Some of my favorite experiences as a community theatre critic and patron are when a company prevails despite the challenges that only these type of performances can have. In fact, sometimes it seems like nearly everything goes wrong and yet they so often pull things together and make for a great time for all involved including the audience. Such was my experience on Wednesday watching The Sound of Music at Herriman Arts. What a wonderful take on this classic musical and in some ways this was the most classic version of this story one could possibly be. It might be called the OG The Sound of Music and even the fierce winds couldn’t stop it from being a great time

I should note at the start of this review that the Wednesday showing I saw was actually a preview performance, which I’m so grateful they let me review as my weekend proved to be jam packed. The production is directed by Shelby Walles and he manages to get the most out of his large cast and crew. I absolutely love that they always have full orchestras at Herriman under the leadership of orchestra director Meagan Thorup. I would have gladly listened to a concert of just the score of the musical the orchestra was that outstanding. I’m also impressed with the fierce winds they were able to keep their sheet music from blowing away!

The cast is across the board terrific with Mattie Curtis making for an endearing Maria and she has easy chemistry with Mike Handy as Captain von Trapp. The kids are all great with Haizlynn Hobbs stealing the show as young Gretl. Lily Farr also is strong as Liesl both in her singing and dancing. Another standout is Dewey McNeill as Max Detweiler. I really liked his singing voice and he brought a warmth to Max that isn’t always there in the stage version (he is after all taking calls from Nazis throughout the musical!)

Even on the best of days the Butterfield Park Pavilion is a challenging venue for musical theatre with it’s big echoey space but it was particularly hard with the heavy winds and storm we experienced on Wednesday. Fortunately the actors pressed forward and even when nuns habits were blown around they laughed it off and kept going.

The stage at the pavilion is massive and I appreciate set designer Tyler Walles used the space well with moving panels that could quickly become mountains, the abbey and the von Trapp home. This makes transitions quick and easy which is nice for a long show like The Sound of Music (I always forget how long it is until I see it. I love it but it’s a long sit!) The only element I wish was different is for “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” I wish they moved the bench and columns over to center stage so it could look more like a gazebo instead of them dancing and singing on a blank stage. Since they have those items on stage why not?

Like I said, this is an OG version of The Sound of Music. They even have Maria and the Captain singing “An Ordinary Couple” which in all the times I’ve seen this musical I’ve never heard before. It is such a treat to hear that beautiful classic song even though I also enjoy “Something Good” which was written for the 1965 film.

Speaking of the film if one is only familiar with that classic it can be a little jarring to see the stage version, which is quite different. I say this with any staging of The Sound of Music that it is worth looking over the order of and the new/missing songs in the stage version. It’s one of the few cases where I think the stage to screen adaptation actually made things better but it’s still fun to see it on stage and as I said hear a rarely sung number like “An Ordinary Couple.”

The Sound of Music is great for the entire family and it is playing through June 19th at Butterfield Park. Tickets can be purchased here..

The Sound of Music has music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It has a book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse and is based on the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. It opened on Broadway in 1959. The feature film premiered in 1965 and went on to win 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. It is widely considered one of the greatest musical movies ever made.

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