London Evening Standard - SOM Review

LONDON EVENING STANDARD REVIEW (4*)
HENRY HITCHINGS

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s much-loved operetta about nuns and Nazis pulses with vitality in this crowd-pleasing staging at the Open Air Theatre. With its perennial cult status and panoply of memorable songs, it looks a sure-fire hit.

There may not be many hills in Regent’s Park, but the shrubbery is alive with the sound of music. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s much-loved operetta about nuns and Nazis pulses with vitality in this crowd-pleasing staging at the Open Air Theatre. And the intrusion of a little unseasonal rain and thunder only helps conjure the Alpine atmosphere.

It’s impossible to think of The Sound of Music without recalling the film —  above all Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as the widowed Captain von Trapp, to whose seven children she becomes nanny. Here those roles belong to Charlotte Wakefield and Michael Xavier, both somewhat younger than one might expect (Wakefield is just 22), and though they can’t eclipse the memory of their famous predecessors they are tremendously good.

Xavier brings a lovely understated poignancy to the Captain’s transformation from rigid patriarch into affectionate father. Wakefield has a perky likeability, obvious as early as the opening scene when she scurries through the audience. Her brisk physicality is matched by a bright soprano voice, and at times she positively glows.

Rachel Kavanaugh’s buoyant production is respectful rather than radical, albeit with smart touches of wit and some new musical settings. Although the staging could be bolder, it’s appealing. The cute performers playing the von Trapp children have been impressively drilled: 18 actors in all will cover six roles, with Faye Brookes the one constant as eldest child Liesl.

There are a few camp moments, some cloying ones and an occasional note of competent blandness, but there are also many pleasures. Peter McKintosh’s romantic set and costumes are highly effective, and Alistair David’s choreography is sharp. Helen Hobson, as the Mother Abbess, radiates a surprising warmth and sings Climb Ev’ry Mountain stirringly. Caroline Keiff makes a strong impression as the Captain’s joyless love interest Elsa Schraeder, and Michael Matus lends a welcome comedy to the role of pushy music promoter Max Detweiler. Of course The Sound of Music is an acquired taste, no more likely to inspire universal delight than Maria’s “favourite things” — including  such dubious treats as doorbells and schnitzel with noodles. But its sugar-coated charms are successfully realised here. With its perennial cult status and panoply of memorable songs, it looks a sure-fire hit.