BWW Reviews: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music could very well be the most-often viewed of the legendary duo's iconic works for the musical theatre, what with the seemingly endless parade of televised airings of the acclaimed 1965 film version, the frequent professional revivals of the stage show and, of course, the fondness for the piece exemplified by the multiple stagings in little theaters all over the world. The musical's lush score, its likable heroine, its vaguely historic (if largely inaccurate) retelling of a true story and all those fresh-faced youngsters singing "Do-Re-Mi" have made The Sound of Music a favorite of musical theater fans since its 1959 debut on Broadway.

Now onstage in a by-the-numbers revival at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre that is enlivened by some very good performances from Kendall Anne Thompson as Maria, Ryan Bowie as Max Detweiler and Joylene Taylor as the Mother Abess, what is most striking about The Sound of Music is the creakiness of the rather trite book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Based on several works about The Von Trapp Family Singers, the group of Austrian emigres who found musical fame in the United States in the aftermath of World War II, Lindsay and Crouse's book eschews the more contemporary idioms of musical theater to instead recall the light and frothy notions of operetta in telling the highly fictionalized and romanticized story of the family of singing siblings, their stern father and their loving stepmother.

The book's action - and the scenes in which the family find themselves engaged - moves along at a quick clip (the deceptively slight book is augmented by Rodgers and Hammerstein's lovely score, amounting to its two-and-a-half hour running time), even if it results in situations that are wholly preposterous at times, straining credulity for the sake of storytelling. Sure, the von Trapps are fleeing the Nazis in the wake of the Anschluss, but they still have time to sing a childish tune before hiking over the Alps to Switzerland (in reality, the family walked to the local train station and boarded the train to Italy). The script condenses the lives of the people characterized in The Sound of Music in order to follow the dramatic arc of the family's existence, which means that in one scene Captain Georg von Trapp (Bryan Benware) argues about Nazi family values, sings a song about how there's "No Way To Stop It" - "it" being the inevitable annexation of Austria by the Third Reich - ends an engagement to the shallow Elsa Schraeder (Amanda Morgan), welcomes the returning Maria (who had to go back to the Abbey to consider those "special feelings" she has for Georg), gives her the still-warm engagement ring from his ill-fitting coat pocket and then lays some passionate kisses upon Maria's eagerly waiting lips. Clearly, that's a lot of ground to cover in ten minutes onstage and while it does propel the story along, it no longer seems as believable as it did when I first saw The Sound of Music as a child (Hold the phone! Maybe this indicates that The Sound of Music was years ahead of its time, with scenes changing so quickly to keep the MTV generation engaged, even before they were a gleam in anyone's eye).

Directed and choreographed by Tom Thayer, The Roxy's new rendition of The Sound of Music is performed amid Kyra Bishop's sumptuous set design which beautifully evokes the various settings in and around Salzburg, Austria, where the play's action takes place, including the Nonnberg Abbey, the environs of the von Trapp villa and other points of interest. However, that gorgeous set also makes for some distracting, although not overly long, scene changes. Thayer, credited with the lighting design, provides a moody (although perhaps too much so) illumination for the stage that results in pretty colors and evocative shading, but unfortunately seems muddled.

Case in point: The musical's iconic opening scene - the one in which Maria comes racing down the mountain to sing "The Sound of Music" - lacks the requisite effervescent sense of joy that is necessary to convey Maria's love of nature, music and life. In fact, it seems like it's a cloudy day on the mountain when Maria breaks into song,  and while Thompson performs the song beautifully, the number lacks the expected emotional vitality.

Thompson's performance shows off her glorious voIce To perfection (in fact, she's never sounded better on the Roxy stage) and she radiates a certain confidence that proves her the cast's leader in a variety of ways, although her charm is downplayed through much of the play's action. Whenever Thompson displays her considerable charm, coupled with her tremendous talents, she gives us a Maria who's totally accessible, attractive in every conceivable way (and lord knows, she's got it all over the ill-fated Elsa).

As the Mother Abbess, Roxy veteran Joylene Taylor (who's been seen onstage there for the better part of 20 years) portrays the character with conviction and grace, showing off her own extraordinary voice in "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" that proves once again why that anthem of hope remains one of the best-known songs ever written for the theater. Taylor also demonstrates the experienced actress' ability to make an ideliable mark in what amounts to a rather small onstage turn.

Ryan Bowie, who has proven himself an invaluable and versatile part of the Roxy's extensive stable of talent since his arrival, scores yet again with his vivid portrayal of show business impresario Max Detweiler, the lovable "uncle" of the von Trapp siblings who shepherds them onstage for his own gains. Bowie's portrayal of the effete Max, thoroughly over-the-top and so fey that he'd probably end up as Nazi cannon fodder the moment the first panzer rolled across the border, provides a breath of fresh air that completely enlivens any scene in which he is present.

Benware fares less successfully as Captain von Trapp; he's clearly too young for the role and he lacks the necessary command of the material to be believable in the role. Georg needs to walk a fine line, one in which he can be stern one moment, romantic the next. Amanda Morgan's Elsa is well-played and nicely nuanced - and she delivers her lines with a stylish panache that ideally captures the musical's time period - but her platinum-blond wig ages her.

Brianna Taylor, obviously the oldest and more experienced of the von Trapp children (she's a college sophomore, yet she effectively plays the 16-year-old Liesl ), makes the most of her time onstage, showing her total commitment to the role, even in her flirtatious scenes of budding young love in which she is paired with the unfocused Christopher Wren as Rolf.

Costuming, which is credited to Debby Dowlen-Noyes and "Roxy Costumes" are generally well conceived, but what I found very distracting was the choice of footwear by cast members, which apparently was left up to individual tastes. Maria wore black ballet slippers through much of the show, but switched to taupe character pumps after her marriage, leaving her to trudge through the Alps in heels; Elsa wore the same character shoes throughout her onstage appearances; in one scene, the children wore Topsiders, Skechers' trainers and Birkenstocks; and don't even get me started on the wrong-footed selections for the men in the cast. Sure, it's picky, I'm quibbling (I know this, but I don't like character shoes or men's loafers in 1938), but c'mon people. Costuming doesn't stop at the ankle.

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Directed and choreographed by Tom Thayer. Presented by The Roxy Regional Theatre, Clarksville. Through August 27. For details, visit the company's website at www.RoxyRegionalTheatre.org. For reservations, call (931) 645-7699.

 

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