The story of the von Trapp family and their escape from Nazi occupation. Made famous by the film starring Julie Andrews and containing such songs as Climb Every Mountain, I am Sixteen, Do a Deer and many more.
With a leading lady chosen by TV audiences, the withdrawal of a respected alternate, a leading man swapped in previews and rumours of other backstage trouble, the odds were stacked against Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much-hyped production of The Sound of Music winning over the critics (See News, 17 Sep 2006). But anyone who bet on a bloodbath last night (15 November 2006, previews from 3 November) at the London Palladium, will be counting their losses this morning. According to the majority of overnight reviews, any lingering problem has indeed been solved in Jeremy Sams’ £4 million production.
The winner of BBC talent search How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?Connie Fisher makes her West End debut playing nun-turned-nanny Maria in the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic opposite Alexander Hanson, who only last week stepped in to replace Simon Shepherd as Captain Von Trapp (See News, 6 Nov 2006). The production also stars soprano Lesley Garrett as the Mother Abbess, Lauren Ward as the Baroness, Ian Gelder as Max, Sophie Bould as Liesl and Neil McDermott as Rolf, as well as three teams of children.
While many critics admitted they took some winning over due to the nature of her casting, “the people’s Maria” Connie Fisher came up trumps in today’s notices. But the real star seemed to be the show itself, saved from inherent schmaltziness by the fun and respectfulness of Sams’ high-quality production. Critics were also impressed by Alexander Hanson’s surprisingly assured turn as the captain and the sterling supporting performances from Lesley Garrett, Lauren Ward and Ian Gelder, and couldn’t help but let their hearts be melted by the talented troupe of seven children. Robert Jones’ design, Arlene Phillips’ choreography and Simon Lee’s musical supervision were all individually praised.
Michael Coveney on Whatsonstage.com (5 stars) – “Jeremy Sams and his designer Rob Jones have spring-cleaned every nook and cranny of the show, from a chorus of nuns proceeding through the aisles singing the ‘Dixit Dominus’ (the only number Rodgers ever ‘researched’ in his life) to the staging of the von Trapp family concert as a sinisterly shadowed (and filmed) Nazi propaganda exercise. In the pit, Simon Lee extracts every nuance and flavour from Robert Russell Bennett’s marvellous orchestrations, with a repertoire of conducting poses and expressions that make the late Carl Maria Giulini suffering through Mahler look like a wilting violet…. Lesley Garrett is a humorously humanised and thrillingly vocalised Mother Abbess. Ian Gelder gives the performance of his career as the accommodating Max…. And Lauren Ward… is pure perfection as the snooty baroness…. Ah, the children… they are delightful without being simpering… Tiny Adrianna Bertola as Gretl stole all hearts on opening night…. The show solves yet another problem: where to take the family for a Christmas treat – assuming you can still get tickets.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph – “How could this musical be a favourite thing of anyone with aspirations to being cool and hip? The awful truth has to be faced, however. As a child, I adored the 1965 movie…. It was obvious that Connie Fisher was going to win, and deserved to win. And she makes an absolutely enchanting Maria in Jeremy Sams’ opulent production, handsomely designed by Robert Jones, that pays Rodgers and Hammerstein the compliment of taking the musical seriously, never once descending into camp…. As I watched, my eyes were often unexpectedly filled with tears, and having felt 51 going on 84 when I entered the theatre, I left with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Suddenly the world seemed a better, brighter place…. With her rosy-apple cheeks and fresh-as-a-daisy appearance, Fisher plays the tomboyish, virginal heroine with a lovely warmth and conviction. She sings superbly, achieves a delightful rapport with the impossibly cute children in her care, and when she finds herself surprised by love of a more adult kind, she is suddenly deeply affecting.”
