Washington Crossing Open Air Theatre captures ‘The Sound of Music.’
By: Stuart Duncan
It seems almost impossible to believe, but when The Sound of Music opened on Broadway in mid-November 1959, there was considerable doubt that it would have enough steam to run long enough to become a hit. It came to opening night with a huge advance box office ($2 to $3 million which, in those days, was astonishing). The out-of-town reviews were favorable, but the New York reviewers were not so sure: many called it corny, conventional and, worst of all, sentimental.
One critic blamed writers Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse (who had teamed up for the longest running comedy to that point, Life With Father) for making the script "too saccharine." Another objected to director Vincent J. Donohue’s placement of too much emphasis on the children. Still another felt the play ended too abruptly, without showing the audience how the von Trapp family escaped to safety.
But those same audiences paid no attention to the critics, formed long lines at the box office and quickly the show was a sellout and no tickets could be found at any price. Audiences soon learned that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had other surprises for them. The show had no overture it began with the nuns of the abbey singing "Preludium" and changing to the lilting "Maria," hardly the kind of song one might expect from the cloistered ladies of the cloth. That scene was immediately followed by Maria singing the title song, and Rodgers and Hammerstein refused to allow seating until she had finished her scene. Broadway veterans were accustomed to having five or even 10 minutes while the overture was playing to find their seats. They learned quickly.
The show has been revived twice in the area in the past month and last weekend opened at The Open Air Theatre in Washington Crossing State Park. That revival is a bit of a disappointment. For one thing, the park has been changing hands rapidly these years and is not yet up to the high standards of past years. For example, last weekend there were no programs. Apparently a lightning bolt hit the printer and no one could find a way to get programs, even by the following weekend. No way to build a following.
The production does have two extraordinary performances Tressa McCallister, who plays Maria, and Linda Cornelius, who plays the Mother Abbess. Both are on loan from Bucks County Playhouse and both have superb voices. McCallister’s is more of the traditional musical theatre variety (with exceptional range at the top). Cornelius is clearly opera-trained and very powerful. Their duet "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things" is a highlight.
Cornelius will also knock the trees at the back down when she sings "Climb Every Mountain" and Ms. McCallister will win your heart early in the evening when she joins the children, all seven of them, in "Do-Re-Mi." The children range greatly in talent: Donna Missal as Liesl; Kyle McClellan as Friedrich; Brianna Webb as Louisa; Pierce Rolli as Kurt; Rachel Mahar as Brigitta; Grace Gilbert as Marta; and Skylar Dorfman as Gretl. Sadly, some of their scenes appear under-rehearsed.
Michael Zweig seems overmatched by the role of Captain von Trapp, but that might well be simply miscasting. Tim Hackney shows real promise as Rolf (he’s the lad who shows up with all the telegrams). Once again the balky sound system burped and grunted at inopportune times.
As if to prove that the public doesn’t always care, the Saturday night crowd was the largest of the summer season.
The Sound of Music continues at Washington Crossing Open Air Theatre, 355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, through July 29. Performances: Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m. Tickets cost $14; (609) 737-1826 after 6 p.m. on show nights for reservations (no assigned seats, however) and information about weather conditions; www.buckscountyplayhouse.com

