Review: Overture Hall is alive with THE SOUND OF MUSIC

I was probably one of the only people in Overture Hall on Tuesday night that had never seen The Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer - or any live production for that matter.

Perhaps that is the reason that the newest tour, currently stationed at Overture Center, struck a chord with me.

Though the 1965 film adaptation and I have never crossed paths - I am all too familiar with the music. I've often pictured the story playing out in my mind's eye and what I witnessed last night was far different than I had ever imagined.

The musical warhorse penned by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II - the last musical written by the duo -- will turn 57 this year, but thanks to invigorated direction by Jack O'Brien, the musical hasn't aged a day.

Aside from entrancing costumes by Jane Greenwood and the decadent set by Douglas W. Schmidt , which slather the production in colors galore, it's the music itself that sets this production apart.

Kerstin Anderson as Maria Rainer, the exuberant nun who doesn't quite fit in at Nonnberg Abbey, is undeniably awkward - which is what makes her so endearing. Anderson, who was offered the role of Maria while still pursuing her undergraduate degree in musical theatre, has the musical chops of a performer twice her age and the charisma of a young ingénue.

Every lyric and word uttered by Anderson lands with an authenticity that gives Maria more depth - a genuine connection to the music that can often be lost in the lofty arrangement. Anderson's singing of her lonely heart in "The Sound of Music" hits home with a resounding pang as her joyous nature takes a brief downturn.

Anderson's Maria is delightfully human in every possible way.

Anderson's interactions with Ashley Brown (the powerhouse Mother Abbess who knocks "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" out of the park) give the ladies an air of true sisterhood. Teasing their way through a charming rendition of "My Favorite Things", Brown and Anderson appear to be old friends rather than Postulant and Mother Abbess.

When Mother Abbess sends Maria away from the abbey to decide whether or not the life of a nun is one she can rightfully choose, she is sent to the home of widower Captain Georg von Trapp (a dashing Ben Davis) and his seven children.

Anderson's youth comes into play again when interacting with the von Trapp children who are not too far removed from her in age - particularly the eldest children like Liesel (Paige Silvester). Her sisterly qualities displayed in the abbey now work to her advantage as she falls in love with the von Trapp children.

Maria rekindles a love of music in the children that had fallen away since the loss of their mother. She rekindles too that fondness for music in Georg as they inevitably fall in love.

The beauty of the show itself is a stark companion to the underlying issues surrounding the von Trapp family and their loved ones as they reside in Austria during the German takeover.

Georg's opportunistic friend Max Detweiler (a hilarious and spot-on Merwin Foard) and his initial love interest Elsa Schraeder (Teri Hansen) attempt to persuade the captain to bow - or just stoop a little - to the political climate. Georg's dismissal of the Nazi agenda puts his family in danger, but Maria encourages his remaining steadfast.

When massive, blood red, banners bearing swastikas unfurled during Act II, soft murmuring erupted around me.

It's so easy to get swept away in The Sound of Music's enchanting score and forget that the show is based on Maria von Trapp's memoir. It's so easy to sit back and enjoy the delectable music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The banners serve as a reminder of what was at stake and how music became a literal and figurative escape for the von Trapps.

The Sound of Music is a well-loved classic. It's been staged time and time again and continues to bring audiences to their feet during curtain call. This production brings such a fresh face to both Maria and the show itself that one could hardly believe its true age.

Despite my own inexperience with the show aside from its music, I'm glad this was my first real encounter with the von Trapp Family Singers. Because, although I love Andrews as much as anyone else, Anderson as Maria is now "one of my favorite things."

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