Sheridan Morley in the Daily Express – “The tills are alive again with the sound of singing nuns. True, the new Jeremy Sams staging at the Palladium is not as bad as it might have been, given a certain amount of backstage chaos in rehearsal, but the show has always struck me as the most schmalzily objectionable of all Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic collaborations…. They still haven’t altogether solved the problem called Maria…. (Fisher) is competent at the singing and the acting: the problem is that she is totally lacking in warmth or a sense of comedy, so precisely how she wins over the hearts of the seven von Trapp children and then their autocratic father remains something of a mystery. In an oddly undercast production, the true star is Lesley Garrett… while the best performances come from Lauren Ward as the Countess and Ian Gelder as the agent who, in the production’s sole burst of drama, gets arrested by the Nazis even while his beloved von Trapps are escaping over the mountains which on Robert Jones’ curious set look like upturned cardboard spaceships. But already I am feeling guilty: attacking The Sound of Music is like stealing sweets from children, even if you do feel watching the show as though you are being hit over the head with melting ice lollies… The show is treated respectfully but with a fatal lack of passion or involvement.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian – (4 stars) – “Whatever one thinks of the process of casting a lead role through a TV elimination game, the truth is that Connie Fisher (‘the people's Maria’) occupies the Palladium stage with absolute confidence and winning charm…. With her engaging smile and rangy stride, she reminds me faintly of a junior games mistress at my prep school. But, under the scrubbed innocence, there's also the right hint of sexiness…. Above all, Fisher has a clear, crystalline voice that relishes every note of Richard Rodgers’ music and every syllable of Oscar Hammerstein's lyrics…. Alexander Hanson, replacing Simon Shepherd at short notice, admirably suggests a man of stiff-necked naval rectitude who slowly melts under the benign influence of Maria. Lesley Garrett also endows the Mother Abbess with a genuine humanity and even manages to deliver ‘Climb Every Mountain’ - my least favourite number - as a song of aspiration rather than a secular hymn. Robert Jones designs the show elegantly, making good use of a tilted disc to suggest the Austrian mountains.”
Benedict Nightingale in the Times (4 stars) – “Connie Fisher overcame a nervy start (so many gestures I thought she was both conducting the orchestra and directing the traffic in nearby Oxford Street) to give a fine singing and even acting performance as the nun turned governess and governess turned wife, Maria. And Alexander Hanson was so sound as her employer turned husband, Captain von Trapp, that he could have been playing the role for as long as box-office success will surely compel him to perform it. Add Lesley Garrett as a Mother Superior with a voice so ample and rich that it shrinks the Palladium to the size of the Black Hole of Calcutta, and she, Fisher and Hanson could be in their jobs for years…. I tend to resist winsome heroines and lovable kids…. I would normally wince when an opera singer of Garrett’s stature sonorously invited me to climb every mountain, ford every stream and follow every rainbow until I found my dream…. Yet I acknowledge the pull of a show whose tale draws on three elemental fairy stories: Cinderella, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. The self-effacing Maria gets her palace, makes seven sprogs happy and transforms a bossy grouch into an agreeable as well as handsome princeling. Or, to put it less pretentiously, it’s Mills and Boon with wonderfully hummable songs, plus a little politics to assuage clever folk who feel guilty for enjoying themselves…. This is not, I fear, why I remain a Sound of Music nerd. That has more to do with Fisher’s sweet, unpretentious Maria leading an excellent septet of von Trapp midgets in ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and other songs. Why, they could even convert me to kittens with mittens on their whiskers.”
