The Sound of Music – Palace Theatre, Manchester

Music and Lyrics: Rodgers and Hammerstein

Book: Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse

Director: Jeremy Sams

Choreographer: Arlene Phillips

Reviewer: Gemma Longfellow

Sound of Music - Tour1 The Sound of Music was fantastic! This much loved story follows the adventure of Maria as she exchanges her life as a nun to become Governess for the Von Trapp family. The excellent performance added weight to the claim that this masterpiece by Rogers and Hammerstein is ‘the world’s best loved musical’.

I was blown away by the set design for the show (Robert Jones). We were transported from mountain to Abbey, Von Trapp residence to Music Hall seamlessly. The scenes appeared to melt into each other as parts of the set mechanically moved into place. The set excellently played tribute to the musical’s pre-World War Two setting. It also remained simple yet sophisticated, particularly in the opening scene where we first encounter Maria in the hills with her iconic song ‘The Sound of Music’.

Varying levels of staging were used well to suggest she was in the Austrian mountains simply and effectively, which contributed to the build of anticipation you could feel across the theatre as she reached her pinnacle line; ‘The Hills are alive…’ The lighting design helped shape the setting of each of the scenes well, notably so in the Salzburg Music Hall scene, which even included some menacingly lit Nazi soldiers in the boxes!

Jonathan Gill’s music direction was impeccable, with an excellent use of off-stage vocals to create atmosphere. The orchestra evoked all the emotions you want to experience when watching musical theatre; excitement, sadness, romance and joy.

The cast worked very well together, especially the Von Trapp children. Liesl (Fishenden) and Rolf (Taylor) made a success of the sometimes cringe worthy thunderstorm garden scene, which actually made me reminisce about that particular ‘in-love’ feeling you only get when you’re sixteen. Sound of Music - Tour

Connie Fisher’s (Maria) performance was outstanding, full of humour, honesty and sparkle. We fell in love with the innocent nun as she faced the ‘real’ world outside the Abbey. Preece’s portrayal of The Mother Abbess was a surprisingly warm slant on the character, providing an interesting insight into the maternal relationship between her and Maria. Preece’s performance of ‘Climb Ev-ry Mountain’ was hair-raisingly good!

All the character wore fabulous costumes also designed by Robert Jones,that established the social, political and financial differences between the characters well. Maria’s wedding dress was beautiful.

It is easy to see why this show received such high acclaim at the London Palladium, in my opinion it is much deserved. If you get the chance, go and see it, it’s one of those once in a lifetime shows you’ll never forget.