Review Roundup: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Asolo Rep - What Did the Critics Think?

Asolo Repertory Theatre kicks off its highly anticipated 2019-20 season with Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved classic THE SOUND OF MUSIC. This Tony Award®-winning musical sensation will be directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. THE SOUND OF MUSIC runs through December 28 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

The cast is led by Maddie Shea Baldwin (Maria Rainer). Tally Sessions plays Captain Georg von Trapp. The von Trapp family includes Sophia Cavalluzzi (Brigitta von Trapp), TYLER GEVAS (Kurt von Trapp), Judah Immanuel (Friedrich von Trapp), Raina Lynn Khatami (Louisa von Trapp), Allie McLaughlin (Marta von Trapp), Cora Messer (Gretl von Trapp), and Sophie Lee Morris (Liesl von Trapp).

Let's see what the critics are saying...

Peter Nason, BroadwayWorld: In the hands of the gloriously talented director/choreographer, Josh Rhodes, this SOUND OF MUSIC is more than just a show. You sense that it's a celebration of sorts, an Event with a capital "E." And it changed my opinion of a show that I knew too well (seeing it dozens of times and even directing a production years ago). But let me shout this from the snow-capped mountaintops: This is the finest SOUND OF MUSIC you will ever see, and one of the best musicals I have experienced in recent years.

Kay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine: For starters, Maddie Shea Baldwin makes for an energetic, feisty Maria, timid at first about leaving the convent walls to serve the Von Trapp family and its martinet father Georg (Tally Sessions) but soon willing to stand up to him. Her personality onstage makes her interactions with all those children believable and enjoyable, on the famous "Do-Re-Mi" song that first brings them together and throughout the show. That carries over to the Maria-Georg love story, which can sometimes seem implausible or merely formulaic. The softening of Georg's hardened exterior, via a few notes of music, may be facile, but in Sessions' portrayal, it is encouraging to watch the character's return to life; and after all, the show is all about the power of music.

Jay Handelman, Herald Tribune: Baldwin is the most rambunctious and playful Maria I've ever seen, clearly showing that she is still a child herself and eager for adventure and discovery. And we get to see her mature before our eyes as her feelings for the captain emerge during a beautifully realized dance to the "Landler," designed as a kind of Austrian folk dance.