Lopez Blogs

THE THEATRE NEWS:

~ Sound of Music review...

Paul again, taking control here. I have to say I was most impressed with the Sound of Music stage version. At the London Palladium don’t you know. Which has no air conditioning so most people were flapping their overpriced programmes all the way through. The man in front had a constant trickle of sweat running down his neck which was quite offputting. This version was faithful enough to the film that it would keep your average punters happy, but enough little quirks to make it’s own mark. A couple of quick observations...

• Connie Fisher is a powerhouse maria, though her cheeks didn’t go as red as Julie Andrews when she fell in love with the Captain...
• The orchestral arrangements of the songs were uniformly stunning...
• ...as was the stage set. Very inventive and clever.
• Stage Maria came across as much more as a teacher, particularly during the cute Do-Re-Mi...
• ...which, along with So Long, Farewell and Lonely Goatherd, had the cutest dance routine this side of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Stage Mary Poppins...
• ...Rolf is a lot nicer/hotter in the stage version...
• The Baroness and Uncle Max came across as a 40s version of Will and Grace. Quite the comedy couple, and the orphans potential mommy was a lot nicer in this version. Oh! And their songs, cut from the film, are real burlesque type highlights.
• There are some great comedy moments with the nuns, particularly as Maria prepares for marriage and one of the Sisters pulls a skimpy nighty out of her suitcase. Hahahaha.
• The Wedding Processional is always aces ~ I played it as my sister Hannah walked down the aisle 8 years ago and accidentally went into the how do you solve a problem like maria part. Ah, good times...
• But to be honest, if I was Maria, i wouldn’t particularly want some nuns telling me I was a flibbertigibbet or a willo the wisp as I walked down the aisle. Although, when i was at school, some people did think i was a character from willo the wisp...
• The kids were all bloody excellent.

It made me want to dig out Connie’s album again, and although it’s no Laura Michelle Kelly album, it’s still quite good.

MP3: Connie Fisher ~ Another Suitcase