Touring 'Sound of Music' lovingly celebrates power of song
“The Sound of Music” typically doesn't command the same serious respect of other classic musicals created by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
But any great production of “The Sound of Music” should resound with the power of song and its ability to spread joy, love and ultimately a sense of conscience for standing up for one's beliefs - especially at the end when the von Trapp Family Singers plot an escape rather than support the Nazis in annexed Austria of 1938. All of these messages powerfully shine through in the lovely new national tour playing at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre.
Rather than originating in New York, this tour was designed for the road and it's illuminated by top-flight Broadway talent. Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien (“Hairspray,” “The Coast of Utopia”) oversees a graceful and cinematic staging that adds crucial dramatic sparks to the so-so book scenes penned by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The casting is also strong, with plenty of talented newcomers joined by seasoned Broadway veterans.
In the pivotal role of the novice nun and governess Maria Rainer, Pace University student Kerstin Anderson shows herself to be a true professional. Anderson's emotional journey feels authentic - especially when falling under the spell of the stentorian widower Captain von Trapp (a handsome and beautifully sung Ben Davis) or seeking guidance from the wise, golden-voiced Mother Abbess of former Chicago actress Melody Betts, who sings the soaring anthem “Climb Every Mountain.”
Anderson's Maria and her happiness at sharing songs is genuine and infectious - particularly when she teaches the rudiments of music in the ever-catchy number “Do-Re-Mi.”
O'Brien has crucially directed the von Trapp children to not be so self-consciously adorable, so they come off more genuine than expected. The truth-telling Brigitta of Iris Davies is fun, as is the Kurt of Austin Levine, who subtly flirts with his new governess.
As the secondary romantic couple, there is good teenage angst and playfulness between the Liesl of Paige Silvester and Rolf Gruber of Dan Tracy (though their “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” dance choreographed by Danny Mefford becomes too affectedly cute by the end).
There's also strong secondary character work by the likes of Merwin Foard as the wealth-obsessed agent Max Detweiler and Teri Hansen as the imperious Elsa Schraeder (though some may have wished her take might have been more coldly calculating).
Compared to the Lyric Opera of Chicago's full-orchestra production of “The Sound of Music” in 2014, this tour doesn't have the same sonic or scenic grandeur, even if set designer Douglas W. Schmidt's lattice-framed traditional backdrops are effective and evocative of Salzburg. But in terms of affecting performances and sharing the show's overarching message about the transformational power of song, this “Sound of Music” tour rings far more true.
“The Sound of Music”
★ ★ ★ ½
Location: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or
Showtimes: 7:30 Tuesday through Friday (also Sunday, June 12), 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (also Wednesday, June 15); through June 19
Tickets: $21-$87
Running time: About two hours, 35 minutes with intermission
Parking: Area pay garages and limited metered street parking
Rating: For general audiences