Review: The Hills Are Alive with Character in 5th Ave's SOUND OF MUSIC

Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" is one of those mainstays of the American Musical Theater canon that has endured over the years. Pretty much anyone with a passing interest in musical theater has seen it in some form whether the Julie Andrews film, countless stage productions or even the recent live broadcast on TV (which I like to pretend never happened). And why has the show endured for over 55 years? Because it's simply a well written show. But the problem I find with most productions (especially that one that didn't exist) is the performers sing the well-written songs well but the character and thus the story is lost. Well that is not the case with the current production at the 5th Avenue Theatre which had so much character and story in addition to the beautiful voices that I almost felt like I was seeing the show for the first time.

We all know the story don't we? 1937 Austria and flighty novice nun Maria (Kirsten deLohr Helland) doesn't quite fit in at the abbey and so Mother Superior (Anne Allgood) sends her out into the world to find herself. Or more specifically she sends her to the Austrian Naval Officer Captain von Trapp (Hans Altwies) to act as Governess to his seven children. Lots of singing and love happens and then the Nazis take over Austria.

But as beautiful and infectious as the songs are, often times the story and the stakes of the story are overshadowed. Not here. Director David Bennett has ensured that the dangerousness of the situation the von Trapp family is in is fully realized by casting some of the best actors in town in some of the smaller but pivotal non-singing roles along with singers who can dive into the characters of who they are and what they are singing. And so when the local party leader Herr Zeller (viciously played by Darragh Kennan) confronts the Captain we can tell there's trouble in store. And when the sweet and love struck Rolf (well played with a killer arc by Kody Bringman) turns on the family and then faces off with them and specifically his love Liesl (Shaye Hodgins) we can feel the tension and loss. And it's that depth of character that most productions forsake for making sure the kids are adorable and the voices are pretty.

But never fear, the kids are still adorable and the voices are still pretty, just with the acting to back it all up. Altwies plays the dashing and stalwart Captain well and you can completely see the chemistry and tension between he and Helland making for a sweet romance. Allgood is wonderfully relatable as the Mother Superior and nails her big Act One closer and kudos to all of the Sisters whose voices soar and harmonize beautifully during the group numbers. As I mentioned before Bringman and Hodges are adorable together and their sweet relationship makes what comes later all the more tragic. And I must mention Jessica Skerritt and David Pichette as the husband searching Elsa and scheming Max whose character brought even more vibrancy and life to the story.

But we know the show is all about Maria. And with Helland in the role there is no "problem like Maria" to be solved. Helland breaks out of the mold of characters she's usually in, the edgy, bad girls, and delivers a naïve and sweet Maria with just enough attitude to make it clear why she's not a good fit for the abbey but is the perfect counterpart to keep the Captain in line. And her voice throughout is absolutely flawless. She truly leads the show to greatness and with seeming ease and laser focus.

So if you've never seen a stage production of "The Sound of Music" then this is the one for you. Especially if you're trying to get rid of the bad taste that live broadcast (that never happened) left in your mouth. And even if you have seen it a million times and it's one of your favorite things and you just want a superb telling of this classic show then this one will do you right which is why with my three letter rating system I give it a quite alive YAY. The hills at the 5th Avenue are truly alive as is the story and character of this classic piece.

"The Sound of Music" performs at the 5th Avenue Theatre through January 3rd, 2016. For tickets or information contact the 5th Avenue box office at 206-625-1900 or visit them online at www.5thavenue.org.

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