Pinoy kids ‘No. 1’ reason to watch Sound of Music

MANILA, Philippines — The Filipino child actors are the “No. 1” reason why The Sound of Music, now playing at The Theatre at Solaire, is a must watch. That’s no less according to the foreign lead stars of the international touring production that runs until Oct. 22.

The show, which takes after the London production, is topbilled by UK theater veteran Nicholas Maude and South African soap/musical theater star Carmen Pretorious.

“I would say that the Filipino children on stage as the most (if not) No. 1 reason you should come to the show… These are the future stars of this country; these are the next Lea Salonga. We’re so excited to be working with the local kids and they are so talented. We were struck by (their talent) when we first heard them. I was really just blown away,” said Carmen in an interview for The STAR.

The 18 kids alternately play as the seven children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp who will make life hell for their new governess Maria, who is on a (forced) break from her plans to enter the nunnery. The kids will eventually grow close to Maria, whose relationship at the same time with the stoic, stern captain will turn romantic.

With music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, Sound of Music originated as a musical in 1959 before it was immortalized in the Hollywood version starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in 1965.

Needless to say, Carmen and Nick as Maria and Captain Von Trapp, respectively, are a primary draw for the Manila show, bringing in their flair and expertise honed by a multitude of theater as well as TV and film experiences.

In a backgrounder furnished by show producer Concertus Manila, Carmen has performed a variety of theater roles that brought her from South Africa to Singapore, Turkey, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China. She has essayed the role of Liesl, the eldest of the Von Trapp children, and of course, the lead Maria. She also has worked as a TV presenter, soap star and film actress.

According to his IMDB profile, Nick graduated from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1992 and has performed mainly within the musical theater scene on both London’s West End and regional tours for such productions as Tess of the D’urbervilles, The Phantom of the Opera, The Bodyguard and of course, The Sound of Music. He has also acted in Netflix’s War Machine, BBC’s Doctors and 20th Century Fox’s 24 – Live Another Day.

How they both ended up as professional theater actors shows that talent isn’t enough — hard work, perseverance and providence will also take you far in your career. “I can share some of my (earlier) reviews because they’re awful. I first did Raoul in Phantom of the Opera and my review was nothing special really. It was written by a fan of one of the Phantoms because with Phantom you get fanatical fans and they just came to see Richard Halton play Phantom. ‘Richard is amazing, he’s the best ever Phantom. Nicholas, nothing special really. ’ Yes they said it, you can google it. It’s still online (laughs). I’m looking for some good reviews here (laughs),” he joked.

Turning (a little bit) serious, Nick further shared, “Acting was always something I knew I wanted to do because when I was at school, I wanted to study hard and do my A-levels to get to university. But I was good at acting and for some reason, all my teachers encouraged me to do all the school plays. I wanted to try to pass my exams, but clearly they realized that it’s not where my talent lied (laughs). I then went to drama school then from drama school, I went into the world of acting.”

As for Carmen, she started really early. “I just started singing and performing for family when I was about two or three years old. I always say that this career chooses you, you don’t choose it. It chose me. I started training dance and danced! That was how I basically fell into it (acting). When I got into high school, I wanted to be a singer, a pop star and in high school, the only way I could sing was to be in a musical... I auditioned for it and I got a singing role for a leading part. I was actually singing backstage for the actual person who was cast because I was a singer, but they were already (cast) and they were good actors, so I was singing for them backstage (laughs). This was in my first year in high school, I was 14, I worked my way up and here I am today.”

Both Nick and Carmen consider taking on such iconic characters as Capt. Von Trapp and Maria as a huge responsibility.   

The 18 Filipino kids cast as the Von Trapp children

 “I feel a sense of responsibility, obviously, it’s much weight on my shoulders being cast as Maria. Julie Andrews is very well known for the role in the movie, and she’s a very iconic singer that whoever hears the Sound of Music, almost always equates it to Julie Andrews. So, there’s a certain part of her that will always be a pressure to translate. But our director (Frank Thompson) always encourages us to be very truthful to ourselves,” said Carmen.

“It’s a dream to be a lead in a show. Very few are able to get it. When you get it, it’s a big responsibility, it’s one of those crazy things that you always want or want the most and when you get it, whoa!” added Nick. “It’s a lot of hard work. But it’s a job that I thoroughly love. It’s something you’d want to do well.”

Nick revealed that he didn’t see the movie version until he first got to be Capt. Von Trapp in the London production in 2006. “So, I’ve managed to avoid the Julie Andrews-Christopher Plummer power but I watched (the movie) for some kind of reference so I knew what I was doing. Christopher Plummer is so perfect for the role. There’s no point in trying to copy that or emulate that? I think when you’re given the role, you try to put your own interpretation of the character on,” Nick said.

“So, I never felt pressured that the audience are gonna come and not experience Christopher Plummer or Julie Andrews. They’re going to experience Carmen and Nicholas putting their interpretation into these characters. Every person who’s gonna play the role is gonna be different. Every embodiment of the show is unique. The audience will come with a familiarity of what to expect. The show itself I think would be fresh and exciting. As an actor, it’s a joy to play the roles.”

For the actors, the nearly 60-year-old musical — which was adapted from the 1949 memoir written by the real Maria Von Trapp titled The Story of the Trapp Family Singers about how the family escaped the Nazis — continues to be relevant nowadays.

“I think it is so relevant because the themes of love, music and nature, young people looking for direction in life, finding your purpose, finding your destiny, and war, struggle, strife, all those things are gonna exist as part of humanity. It’s a story that very cleverly exposes those themes. That’s why it’s so timeless and universal,” said Carmen.

 Added Nick, “The story works in any setting. It’s a story you can relate to: an old guy who lost his wife who has become emotionally detached and well yeah, (falls for a younger woman). It’s a fascinating story and times were difficult. When I looked at the history, it was an amazing opportunity to turn down to sing at Hitler’s birthday party. The captain turned it down, he said no, and that shows immense courage to do that.”

It’s also a show that keeps on giving, said Carmen. “Frank Thompson, our director, always says that Sound of Music is the show that keeps on giving it. For myself, I’m really honored to be in Maria’s shoes and to be here. It kind of hits every day. When I see my name, my dressing room, it’s really special for me, I don’t take anything of it for granted. Something like this is so influential for your future as an actor because it gives you such an incredible experience and exposure.”

 Nick readily agreed, “It’s a show that keeps on giving. It’s a show that has given me a principal role. As an actor, that’s something to achieve. It’s a show that I’ve been performing on and off since 2006. I also met my wife on the show. It’s a wonderful show. So, having never watched it until 2006, (The Sound of Music) has become a big part of my life. This production could be the time of our lives.”

(For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999.)