The Sound of Music
This musical feature is based on the memoir of Maria Von Trapp, an aspiring nun who becomes a Nanny. Set on the brink of WWII, Maria takes a hiatus from the Abbey, and she is sent to be the governess for a family of 7 children. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their father as well, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children.
This was the last musical written by the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein. Hammerstein, the author of the lyrics, died just months after the Broadway premier. They are known for the musicals Cinderella, The King and I, Oklahoma!, and many more. The Sound of Music opened in 1959, and it won five Tony awards, including Best Musical out of nine nominations. The musical was adapted to film starring Julie Andrews, where it gained even more popularity.
While I have seen the film adaption multiple times, I had the privilege of watching the stage production of The Sound of Music at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. this past week. The actress who played Maria in this production had an interesting take on the character. She was rather goofy and awkward. Part of this may be a result of her tall frame, but even in personality, I had never experienced her portrayal of Maria. This is a great example of the uniqueness of stage productions- each performance will be different because each actor or actress plays the characters differently.
Since the plotline includes the “Von Trapp Family Singers,” there are several songs in which the children, and sometimes the Captain and Maria, perform together in an ensemble style. The children act as the chorus throughout the performance because there are not many other characters. The other nuns, Maria’s friends, act as the chorus in the scenes that take place at the Abbey, such as the opening scene and the wedding scene; however, most of the time, the children fill this role.
While I love musicals, I do not enjoy listening to music from these productions outside of actual performances because I find that while most of the production is captured in the music, there are some scenes in which the characters only speak to each other, in plain, everyday language. For example, the conversation between Maria and Mother Abbess regarding Maria’s leave from the Abbey is not captured in music, but it is pivotal to the plot. I would consider the performance of “So Long, Farewell” as the most speech like singing throughout the musical. In this song, the children sing goodnight to Captain von Trapp’s family. This song is not significant to the plotline, but it creates dialogue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy9_lfjQopU
My favorite duet in the show is between Liesel and Rolf singing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” It represents the naivety of the two characters. From a young age, I have loved watching the ballroom dancing, or at least the attempt to dance, in this scene. Furthermore, these characters also use music to engage in dialogue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwK_WOXjfc0
The orchestra definitely played a major role (no pun intended) in painting almost every scene throughout the play. While obviously the actors and actresses convey the plot, the audience receives auditory mood clues from the orchestra depending on the tempo, type of chords (major or minor), and volume of the music. During the closing scene for example, the orchestra conveys a tense mood by playing their notes rigidly while the Von Trapp family is attempting to escape the Germans.
One of my favorite scene of the production is much different than the film adaption of the musical. In the scene, Maria tells the Abbess of how she longed to be a nun when she saw the nuns singing behind the walls as she played in the hills as a child. The Mother Abbess reveals that she, too, used to play and sing in the hills by the abbey when she was a girl. They share a moment of mutual admiration for the song “My Favorite Things,” and it is evident that — despite her eccentric behavior — Maria is beloved by the Mother Abbess. This is the first scene where I noticed Maria’s excessive, goofy behavior due to her awkward stance. It was almost distracting from the content of the scene. Nonetheless, the Mother Abbess asks Maria to leave the abbey for a time and serve as governess to the seven children of the motherless family Von Trapp. She hopes the time outside the abbey will clarify for Maria whether a nun’s life is truly for her. With trepidation about what’s ahead, Maria asks permission of the Abbess to shore up her courage through singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwK_WOXjfc0
In this scene, the audience grasps a clear picture of how much Mother Abbess loves and cares about Maria, establishing the foundation of the play. Even though the two characters share laughs with each other, the Mother Abbess still does what is best for Maria. This interaction combines humor over the song “My Favorite Things”, in which they are reminiscing about their childhood in the mountains, and serious disciplinary actions. It combines music with spoken speech and a very simple set- only a desk and a bench to represent Mother Abbess’ office space.
The second time that Maria and the Mother Abbess sing “My Favorite Things,” they sing in an effort to cheer Maria up after she learns that she must leave the Abbey. Maria departs during this song, and it is evident that comparatively, the tempo is much slower. The orchestra plays the music in minor chords to convey the sadness of her departure. While the two characters continue to sing in consonant harmony, the use of minor chords and the slower tempo make their harmony sound dreary.
Overall, I generally love musicals. Maybe I was so used to the film adaption, or the live TV production of this musical, I was unable to appreciate the new spin of awkwardness that Maria portrayed. For the most part, the musical has a happy, satisfying ending; however, the audience does not know if the Von Trapp family successfully escaped over the mountains. While it is not common to write a sequel for musicals, I wonder if Rodgers & Hammerstein planned to tie up loose ends before Hammerstein’s death. The use of music triggered emotional responses in myself, and I presume the rest of the audience as well, enabling us to appropriately connect to the characters.