The current touring version of Rogers and Hammerstein’s blockbuster musical, The Sound of Music, is, put quite simply, a stunning, beautifully crafted and superbly delivered, monumentally good production that deserves all the praise that it has already received as it has travelled around the country, and a whole lot more!
The show ticks all the right boxes and glides from scene to scene with the effortless beauty of a huge cruise liner slicing through the waves. Whether we are in the Abbey, the von Trapp family mansion, the vast expanse of the Austrian mountains or cramped in Maria’s tiny bedroom, the set changes are slick, silent and perfectly timed.
The von Trapp children who, at Eastbourne’s opening night, were played by Grace Chapman (Liesl), William Keeler (Friedrich), Liberty Wilson (Louisa), Libby Griffiths (Brigitta) Lewis Jamieson (Kurt), Madeline Bradbury (Marta) and Elena Cervesi (Gretl) all have that heady mixture of charm and mischief that has seen off so many previous governesses and that Maria finds so irresistably endearing.
In the Abbey, Sister Sophia (Grace Gardner), Sister Berthe (Jessica Sherman) and Sister Margaretta (Zoe Ann Brown) are all totally believable in their roles but, as one might expect, are dwarfed by the supreme acting talents and the amazing soprano voice of Jan Hartley as Mother Abbess.
The other main characters were also played quite faultlessly with Sarah Soetaert as Captain von Trapp’s love interest, Elsa Schraeder, Luke George, making his professional debut as Liesl’s love interest, the postman Rolf Gruber and, due to the indisposition of Howard Samuels at this opening night performance, Philip Day as Max Detweiler.
Even the von Trapp household staff, Franz (Martin Dickinson) and Frau Schmidt (Kate Milner Evans), characters who might slip unnoticed in other productions, are given their fair share of the limelight, and give fully rounded performances in return.
The show is steered along by the superb performances given by Steven Houghton, as Captain von Trapp and Danielle Hope as Maria. Houghton relishes the opportunities he gets to be standoffish and aloof simply so that, once the veneer is cracked, his big heart can come shining through, while Hope delivers the unbelievably precise diction, the innocent charm and the fabulous singing voice that will have many comparing her performance, quite favourably, to that of Julie Andrews.
Every now and again the region gets to host a show that really does deserve the title of a “must see production” and, right now, the Congress Theatre is offering just that – the chance to see a really stunning West End show, right on our doorsteps.
Five Stars *****