Paul Taylor in the Independent (4 stars) – “The hills are alive and that's pretty wonderful in Jeremy Sams' adorable revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic…. The only people likely to be less than jubilant about this latest addition to the West End's miracle season of musicals are the producers of the top-notch rival shows…. Alexander Hanson is excellent as Captain von Trapp… And the moment when he allows the sound of music to melt his iced heart by joining the superb children in their heavenly rendition of the title song would make even the hardest eye mist with tears. As for the big question - does Connie Fisher, winner of TV's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, solve the problem of how you play Maria under such intense scrutiny - the answer is: you bet. She's enchantingly fresh and ardent and she sings with a voice that can range from piping purity to soft tenderness… Fisher combines a gawky tomboy quality with the moral mettle of a young woman who will obey authority only when she respects it…. Sams does a terrific job with the direction, aided by Arlene Phillips' knock-out choreography. The ‘Do-Re-Mi’ sequence builds marvellously: as the children shift from suspicion of Maria to complete conversion, the dancing and the miming of the explanatory activities gets ever more wittily uninhibited while remaining (in production terms) totally disciplined. Where did they find these kids? Lesley Garrett is phenomenal… Robert Jones' sets are beautiful; the costumes are beautiful; the children are beautiful - even ze orchestra iz beautiful…. Climb every mountain? Sure, and after this show you'll want to do a little dance, too, on the summit.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard (3 stars) – “The Sound of Music… continues to touch, soothe and manipulate about 10 different, intimate chords of its entranced audiences…. Watching the septet of exceptionally appealing and talented child actors, who play Captain von Trapp's neglected offspring and go into Do-Re-Mi, My Favourite Things and Edelweiss with such natural gusto, I saw the light. I at last understood what drives plenty of adults, as well as youngsters, to go wild with pleasure over The Sound of Music. For people whose childhoods were damaged by a parent's death, lack of love or care and concern, The Sound of Music offers the chance of a replacement-dream…. The songs, often childish lullabies of reassurance, complete the therapy for those in need. I, conversely, cringe at their ingratiating winsomeness and whimsy. Connie Fisher… may not yet be a convincing actor, and uses her hands far too much to signal emotion, but her voice takes the high notes and she sings with serious ardour…. Alexander Hanson's von Trapp proves a wooden, aggressively boring widower… Lesley Garrett's Mother Superior sings Climb Ev'ry Mountain with passionate conviction, though otherwise looks and sounds uncomfortable…. Although Fisher's Maria pleased me, The Sound of Music sadly leaves me unstirred.”
Summer Strallen & Simon Burke in The Sound of Music
Date: 4 March 2008
Television coverage of theatre has long been a good thing; 50 years ago, Look Back in Anger, the play that changed everything on the post-war British stage, struggled to find an audience until a five-minute television extract got the box office lines busy. Connie Fisher was famously the upshot of a small screen audition by phone-in votes on How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (although I’m convinced she was also the producers’ choice from the off).
Connie’s successor as Maria in this magnificent production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is Summer Strallen who, as the character of Summer Shaw in Hollyoaks, the Channel 4 soap, stalked a real-life Andrew Lloyd Webber playing himself (and how bizarre was that?) and was shown the door – the stage door. “You, I want you to be the next Maria,” said ALW’s other self, after Summer had sung “Do-Re-Mi” to a lamppost.
Summer Strallen had already been cast when this wheeze was hatched, and spent five months in Hollyoaks with her secret intact. Now we know what we fully expected: she is a perfect Maria, and very different from Connie. Connie was infectiously bright and eager, shocked by the scatty realisation that she has fallen for the severe Captain von Trapp. Summer shows a demure, determined girl growing gracefully into womanhood and the acceptance of her sexuality as God’s gift of grace and beauty.
Crop-haired, elegant and managing to express high spirits with sweet composure, Strallen confirms the star status we have already seen in bucketloads in The Boy Friend (she was the best Maisie ever in Regent’s Park two summers ago) and as the high-kicking bright spark in The Drowsy Chaperone. To be brutally frank, I expect her to have a far fuller and more varied career in show business than the delightful, but more limited, Connie.
Her voice is liquid and expressive – surviving some early clumsy over-amplification on opening night – with a rather fetching nasal twang as she moves into the upper soprano register. And the scene where she first dances with Simon Burke’s beautifully acted Captain (he resembles a stocky blond version of the young Pablo Picasso), having unlocked the musical talents of the children, is the centrepiece of a show primarily about the power of singing, the creation of song, the unstoppable sound of music.
Jeremy Sams’ intelligent production and Robert Jones’ spectacular design have received too little credit in all the brouhaha of finding Marias. The annexation of Austria creeps over the show like a cloud until the family escape over the exciting hydraulic disc and the mountains to Switzerland. The current cast is well up to scratch, with Paul Grunert as a splendidly fleshy and good-hearted Max Detweiler and Margaret Preece the genuine, thrillingly operatic contralto article as the Mother Abbess.
- Michael Coveney
NOTE: The following FIVE-STAR review dates from November 2006, when this production first opened at the London Palladium.
