By Larisa Hicken
I grew up watching the film version of The Sound of Music over and over again and I’ve had several opportunities to see the show performed on the stage. When I heard that the SCERA Theater in Orem, Utah was producing The Sound of Music, I couldn’t pass up another chance to hear some of my all-time favorite songs from Rogers and Hammerstein.
Most people are familiar with the story of Maria who doesn’t quite fit in at the Abbey and is assigned as the governess for the von Trapp family. She wins the hearts of the seven neglected and unruly children and eventually the heart of the widower Captain Georg von Trapp. Eventually they are all forced to leave their beloved homeland of Austria in order to evade the Nazis.
Chelsea Hendrickson quickly won my heart as Maria. Hendrickson’s version of Maria is more dramatic than I’ve seen before and even silly at times, but it worked for me. Her smile lit up the stage, her voice is bright and beautiful, and her vocal range is fabulous.
Captain von Trapp was played by Mark Buffington. I struggled to see him as the harsh captain who runs his family like a military troop, but part of it may have been that he was looking down at the stage and away from the other actors a lot. I wanted to see him more engaged in the scene and more dominant in his posture and movements. However, there were moments when he really shined. The scene when he was sang “Edelweiss” was very touching.
The elegant Rebekah Osmond was delightful as Elsa Schraider. Her dancing was as lovely as her voice. I also really enjoyed Phil Varney as Max Deitweiler. He had excellent characterization and a rich vocal sound, especially for someone so young.
All of the younger actors were an absolute joy to watch. Little Olivia Sundwall as Gretl von Trapp was as talented as she was adorable. She executed every dance move and line with perfection. McCall Hope Brainard (Marta von Trapp) is a beautiful actress, and Austin Bigelow was endearing as Friederich von Trapp. Seth Kelson had perfect pitch and amazing volume on his famous high note as Kurt von Trapp. Chloe Rodgerson had just the right amount of spunk as Louisa von Trapp. My favorite of the von Trapp children was Grace Grimmer as Brigitta. Her acting talent is incredible for her age and I loved her voice.
Jessica Sundwall plays every young girl’s favorite character, Leisl von Trapp. Sundwall is a gorgeous young lady and her voice is terrific. However, I would like to have seen more clear character development from her. She seemed to be playing Leisl as slightly ditzy and shallow, which just didn’t work for me.
Another problem was the lack of chemistry between Sundwall and Corey Morris in the role of Rolf. Their “kiss” was as awkward for the audience as it was for the actors. During their secret rendezvous, when Leisl and Rolf sing the famous “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” the actors barely made eye contact with each other. I had a really hard time believing that they had ever met, let alone had feelings for each other. I did enjoy seeing how Morris’ character of Rolf developed over the course of the show. His characterization was unique and it definitely grew on me.
Another unique character was the Mother Abbess played by Michelle Sundwall. I confess that as a child I fast forwarded through the song “Climb Every Mountain” and most of the time when I see this show on stage, I wish I could do the same thing. However, Sundwall was no boring, stately nun. She had spunk and fire and I finally understand why her character is so important to the story. And her song was magnificent!
I also have to applaud the supporting actors who played the other nuns, party attendees/dancers, Nazis, and the winning performers in the music festival. Some of these actors simply stole the show with their fun character choices.
The set design by Nat Reed was a little clunky at times and the cloud texture on the walls was odd, but I really appreciated the beautiful stained glass windows and the garden gazebo which I would love to have seen used more, but it was banished to the back of the stage. I also loved the use of the hills surrounding the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theater. And the use of the Nazi flags throughout the audience during the final scene actually made my skin crawl.
The prescription for cialis following natural plant extracts have shown promising benefits in removing brown spots. Some of them are mentioned cheap viagra below- It carries the main component of Sildenafil citrate inside it which is said to be the key component that helps in responding to one’s stimulation. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern in the back which, along with any credit score, charge or ID cards, allows convert it into viagra stores a primary take a position for propped-up symbol or scenery watching. There is another consideration that can make a fixed acupuncture, this on line cialis cute-n-tiny.com is absolutely beneficial to them.
I was very impressed by the choreography of the show. Choreographer Nichole Ortega used fluid dance formations to fill the stage and make some really nice pictures. It’s also obvious that she really took the time to learn about the characters and tell a story with the dancing. My only concern was that Chelsea Hendrickson as Maria was often out of breath and gasping for air during her scenes, so I wondered if her dancing required a bit too much movement to allow for her singing.
One of the biggest problems with The Sound of Music is that all of the fun stuff happens in the first half of the show and we’re stuck with the gloomy stuff for the entire second half. I was very impressed that director Jeremy Showgren managed to keep the pacing up for the second half and finished the show with a flourish. I have to admit, it’s the first time I’ve ever truly enjoyed the entire show from the beginning all the way to the end.
Grab your bug spray and lawn chairs and head over to the SCERA for a fun night with the family. You’ll be singing “The Hills Are Alive” the whole way home.
Times:
July 5-20 @ 8:00pm
Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Prices:
GENERAL ADMISSION: $10 Adult, $8 Child/Senior/Student
RESERVED SECTION B: $12 Adult, $10 Child/Senior/Student
RESERVED SECTION A: $14 Adult, $12 Child/Senior/Student
Location:
SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre
699 South State Street, Orem, UT 84058
In the middle of SCERA Park
0 Comments