‘The Sound of Music’

Actors’ NET of Bucks County gives this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic a revival.

By: Stuart Duncan

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C. Jameson Bradley is Captain von Trapp in


the Actors’ NET production of The Sound of Music.


   It seems difficult to believe now, but when The Sound of Music opened on Broadway in mid-November 1959, the New York critics were decidedly divided in their opinions. Those who liked the show found it the most mature work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. But those who were less impressed thought it corny, conventional and overly sentimental. One critic blamed book writers Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse for making the story too saccharine; another blamed director Vincent Donahue for placing too much emphasis on the children. Still another felt that the play ended too abruptly, without showing how the von Trapp family escaped to safety. And, of course, there were the inevitable comparisons with other Rodgers and Hammerstein hits, beginning with Oklahoma.
   In truth, the show never has been my own personal cup of tea — too sweet and cutesy for my tastes. But the latest revival at Actors’ NET of Bucks County at its intimate site on the banks of the Delaware in Morrisville, Pa., may just change my mind. After a sensational The Tempest, Cheryl and Joe Doyle have done it again with a production strong enough to sweep away prejudgments.
   There are four basic reasons for the success: First, the ladies of the Abbey, led by Patricia Bartlett and including Audrey Mills, Isabelle Elden, Tami Feist-Breustedt and Stephanie Winson. They not only sing beautifully (the a cappella opening shocked conventional Broadway audiences at first), but can handle the dialogue with ease to set the theme of the show right off the bat.
   Second, the children: Usually the seven von Trapp kids are so cloyingly sweet, one tends to wait for the scene to change as quickly as possible. But, this time, they are all human, really human, and does that make a difference. Tess Ammerman as Liesl, followed down the line by Steve Christy as Friedrich, Sarah Webster as Louisa, Wesley Cappiello as Kurt, Haley Masterson as Brigitta, Rebecca Blaich as Marta and Abigail Klapper as Gretl — take a deep bow.
   Third, the orchestra, five of them, led by Pat Masterson from the keyboard: They not only underscore beautifully, never overpowering the singers, but they cover the frequent scene shifts (there are 20 of them) with great confidence.
   And fourth, Eleanor Kiel as Maria: With a superbly trained operatic voice and performances in musicals from Sweeney Todd to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, this seems a role she was born to play. She handles it with such ease, especially her scenes with the children, that never once does the dialogue seem coy, and never does the tricky music appear difficult.
   There is more: C. Jameson Bradley is a fine Captain von Trapp. Virginia Barrie has great fun as the family housekeeper. Marco Newton continues a season of solid characterizations as Max Detweiler, family friend and eventually its protector. Vicki Czarnick is a splendid Elsa Schraeder, the other woman. And Patricia Bartlett’s "Climb Every Mountain" still brings mist to the eyes, as it has since that opening night in 1959.
   It is a long show — three hours, since the Doyles have brought back all of the songs that other directors sometimes chop (and it’s wonderful to have them in place, where indeed they should be). The Sound of Music was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s last collaboration. The latter died during the run of the show. As is the show-business tradition, the musical played that night, but the members of the audience who were close enough to the stage to notice such things later reported that Mary Martin sobbed as the Mother Abbess (Patricia Neway) sang "Climb Every Mountain."
The Sound of Music continues at the Heritage Center, 635 N. Delmorr Ave., Morrisville, Pa., through May 22. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 6 p.m. Tickets cost $17, $15 seniors/children. For information, call (215) 295-3694. On the Web: www.actorsnetbucks.org