children were very cute, and the nuns had great voices, particularly Mother Abbess (Marilyn Hill Smith) who knocked everyone else flat with her operatic Climb Ev'ry Mountain to close Act One. The big-name draw of the musical was Jason Donovan, playing the role of father of 7 Captain Von Trapp. It's a curious choice of role, particularly coming off the back of the extravagant Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and one which he pulled off well, acting wise. In terms of singing, Donovan did not really have a strong voice, he sounded fairly weak in comparison to Rushworth and co, but then he only gets about 2 and a half songs, so the addition of a big name in this part seems odd. It's for these reasons that we didn't hang around for an autograph afterwards! After seeing the stage show I'd be happy now to visit the classic movie - I think a great enough distance of time has passed since my Nazi days.