Well, they solved it. The winner of the television audition programme aiming to solve a problem like Maria, 23-year-old Connie Fisher, may not have been the most striking or most enchanting of the ten finalists, but she was clearly the safest bet for the role. And she takes to the famous old Palladium stage as of right, leading director Jeremy Sams’ superb restoration of a brilliant musical – and I am here modifying some recent remarks about The Sound of Music (1959) being the least good of the five great Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals – with charm, freshness and wonderfully clear articulation, both of music and lyrics.
It was ironic that the search for Maria – I thought the television series was a hugely enjoyable success, incidentally – should have been so painstaking that they took their eye off the ball in casting the Captain. But the disgraceful incompetence of the Simon Shepherd affair has at least been turned around in the casting of Alexander Hanson, whose Captain is a solid, watchful, finally moving portrayal. The moment where he joins in singing with his children the title song is a moment of great beauty and emotional stealth, the crux of the show in a single phrase.
My memories of the original London production and indeed of the 1992 version at Sadler’s Wells, starring Liz Robertson and Christopher Cazenove, are not all that rosy. Sams and his designer Rob Jones have spring-cleaned every nook and cranny of the show, from a chorus of nuns proceeding through the aisles singing the “Dixit Dominus” (the only number Rodgers ever “researched” in his life) to the staging of the von Trapp family concert as a sinisterly shadowed (and filmed) Nazi propaganda exercise. In the pit, Simon Lee extracts every nuance and flavour from Robert Russell Bennett’s marvellous orchestrations, with a repertoire of conducting poses and expressions that make the late Carl Maria Giulini suffering through Mahler look like a wilting violet.
Another key to the success is the casting of the support roles. Lesley Garrett is a humorously humanised and thrillingly vocalised Mother Abbess. Ian Gelder gives the performance of his career as the accommodating Max, blowing with each prevailing wind and finally doomed for facilitating the family’s escape. And Lauren Ward, whose costumes include a stunning cerise dress, is pure perfection as the snooty baroness from Vienna whom Maria (and the children) dislodge from the widowed Captain’s new marital plans.
Ah, the children…they are delightful without being simpering; “The Lonely Goatherd” is done as a sort of yodelling clock with its parts exposed, rigid limbs flicking in all directions, and the bed-time “So Long, Farewell” is a touching group exit after the terrors of the storm in Maria’s bedroom. Tiny Adrianna Bertola as Gretl stole all hearts on opening night. Arlene Phillips’ choreography is as detailed here as it is gloriously unbuttoned in the ball scene, another passage where the undercurrents of the Anschloss are bubbling dangerously to the surface.
The show includes two songs from the film (Hammerstein had died by 1965, so Rodgers wrote the lyrics), each placed in the right spot. The genius of the composition is revealed in the way songs such as “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” are reprised in another form, with a new dramatic weight, and the music is continuously shifting and surprising us under the stage action. I guess, in sum, the show solves yet another problem: where to take the family for a Christmas treat – assuming you can still get tickets.
Im not sure what those people giving this production a 1 or 2 star rating are expecting but they obviously were watching a different production to me! For the set design, costumes and music alone, it deserves a 3*! The set is mind boggling and an absolute triumph! Costumes are the usual stunning West End fair and the children were fantastic.
Summer Strallen was good and I was glad to see she brought her own interpretation to the role, rather then try to copy what Julie did in the film. There were lots of very funny bits, which you imagine Maria had in real life. Why else would 7 unruly children warm to her so much after chasing away numerous other governess's!
The Mother Abbess was outstanding and made me completely cry during her rendition of Climb Every Mountain! That is one powerful voice usued to blow the audience away.
The only thing that has stopped me giving the show 5 stars is the casting of the Captain and the direction of the relationship between him and Maria. Simon MacCorkindale is a wonderful actor on TV Im sure, but on stage, he was just 1-dimensional. He was an upright gruff Naval Captain and didnt budge from that characterisation throughout the whole performance. There was no sign of him becoming more mellow and glimpses of how he was in the past when his first wife was alive. And his relationship with Maria showed no spark whatsoever. Even when she held him at the end of Something Good, he still had his hands held behind his back which just looked awkward and uncomfortable. They also werent matched very well. He looked far too old for her youthfulness (not sure if this is a true reflection of the real age difference or not) but none of it felt realistic.
