By: Jon Behm
For someone who doesn’t really like musicals, I somehow end up seeing a lot of them. Most recently The Sound of Music, the Rogers and Hammerstein Broadway classic which has been revived for the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts’ stage under the direction of Wendy Knox. Whether you love Rogers and Hammerstein, or they just make you want to gag, everyone should at least be able to agree that the Ordway performance was spectacularly well done.
The Sound of Music is the story of how the Von Trapp Family singers came together under the guidance of governess (and future Mrs. Von Trapp) Maria, and how they stood up against the Nazi’s during the Austrian Anschuss. The key to any great Sound of Music production is a good Maria, which the Ordway has in spades in Jessica Bogart. Bogart played Maria’s wholesome charm to perfection. She also has a voice to cure the blues, a birdlike soprano that brought the hills to life indeed. And what diction! Every word she sang sounded as if it was bitten off like a crisp piece of fruit.
While Bogart dominated the show, she was very well supported by a talented cast of vocalists. Stern father and nun-seducer Captain Von Trapp was played very well by Matthew Ashford, who stood out especially in his patriotic performance of Edelweiss. Susan Pierson’s Mother Abbess shook the house with incredibly strong inflection and tone, and was complimented by a wonderful choir of nuns - who, if I am not mistaken, included some men.
I could go on about the depth of the cast’s vocal ability, but what was probably most impressive about the casting was that the children were all terrific. All of the Von Trapp spawn were played very professionally, even Olivia Wernecke as Gretl, who is not much more than a toddler yet sings solo parts. Standout performers amongst the younger generation onstage included Julia Wirsum’s Louisa as well as Aaron Young’s Rolf, who channeled a young Fred Astaire in Sixteen Going on Seventeen. The kids were all so sunny and wide-eyed that I am surprised that even the Nazi’s could resist their resolute cheerfulness.
Scene design by Kenneth Foy provided a great ambiance for the story, including a giant painted stained-glass oculus that fills the Abbey and a moveable entrance to the Von Trapp Mansion. The Austrian countryside was painted in muted Technicolor, heightening the dated feel of the play. There was even a giant red Swastika banner hung from a balcony, which remains a startling sight to see, even now. The sound was also very good, helped partly by Reid Resja’s sound design as well as the Ordway’s stellar acoustics.
If you live in America, chances are pretty good that you have at least seen the film version of The Sound of Music, if not the musical. While the Ordway didn’t really take any big risks on the performance, people don’t come to see Rogers and Hammerstein shows expecting a lot of liberties to be taken with the classics. The show has become such a beloved institution in our culture precisely because it has remained the same since we were kids. Plus we never get tired of seeing those Nazi’s getting what’s coming to them.
Location Info:
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Artist Info: Ordway
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