Review: SOUND OF MUSIC at Stadsteatern, Stockholm

So it was finally time for a real musical on an indoor stage since the closure last autumn and Stadsteatern probably could not have chosen a better musical as its first, because we have so missed the sound of music from a musical on stage. When the first beats are played and the curtain rises, it is felt throughout the body.

We are met by one of the most beautiful scenographies I have seen at Stadsteatern. Large cone-shaped lamps with conifer branches in which glimpses behind the frosted glass move us directly to the Alps and Austria and the scenography by Martin Chocholousek is truly a hit right through and amplified and lifted by the lighting by Mikael Kratt and sound by Avgoustos Psillas. When it thunders, the whole scene is lit up by flashes and the chairs vibrate with the sound. It is followed by stylish clothes by Camilla Thulin. As a whole, the stage impression is, as I said, among the most beautiful I have seen at the Stadsteatern

We come directly to the nuns in the convent led by the abbess, Karolin Funke who are excellent in their role-playing. Even though singing is not allowed in the monastery anyway, there are a bunch of well-singing nuns in the set, such as Annika Edstam, Jessica Marberger, Jenny Holmgren and Kristin Lidström. Then Sara Jangfeldt comes in as Maria and then she is sent to the rigid Captain von Trapp (Peter Gardiner) and all his children. Peter Gardiner does well as the stele von Trapp and the children are as charming as they should be, possibly a little too kind for so much mischief there is no room for in this set.

Yes, then it rolls on almost as in the film but with some adjustments that mostly work well, but I wish they had chosen to keep "My Favorite things" when it thunders and Maria comforts the children. There they had instead chosen to put in "The lonely Goatherd" to somehow bring in the puppet theater, but there they lost the mood, I think. The atmosphere was also ruined when the choreographer Roger Lybeck performed a John Cleese-inspired Silly Walks dance when Maria and Von Trapp dance and the romantic atmosphere between them is to be built. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by strange bone splatters and body twitches. It appeared a bit here and there during the show. Another thing that rubbed a bit is the choice of Sara as Maria. Maria is supposed to be a young innocent postulant, but with Sara in the role, there will be no major age difference between Maria, Von Trapp, Elsa Schräder and the abbess. They all feel almost the same age and Maria's hairstyle and clothes do not give the impression of a young woman either. Personally, I would have preferred Kristin Lidström or Jenny Holmgren (who is Sara's replacement) as a regular like Maria because it would have given a better credibility in the role and context. Sara sings well and she has a wonderful cockiness as with the red hair reminiscent of Pippi Longstocking, but in this set I would probably have preferred to see her as Elsa Schräder or the abbess.

But on the whole, it was a pleasure to sit in the salon and be enveloped by this set of Sound of Music and all the great performances on stage, all the fantastic musicians under the direction of Joakim Hallin and all the creators behind that made it possible. A musical with a lot of hope and joy in just what you want now, but with a reminder of the threatening darkness and terrible winds that unfortunately blow in our country now.

It plays until December 31st and there are tickets left, but are selling out quickly.

Tickets can be purchased:

https://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/teater/sound-of-music

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