And the direction of that relationship was too hurried, leaving no time for the audience to get excited about the possibility of them getting together. At the start, she rubs him up the wrong way with rufusing to use the whistle, we then see him with the Baroness and the next minute Maria and the Captain are dancing and having a moment. I realise they cant fit in everything as the show can only run for a certain amount of time but I wouldve thought that this aspect was vital to the show and to people falling in love with these characters.
That aside, it was a very pleasant evening out with friends. We wish they couldve sung a song altogether for the curtain call, but instead, my friend and I had to fill in for them from the front of the Upper Circle!
For those who love a good show, I highly recommend it.
- Jo
13 Jan 09
I watched the Sound of Music in June this year when Summer Strallen was on holiday. She conveyed the warmth and youthness that Maria should have and the vocals and acting were absolutely spotless. One thing I cannot get over though is how quickly she got changed; or also how quickly she got round the stage; in the wedding scene at the Abbey she went off stage left and about two seconds later came on centre stage, it was like lightning. The kids were good, especially the boys and Amy Lennox who played Liesl because there voices were strong and were able to carry the theatre, the other kids were good but at times I couldn't hear them properly. We had two understudies and they were The Captian and he was played by a Swing called Christopher Connah, I didn't really rate him that highly in singing as his voice was quite weird and his diction was bad when singing but as an actor he was quite good, aside from skipping round the stage when he got excited lol. The other understudy was Nadim Naaman who was really good in playing Rolf. Magaret Preece was brilliant her vocals were strong and absolutely flawless! She was able to carry the whole theatre, just one criticism though, they had her microphone on too loud at most points and it hurt your ears; when your voice is that strong you don't need to have you microphone that loud. The scenery was brilliant, as was the orchestra and the sets; my favourite being the hill. Over-all it was an amazing night out and a great show, I would definitely go and see it again, especially with Aoife. - Scott Godfrey
21 Sep 08
It's not a show to take children to, it is very slow and just not interesting enough. The audience were not the usual kind and seemed very accepting of the whole thing but I had the feeling that they might never had been to a theatre before and had booked tickets purely on the strength of the TV show 'Search for Maria'. I never recovered from Act 2 where what could have been one of the most action packed scenes, probably the most imortant scene had been ruined? The whole crux of the story hinges on the political situation in Austria with the Nazi takeover and Captain Von Trapps refusal to accept it. Why then in the escape scene, does the confrontation with eldest daughters boyfriend/telegram boy, turned Nazi not follow the film. I couldn't believe it when he let them all escape so easily?
What a copp out.
Generally all of the singing voices are weak, the cast seem tired and lack charisma. The only exception being the Mother Abbess whose singing just about saved the day. - quiller
14 Aug 08
I really do not understand the negative reviews here. I have been sceptical of the various TV hypes around this show and seen it twice (once with Connie, once with Summer) - both times more out of interest than excitement. I must say though that both times I have been really happy. I think this is a really beautiful production that just simply works.
There were things about Connie and Summers performances that I liked loads but I thought both were simply amazing in the role. Also; Maggie Preece - WOW!! Worth every star and every penny! - AA
25 Jul 08
Saw this a couple of days ago and it's better than it was when it first open but still weak. Summer Stallen is much better than Connie Fisher and bring some humour to the part. The children were good. There are many offers around these days so I'd recomend it only if you can get a discount. The show is not worth £60, but I got a great Stalls seat for £15. - Tanya
06 Jul 08
Aploigies, 5 Stars, Not 3 - Gordon
01 Jun 08
Fantastico! - Maria Carlos
01 Jun 08
Paid in the hundreds for last-minute tickets, but worth every sing;e penny. Go see it, you'll love it! - Gordon
01 Jun 08
Superb. Summer Strallen is a billiant replacement to the slightly dull Connie Fisher. Thank You Summer! - Mo
01 Jun 08
Saw this on 3rd March and it's a whole new era for this show. Summer brings a snazzyness and more humour to the role of Maria which although excellently performed by Connie is refreshingly different now. The children were also brilliant. Would go again tomorrow but its mostly sold out...what does that tell you! - Tamara
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