The Sound of Music Confirms Closing Date, 21 Feb

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Sound of Music has confirmed its closing date at the London Palladium. The last performance will be on 21 February 2009, prior to a national tour in which original Maria Connie Fisher will return to the role (See News, 26 Nov 2008).

The Sound of Music opened at the Palladium on 15 November 2006 (previews from 3 November), following a TV casting hunt, How do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, headed by Lloyd Webber, to find an actress for the leading role.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical premiered on Broadway in 1959, when it won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show first opened in London in 1961 and its last London revival was in 1981, both productions having record-breaking runs. The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

The current revival is directed by Jeremy Sams and designed by Robert Jones, with choreography by Arlene Phillips, sound by Mick Potter, lighting by Mark Henderson and musical supervision by Simon Lee. It’s presented by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian, the Really Useful Group and Live Nation.

The production, which won the 2007 Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Musical Revival, currently stars Summer Strallen as Maria, Simon MacCorkindale as Captain von Trapp and Margaret Preece as The Mother Abbess (See 1st Night Photos, 4 Mar 2008). It will be followed at the Palladium, from 2 June 2009 (previews from 7 May), by the premiere of screen-to-stage musical Sister Act, which is co-produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Stage Entertainment (See News, 14 Nov 2008).

– by Theo Bosanquet