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The Sound of Music at Milton Keynes Theatre Review

SoundofMusicThe Sound of Music
Milton Keynes Theatre

26 May to 6 June 2015

www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes

Reviewed by Louise Platt

The Sound of Music is one of the greatest musicals of all time and one of my top favourites in the film version! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to go and see the stage production of it at Milton Keynes theatre last night where it is running for the next 9 days.

For those who are fans of the well-loved film, the stage show follows the story fairly closely. Maria is the trainee nun who is struggling to adapt to life in the abbey and is sent off to serve in the Von Trapp Family home as a Governess for the seven Von Trapp children.

Despite the fact that at first Maria is horrified to be given this position, she views it as God’s work and she realises very quickly how she can make a difference to the children’s lives; firstly by teaching them to love their prospective new mother (Elsa Schraeder) and secondly and equally importantly by introducing the children to and then nurturing and encouraging a love and talent for music and song.

Maria has no experience as a Governess but she likes children and her more relaxed approach to raising them wins the affection and respect of the younger members of the family, and later the love of Captain von Trapp himself.

All this is played out while in the background the threat of war and the rise of the Nazi Party grows, which the family cannot escape.

The stage show has all the well-loved songs, My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Maria, The Lonely Goatherd and of course The Sound of Music. They are mixed around a little in terms of when they feature in the story so don’t expect to sit and watch a replica of the film played out on stage. There are also some new songs which are sung by Captain von Trapp and Elsa Schraeder and I thought that their relationship (which eventually breaks down) is made more of in this production than it is in the film. The love affair between Maria and the Captain seems to happen very quickly, and I did feel as if I had missed something when suddenly the Captain admits how he feels about Maria having just waved goodbye to Elsa.

However the pace of the story is much quicker on the stage which would account for this. Despite the performance being fairly long [the first half runs for one hour and 23 minutes, and the second half for 53 minutes], it certainly does not feel like it is dragging; on the contrary it is thoroughly engaging from start to finish.

I really loved the choreography which is slick and brilliantly delivered particularly by the children (who are all fantastic performers). The costumes are also lovely (with special mention to those made out of the curtains!). The entire cast has a wonderful energy and you can really see that they are enjoying themselves on stage. Everyone excels in their roles but for me the stand out performances are from Grace Chapman who plays Liesel, Jan Hartley who plays the Mother Abbess (what a voice!!) and of course Danielle Hope as Maria who is exceptional – and what fabulous annunciation!

This is a magical show which will appeal to all the family. It was clear by the reaction of the audience throughout that everyone was enjoying the show and although it’s not a sing-a-long per se there were plenty of people joining in with their favourite numbers!

For those who are fans of the story and musical score and for those who have never experienced the Sound of Music, this is an enchanting show and highly recommended! I wish I could watch it all over again.

The theatre at Milton Keynes is a great venue with fantastic facilities and a central location. Parking is easy and plentiful especially if you go to an evening performance as it’s free to park after 6pm in central Milton Keynes. There is a lovely Piano Bar if you have time for a drink beforehand and it’s a good idea to preorder drinks for the interval to beat the queues! A great venue for a top evening out.

Rating: 5/5 thumbs_up

Tickets cost from £23.40 to £48.90 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

The Sound of Music is at Milton Keynes Theatre until 6 June 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 8717652.

Milton Keynes Theatre, 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK9 3NZ

5Star

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