While it wasn't the hills, Marina Bay has certainly come alive with The Sound of Music!
Possibly the best-loved musical of all time, The Sound of Music is making a limited run at the MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands from 11 July to 10 August 2014.
The Sound of Music is based on the true story of Maria von Trapp (previously Maria Rainer) a postulant at an abbey who becomes a governess in the household of the windowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children. She injects fun and music into their lives, and eventually marries the Captain. Unfortunately Austria falls into Nazi German hands and when the Captain is offered a commission to the German navy, the Captain, who opposes the Nazis, decides flee with his family over the Austrian mountains.
The musical is one of my favourite musicals ever and I grew up watching the film version repeatedly, as well as singing all the songs in the movie soundtrack. It is an experience I've repeated with my kids, and since the first screening, it's been a family favourite. The soundtrack was on repeat mode in the car so much that my then 2-year-old could sing many of the songs! (We stopped playing it when my husband begged for mercy.)
Naturally when I heard that The Sound of Music was coming to stage, I was really really excited to catch it. But at the same time, I had my doubts. With the film version being the classic that it is, could the stage version without Julie Andrews really be as good? Would it be the same?
Well, I found that it wasn't the same. You might not have known (and certainly I didn't realise it till recently) that The Sound of Music as we know it in the film was adapted and re-worked from the 1959 musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. This show is a re-staging of original stage musical. So if you're familiar with the film version, you might be a bit surprised to find songs popping up in unexpected places. For example, My Favourite Things is sung by Maria and the Mother Abbess before use leaves the abbey, and it is The Lonely Goatherd that Maria sings to calm the children in the storm. There are also a couple of tunes involving Captain von Trapp and Baroness Schraeder that I did not recognise as they do not feature in the film.
But was it good? It definitely was!
Filling the shoes of Julie Andrews in the iconic role of Maria is a mammoth task, but one that Bethany Dickson took on ably. Her voice, beautiful and clear, rang true and she brought the role to life with the sense of fun. The rest of the main cast were also up to the task, with Janelle Visage as the Mother Abbess being one of the surprise hits for me. Her amazing soaring voice bringing Climb Ev'ry Mountain to the new heights and wowing the audience just before the close of the first act. I also particularly enjoyed the moving performance of Edelweiss by Andre Schwartz as Captain von Trapp near the end of the show. Standing on a stage flanked by huge flags of the Third Reich, his rendition really captured the essence of the touching moment.
The show stealers of the night though, were the children. Aside from Liesl, the other six von Trapp children are played by locally-based children who auditioned for the roles. 18 children (three groups of six each) were selected from over 400, and they definitely lighted up the stage with their playful and bubbly performances. Their scenes were my favourite, and certainly that of my six-year old too. In fact, my little boy, who was my theatre date for the night, was really captivated by the whole show and saw riveted throughout.
The Sound of Music is a must-watch for the whole family. Don't miss it!
Ticketing and Show Information
Season: 11 July to 10 August 2014
Venue: Grand Theatre, Mastercard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands
Performance Times: Tuesday to Friday 8pm; Saturday 2pm & 8pm; Sunday 12pm & 6pm
Ticket Prices: $195 (VIP), $165 (A Reserve), $135 (B Reserve), $95 (C Reserve) and $65 (D Reserve)
Booking Through Internet: BASEentertainmentasia.com, MarinaBaySands.com or Sistic
Booking By Phone: +65 6688 8826
Booking In Person: Marina Bay Sands Box Offices at the Museum, Theatres, SkyPark, Retail Mall and Hotel Tower 1 Lobby
*We received a media invite for the purposes of this review, and all production photographs are courtesy of The Sound of Music unless otherwise marked. All opinions are strictly my own.
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