Review: The Sound of Music – Pitlochry

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The curtain rose on Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lindsay & Crouse’s The Sound of Music in 1959; it has yet to fall. An award-winning smash success when it opened with Mary Martin as problem nun Maria, immortality was only assured when Julie Andrews played the role in Robert Wise’s beloved 1965 Silver Screen adaptation.

This brings us to Pitlochry in 2024, and the latest incarnation of the original stage musical, which remains a distinct beast from its celluloid counterpart, complete with a few songs that didn’t make it to the cinema, plus slightly beefier roles for the supporting cast.

It’s a big musical in more ways than one, this rendition under Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s departing Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman’s clocking in at an impressive 2 hours and 50 mins (including interval). However, in recruiting a cast almost exclusively composed of actor-musicians, Newman cuts the show’s extensive cast and orchestra requirements in half. This does place immense pressure on the talented group charged with entertaining the audience, but – for the most part – they pull it off in some style.

Rodgers & Hammerstein‘s iconic songbook is given a classy treatment throughout, from ‘(How do you solve a problem like) Maria’ to ‘My Favorite Things’ and ‘The Lonely Goatherd’. It’s still one of the best scores to ever grace a stage, and hearing it performed live by a talented ensemble is magical. It takes tireless hard work by every performer to pull the whole thing off, but the result is a heartwarming, funny, and thoroughly enjoyable piece of musical theatre.

For those coming unawares to The Sound of Music, the musical is based, a little loosely, on the autobiography of one Maria von Trapp, ex-nun, and escapee from Nazi Austria, along with her new husband, the widowed Captain von Trapp, and his 7 children. As meet-cutes go, a would-be nun seconded as nanny to a handsome widower’s children turns out to be a pretty good one.

There’s also undeniable adventure to the swiftly commercially successful family singing group’s daring escape from annexed Austria, albeit with fewer mountains involved than in playwrights Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s factional take on their lives. The hills come alive with the sound of music every time the show opens nevertheless.

The theatrical challenge presented by Pitlochry’s multi-tasking rich adaptation is made a little easier by Ruari Murchison’s innovative stage which divides the space between the orchestra-occupied (when not in character) hinterland, and a revolving mini-mountain in the centre which gracefully transforms from alpine wonderland to stately home with minimal effort. Further, with the backstage shrouded in darkness, there’s a true sense of arrival when characters appear, even if they slink from their instrument and into the wings only moments earlier. With so many multi-hat-wearing performers to juggle, Newman has choreographed this show terrifically well to avoid the least sense of muddle. Of course, much of the credit must be given to the cast as well.

Faced with re-creating characters well known to the majority of the audience, the principals are certainly deserving of praise. A charismatic Kirsty Finlay introduces Maria with a thrillingly buoyant rendition of ‘The Sound Music’ and never looks back, while Ali Watt offers a starch-collared naval officer with a warm voice, and ‘Edelweiss’ in his heart. Around them, the 7-strong posse of Von Trapp kids, headed by 16-year-old Liesl (a charming and sweet-voiced Sally Cheng) wins the audience’s hearts easily, particularly a cute-voiced Leva Stewart as the ‘littelest’ Gretl.

Back in Maria’s ultimately former convent, and charged with the musical’s most challenging number, the soaring ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, Kate Milner-Evans‘ Mother Abess acquits herself admirably. With a toe in both operatic and musical theatre worlds, she has the chops to deliver the big notes with real, relatable character.

Over at the von Trapp mansion, Christian Edwards and Hannah Baker revel in the more substantial roles allotted to music impresario Max Detweiler and would-be Mrs Von Trapp, Elsa Schraeder. Blessed with natural comic timing and nimble fingers on a keyboard, Edwards produces this production’s most natural and complete character, whilst Baker brings humanity to a role which could easily be lost in cliched ‘rich bitch’ sensibilities.

It helps that the musical gives them both more time in front of the audience than the movie, involving them in not one, but two big song and dance numbers, the tongue-in-cheek ‘How Can Love Survive’ and ‘No Way to Stop It’, an ode to getting along even when the fascists take control. It’s easy to see why these songs didn’t make it to the big screen, but neither are they unenjoyable. Indeed ‘enjoyable’ is precisely what this musical is – with plenty of laughs stemming from family dysfunction, odd-couple chemistry and the occasionally thumbed nose at all things Nazi.

Yet, for all the undeniably strong work happening on stage and in the orchestral sidelines (the lines blur when party guests begin arriving with trumpets, but needs must), the strain of such a big show on such few shoulders does show here and there. Musical Director Richard Reeday works wonders to conjure a full sound from a relatively small ensemble, but the strings and woodwinds occasionally sound closer to a school orchestra than a professional outfit. To boot, on press night, the sound balance for the show’s first 10 or 15 minutes was uncomfortably punchy before some welcome adjustments. This, however, is likely a teething issue which will evaporate as the show beds in over its extensive run.

In any case, all can be forgiven when the cast combines in choral/orchestral majesty to offer glorious audio experiences far, far richer than the sum of their parts.

Truly, one cannot understate the ambition of this production. Yes, it doubtlessly borrows nostalgic emotion from audiences brought up on the movie, but there’s heartfelt feeling threaded through every scene. Yes, there could be more menacing, and less comedic, sensibilities when manifesting escalating Nazi menace, but such are the bones of the stage musical, as opposed to its darker, more nuanced cinematic adaptation. When it comes to the central romantic comedies spun between soon-to-be ex-nun, widowed officer, and his seven children, everything is pitch perfect.

Ultimately, one has to doff the cap to Newman’s bravery in mounting an actor-musician-led production of one of the most adored musicals in the canon. It may, indeed, be the first such effort ever brought to the professional stage, and it works. No, it’s not perfect, but innovation rarely is, and when it comes to the songs and the romantic heart of The Sound of Music, it’s all there, present and delightfully correct.

Featured Image: Kirsty Findlay as Maria Rainer and the von Trapp children – The Sound of Music – Photo by Fraser Band

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The Sound of Music will play the Pitlochry Festival Theatre until the 22nd of December 2024. For tickets, and information, click here.

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