THEATRE REVIEW: THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Perth, 15 Sep 2016

Shane | 19 September 2016 | Reply

THEATRE REVIEW: THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Perth, 15 Sep 2016
Directed by Jeremy Sams
Starring Amy Lehpamer, Cameron Daddo, Marina Prior
Crown Theatre, Perth – Thursday, 15 September, 2016
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

There’s little can be said about The Sound Of Music which hasn’t already been said a hundred times in the fifty years since the movie was released – it remains beloved of oldies and modern kids alike, and this latest production of the iconic classic wisely makes the songs and the von Trapp kids it’s centrepiece.

Few of us grew up not singing along to What Are We Going To Do About Maria, These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi and The Lonely Goatherd, and all are performed beautifully by the talented cast.

Amy Lehpamer is gorgeous as Maria, taking notes from Julie Andrews’ performance, downplaying the sexiness of the role for a more girl-next-door beauty which works well. Cameron Daddo as Captain von Trapp doesn’t boast the same sort of stunning vocal ability, but the role is always more about being a man conflicted, and his acting skills are impeccable.

Johanna Allen as Mother Superior performs a knockout Climb Ev’ry Mountain, and young Stefanie Jones shows a bright future as she duets with Lehpamer with demure & coy aplomb for Sixteen Going On Seventeen.

The ensemble of the other six kids – played on the night by locals Sebastian Coe, Banca Thomas, Thomas Denver, Saoirse Gerrish, Claudia Drinkwater and Luca Priolo steal every scene they’re in, even up against a big name like Marina Prior, whose Baroness Schraeder barely utilises her considerable talent.

The production doesn’t shy away from the Nazi elements to the story – if Act 1 revolves around Maria’s journey and the love story, Act 2 is more about the Captain’s rebellion against tyranny, embodying the adage that ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

The set design is simple but effective – most strikingly when the stage is plastered with Swastikas like the Nuremburg Rallies.

This new Sound Of Music plays to the production’s strengths with and is sure to introduce a new generation to the wonders of the story and songs and, hopefully, the message that tyranny must always be stood up to.