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Regional Reviews: Florida - Southern The Sound of Music
Together, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Cinderella, State Fair, Flower Drum Song, Me And Juliet, Allegro and Pipe Dream. Among the many accolades they received are thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize and two Grammy Awards. While the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein have been described by some as antiquated and lacking in appeal to the contemporary audience, it should be noted that they not only wrote memorable melodies and poetic lyrics, but fearlessly addressed topics over fifty years ago that are controversial even by today's standards—domestic violence in Carousel, racism in South Pacific, and the atrocities of the Nazi regime in The Sound of Music—well before these themes were being addressed by their contemporaries in musical form. The Sound of Music tells the story of religious postulant Maria Rainer (Krista Severeid), who is sent by the Mother Abbess (Lourelene Snedeker) of Nonnberg Abbey to be governess to the seven children of wealthy widower Captain Von Trapp (Tony Lawson). The Captain is a proud Austrian and military man unprepared to bow to the Nazi regime despite the advice he receives to "be wise—compromise" by his best friend and opportunist Max (Jeffrey Bruce). Meanwhile, the Captain is contemplating marriage to a beautiful widow and businesswoman, Elsa Von Schraeder (Mia Matthews), though they perhaps do not agree on the implications of the changing political climate. Maria discovers that the Captain rules his home like a battleship, and his children like soldiers. Her infectious good nature, open heart, and love of music warm the cold nature of the Von Trapp household. She quickly grows to love the children, and they her. When it seems the Captain is drawn to Maria as well, she must weigh the feelings that he awakens inside of her that would perhaps point to a life outside of the convent. There has been much ado in recent months as members of the local theatre community have awaited the opening of the new The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum in the former home of The Caldwell Theatre (The award winning Caldwell Theatre, which opened in 1975, closed in the Spring of 2012 due to financial difficulties). The theatre was purchased by Marilyn Wick, the owner of Costume World (the largest distributor of theatrical costumes in the US), whose company headquarters happen to be in Deerfield Beach. Wick moved her Broadway Collection Costume Museum (featured on the Today Show) from Pompano Beach to Boca Raton, and has housed it under the same roof as the new Wick Theatre, providing audience with the opportunity for a combination of theatrical experiences. One may attend one of the docent-guided tours of the impressive costume museum, dine in the Wick Tavern surrounded by pieces from Tavern on the Green, see a show in the theatre, peruse the large gift shop, and/or hear cabaret singers in the lobby. All of this surrounded by costumed mannequins in vignettes from famous theatrical scenes. It is a great deal to take in, and Wick has done a remarkable job transforming the space into something almost unrecognizable. Wisely, she has chosen to select a season quite different than anything The Caldwell would have ever offered. While The Caldwell Theatre heavily favored contemporary dramas, The Wick Theatre will be featuring a season of mostly traditional, large cast musicals such as this production of The Sound of Music. From the first strains of the title song, it is clear that our Maria, Krista Severeid, is not out to imitate Julie Andrews in voice, manner or speech. She has a lovely singing voice (though her vowel shapes when she sings are at times distracting) and an eager, eternally optimistic appeal in her portrayal. To be frank, it is at first overly eager and presentational in the manner of a Disney Channel actor, but becomes more genuine as the show goes on, and one grows more accustomed to her simple country girl approach to the role. It also provides the important, stark contrast between Maria and the sophisticated if slightly jaded Elsa (Mia Matthews). Severeid has a connection to the children that feels quite natural as well. Mia Matthews (Elsa), particularly smashing in her bejeweled red party dress, is fashionable and elegant. Her character remains pragmatic and appropriately cool—after all she is a businesswoman. We do not dislike her, as she is not a villain, but we cannot like her either as she is Maria's competition for the Captain. She is paired with her sometime cohort Max (Jeffrey Bruce) as the two plot to save their hides in the face of Nazi occupation. Bruce captures the likable though selfish character of the privileged Max who largely lives off of the generosity of his more affluent friends. His sudden, emotionally contrite moment at the festival, amidst sniffles and damp eyes, comes off as oddly forced, however. Tony Lawson is a broad, handsome, swaggering Captain von Trapp, inclined to the occasional bellow. His testosterone-laden performance highlights the fact that the character is a decorated military officer, but we miss the tender heart hurt by the loss of his late wife. Because he is not reserved, we also miss seeing the emotional barriers broken down by the presence of Maria. He too suffers from a forced emotional moment during the singing of "Edelweiss" in the same scene as Bruce. While he does establish a believable romantic warmth with Severeid's Maria, he falls short of creating a paternal one with the children. While his characterization is likable it is an unusual directorial choice. Lourelene Snedeker gives the standout performance of this show as the Mother Abbess. She is more compassionate and relatable than austere, quickly establishing her relationship as a spiritual mentor to Maria. Her inspirational singing of "Climb Every Mountain" at the end of act one is a wonderful matching of the right actress to the right song at the right time, and provides the most memorable moment of the show. All of the pieces in Latin, such as "Preludium" and "Confitemini Domino," are well sung by the chorus of nuns, though the sopranos are a bit strident, and should be sung with little to no vibrato to be stylistically correct. The von Trapp children are extraordinarily well directed in this production. They have avoided the pitfalls of attempting cloyingly sweet portrayals in favor of ones refreshingly realistic and understated. In those cases where the script allows, the young actors assert their individual personalities in a way that is more endearing than any falsehood could produce. This production features musical tracks rather than live musicians, but the quality of the tracks really is quite good; and one quickly forgets they are tracks due to the even and consistent balance of vocals to tracks in the audience. The theatre seems to have an excellent sound system, is well equipped with lighting, has an ample running crew (all in costume for the scene changes), and understandably has access to the best costumes. One could ask for just a touch more detail and texture in the scenic design, and more variety of depth in the lighting. With so much going right for it, The Wick Theatre has indeed begun its journey on sure footing with this beautifully done production of The Sound of Music. The original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959 (moving to the Mark Hellinger Theatre on November 6, 1962), and closed on June 15, 1963, after 1,443 performances. The production tied with Fiorello! for the Tony Award for Best Musical that year. Other awards it received include Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Martin as Maria), Best Featured Actress (Patricia Neway as the Mother Abbess), Best Scenic Design and Best Musical Direction. The entire children's cast was nominated in the Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two children were boys. A Broadway revival of The Sound of Music opened on March 12, 1998, at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 15 months. The Sound of Music will be appearing at the Wick Theatre & Costume Museum through October 20, 2013. The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum is located at 7901 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton, Florida. It houses a professional, 330-seat theatre company hiring local and non-local Equity and non-Equity actors, the Broadway Collection Costume Museum, and the Wick Tavern - open for lunch or dinner. For more information you may contact them by phone at 561-955-2333 or online at www.thewick.org. Cast: Crew: *Designates member of Actors' Equity Association: the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. +Designates member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
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