BWW Reviews: Hills Ring with Song in Broadway Palm's SOUND OF MUSIC

Sitting in a darkened house, listening to the scrape of chairs, the clink of glasses and the rustle of napkins, you forget just how charming "The Sound of Music" can be.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II could write songs.

Not the bland, vaguely pop ditties of today's musical theatre. But tunes that audiences cherish for five decades and counting.

Proof? Once Paige Mattox begins to sing, you'll understand why the hills have come alive. These tunes lift you up, carry you, dance with you, remind you that life can be hopeful, beautiful and glorious.

Mattox, quite simply, captivates. Effortless trills, a winning smile and her winsome manner bring to mind the easy, graceful allure that Andrews brought to the big screen. Her Maria dances across mountains, sings with the Mother Abbess and thoroughly enchants the children. Mattox broadcasts a radiance that envelopes her character and the audience - and charms anyone and everyone in the theater.

As familiar as "The Sound of Music" might be, each lift of the curtain brings a new adventure, a new tune.

I defy anyone not to smile during "My Favorite Things." "Do-Re-Mi" sees Mattox and the children romping the stage, while "Lonely Goatherd" finds them hiding in bed from a ferocious thunderstorm. Tender "Edelweiss" laments the loss of Austria to the Germans.

AlfreLynn Roberts brings a wise, knowing attitude to her senior nun. "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" becomes an anthem in her soul-stirring tones. She also leads the jolly, happy "(How Do You Solve A Problem Like) Maria;" you forget just how much pure fun the show's songs are!

Dean Sobon (director) and Lauren Loercher-Sobon (assistant director/choreographer) faced a task in wrangling two separate sets of child actors. All roles except the eldest, Leisl (a delightful Lydia Pusateri) are double cast. The von Trapp youngsters feel reasonably natural on stage, have good energy and great voices. I wish the children did display slightly more pep, although this may come as the show settles in.

If the show has a fault, it is only that it can seem static and dated by comparison. In the nearly 55 years since "The Sound of Music" debuted on Broadway, musical theatre has changed - for better or for worse. No huge dance numbers. No real show-stoppers. Not even a finale. The pace can be a touch slow, especially if you're used to "A SPECTACTULAR MUSICAL SPECTACULAR." These things would be out of place on the mountain, to be sure, but it didn't stop the woman next to me from downing two carafes of wine and checking her phone ever ten minutes.

Relax. Slow down. Savor "The Sound of Music." This one is worth it.

Chris Silk is the arts writer and theater critic for the Naples Daily News. To read the longer version of this review, go to: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/feb/25/review-broadway-palm-the-sound-of-music-tickets/.

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