The Sound of Music is alive at Solaire

The Sound of Music will be playing at The Theatre in Solaire starting Sept. 27 until Oct. 15. Concertus Manila which with Lunchbox Productions put up the touring production of West Side Story in Manila some weeks ago is also bringing the iconic Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical to town. I say Concertus must be on a warhorse kick these days and I am so glad. Theater need not always be hip and trendy to be entertaining. It always pays to see what went before so I say it is about time that today’s young people get the chance to watch these time-tested, much-loved musicals live.

The Sound of Music is over 50 years old. In fact, it first opened on Broadway in 1959.  So calendar-wise, it is indeed as old as the hills. But what beautiful hills those are, so tuneful and so alive with the sound of music, of course. The Sound of Music is simple, even understated compared to the newer musicals. No fireworks here, just plain human drama based on real life and played out with a crisply written script by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crousse and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most hit-filled score.

Composer Rodgers and lyricist Hammerstein were the box-office kings of Broadway for many years. They worked together on landmark musicals like Oklahoma! Carousel, South Pacific, The King And I and Flower Drum Song. The Sound of Music was their last collaboration. Hammerstein died after the opening. It is based on the memoir of Maria Von Trapp, the governess who ended up marrying the Captain Von Trapp and starting the world-renowned to this day, Von Trapp Family Singers.  And it is the duo’s most hit-filled musical.

Just like anything that involves music, the success of a musical is measured not only in ticket sales but in the number of hit songs. And the bigger these songs are, the better. The Phantom of the Opera has The Music Of The Night and All I Ask Of You. Miss Saigon has Movie On My Mind and The Last Night Of The World. Les Miserables has I Dreamed A Dream and On My Own, You’ll Never Walk Alone came from Carousel. I recall only Defying Gravity from Wicked. 

The Sound Of Music though has a really long list and thanks to the movie version that starred Julie Andrews, these songs are very familiar to us Pinoys. Everybody out here, even non-music lovers know the exhilarating Do Re Mi. That came from The Sound of Music. So did Climb Every Mountain, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria, My Favorite Things, Sixteen Going On Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd, So Long Farewell and Edelweiss. The latter was the last song that Hammerstein wrote lyrics to before his death.  It became so popular and so loved in Austria where the story is set that it is now considered the unofficial national anthem.

All of these songs plus a few more will be performed by the talented cast of the London West End Production at The Theatre to tell one of the most heartwarming stories ever put on stage. Set in 1938, it tells of Captain Von Trapp, a widower who hired a governess to take care of his seven children. The girl who got the job was Maria, a postulant in a nearby abbey. The playful, spirited Maria brought the gift of music to the tightly regimented home and joy to the unhappy kids. Maria and the Captain, fell in love, got married and were soon crossing the Alps with their family to escape the Nazis. 

I told you, it is really quite simple but when played out with the superb script and the famous songs, The Sound of Music is a treat for all ages. It is a sweet love story and a family drama spiced with suspense and cute singing children, which in this production will be portrayed by talented Filipino kids. Remember, Raymond Lauchengco and Lea Salonga were once kids in The Sound of Music.  Donna Cruz was once a Liesl. For all you know, you might be present in the debut of a future star when you come to watch.

Playing the role of Maria is Carmen Pretorious, a young star of the stage and the screen who comes from South Africa and who has toured extensively in various musicals.  Carmen herself started out in The Sound of Music as Liesl and now makes a pretty Maria with a silver voice.