Maria Rainer, a high-spirited postulant at Nonnberg Abbey in pre-Second-World-War Austria, is sent by her Mother Abbess to act as governess to the seven children of naval captain and widower Georg von Trapp, in order that she may discover if she truly has a religious vocation. Maria�s love of music, and of life, soon endears her to the children and eventually, despite his initial resistance, to their father. But two circumstances bring danger into their lives: Maria�s growing feelings of love for her already engaged employer, and the Captain�s unconcealed detestation of the Nazi regime that is occupying his homeland.
Overall, The Sound of Music was a pleasing production. The only thing that really bothered me was how uneven the acts seemed. Act 1 seemed to never end and Act 2 was so short. Another interesting aspect was putting the scene of mountains on the balcony onstage. There isn�t much I can say about The Sound of Music since this was the first time I had seen it and very little I could truly observe while understanding the musical.
CAPTAIN GEORG VON TRAPP - C. DAVID JOHNSON
C. David Johnson had an all around fair and pleasant singing voice. One thing that I did like was that he projected a nice, calm aura that translated into the fatherly figure as he warms to Maria. In the beginning he was distant, cold, and businesslike. The nice, calm aura also showed up in the party scene in which he dances with Maria. It was sort of heart warming and sentimental as they got caught up in dancing and later as he tried to hide his like for her. It reminded me of Jane Eyre (only with more children); he was like Rochester and Cynthia Dale was like Jane Eyre (more energetic and rambunctious). He and Cynthia Dale had very good chemistry with each other, especially in the scene where they must decide what to do about the commission.
MARIA RAINER - CYNTHIA DALE
Cynthia Dale was actually better than I had expected. She was very energetic and vibrant, believable as an adult who is still somewhat of a child. Her voice was fair but she took some time to really warm up. Her voice was pleasant but it was a mixture of flowing with a raw, rough texture. She had great chemistry with C. David Johnson (obvious since they did the show Street Legal together) and the children. One memorable moment was when she arrived at the von Trapps in that ugly dress.
MOTHER ABBESS - JEANNE LEHMAN
Jeanne Lehman played the Mother Abbess as a kind hearted and loving person. She seemed like a mother figure to Maria. The highlight of the show was her ending note on Climb Every Mountain. She hit that note powerfully giving a nice full sound without any struggle. The people around me were amazed since they thought nobody could sing that note like the Mother Abbess from the movie.
MAX DETWEILER - RAYMOND O�NEILL
Raymond O�Neill was very slick, likeable, and funny. He had the right amount of snooty in the character and displayed how the character of Max ended up being a conformist, acting as a foil to show Georg�s detestation of the Nazis. He had great chemistry with the Elsa Schraeder character and they projected themselves as running in the same circle of people. Yet again, the people around me thought he looked a lot like the Max from the movie.
ELSA SCRAEDER - MARY ANN MCDONALD
Mary Ann McDonald was funny and slick. She tried to get to know the children. She actually cooed over them a lot. She reminded me of the Blanche character from Jane Eyre, though nicer.
THE CHILDREN
LIESL - SHANNON TAYLOR
FRIEDRICH - JORDAN DAWE
LOUISA - MEGAN BARKER
KURT - ADAM DOLSON
BRIGITTA - LISA MANIS
MARTA - ALICIA THOMPSON
GRETL - AISLINN PAUL
Of all the actors, I felt that the children were the highlight of the show. They moved well, sang well, and were generally at ease. The actors range in age from 7-17 and they gave a cheerful, energetic performance. I�d have to say that the standout was Aislinn Paul who played Gretl. She�s only seven and was very adorable throughout the show.
Shannon Taylor who was Liesl gave a nice impression. She�s only seventeen, which makes "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" very true in her case. She had a sweet, crystalline voice, which I thought would be perfect for the role of Cosette in Les Miserables. She captured the innocence of the character in believing Rolf to be her dream guy and later relying on her faith in him at the end. She also expressed the other emotions well. For instance, in the beginning she was distant and didn�t accept Maria. She and Cory O�Brien did a good job as star-crossed lovers during �Sixteen Going On Seventeen�. The chemistry was sweet and endearing as she was being coy and he was trying to be a know it all.
ROLF GRUBER - CORY O�BRIEN
Cory O�Brien had a fair voice, though he was somewhat nasal. Otherwise I preferred his acting. He was funny trying to be a know it all during �Sixteen Going On Seventeen�. As the show progressed I truly did believe he was a traitor and genuinely hoped that he wouldn�t turn them in.
On the whole this was an enjoyable show, definitely for families or Sound of Music lovers. It�s quite sugary sweet and heart warming. I have to admit that I�m a little bias because I would have preferred to see Regan Thiel go on as Maria since I�ve seen her as Cosette in Les Miserables and would like to see her perform in another context. All bias aside, if you�d like to relive the Sound of Music experience, be it the movie or a musical production, this Stratford production has many good things to offer.
C. David Johnson as Captain von Trapp and Cynthia Dale as Maria Rainer
Cynthia Dale as Maria Rainer and Jeanne Lehman as Mother Abbess
Shannon Taylor as Liesl and Cory O'Brien as Rolf Gruber
Left to right: Megan Barker as Louisa, Lisa Manis as Brigitta, Jordan Dawe as Friedrich, Shannon Taylor as Liesl, Cynthia Dale as Maria, Adam Dolson as Kurt, Aislinn Paul as Gretl, and Alicia Thompson as Marta
Left to right: Lisa Manis as Brigitta, Shannon Taylor as Liesl, Adam Dolson as Kurt, Cynthia Dale as Maria, Aislinn Paul as Gretl, C. David Johnson as Captain von Trapp, Alicia Thompson as Marta, Jordan Dawe as Friedrich, and Megan Barker as Louisa
Shannon Taylor as Liesl and Cory O'Brien as Rolf Gruber
