30 April,2023 12:10 PM IST | Mumbai | Christalle Fernandes
Maria, played by Wiley, with the Von Trapp children
It's been 58 years since the musical drama, The Sound of Music, starring actors Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, enthralled cinema-goers world over. The film, based on a 1949 memoir by novitiate-turned-governess Maria Von Trapp on the lives of the Von Trapp family singers of Austria, had its moments. Remember the breathtaking opening scenes where Maria, played by Andrews, wanders through the sunny valleys of Salzburg, singing her ode to the hills? Or the awkward moment when she comes face to face with what seems like a large troop of children, all drilled to military perfection by their retired naval officer father?
Nothing comes close, though, to the stellar musical composition by Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.
In a first, the city will see the Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway troupe perform the iconic musical live at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre. "We can't wait for our people to experience this iconic Broadway musical in their own country and make memories with their family and friends," says Nita Mukesh Ambani, Founder and Chairperson.
The seven-time Tony Award winner will open to audiences on May 3 and will run till June 4. The Broadway troupe - the cast includes Jill-Christine Wiley as Maria, Trevor Martin as Captain Von Trapp, Lauren O'Brien, Daniel J Fullerton and Joshua La Force - has performed in over 100 countries so far.
Director Jack O'Brien, who's a three-time Tony Award winner, says that although the story has been loved for generations, the challenge was in rendering it in a way that still captivates the imagination of people. "Few people realise that the film version of The Sound of Music, so beloved, for so many years, is not the original version. [The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical]. As a matter of interest, Richard Rodgers was not a fan of the movie and we realised early on that a script that had been authored by two incredibly talented playwrights, never got its due. People are astonished to reacquaint themselves with something they thought they knew."
The Broadway musical, O'Brien says, is an attempt "to be faithful to the original authors' intentions, and not be seduced by its traditional interpretation as [it] occurs in the film".
He says that the song, Climb Ev'ry Mountain, was his favourite part of the musical. The song comes at a critical juncture when Maria expresses her hesitation to become a nun to the Mother Abbess at the Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. "I loved the discovery that the song was not simply a standard response by the Mother Abbess, but an improvised answer to a serious question. Once we went in that direction, the scales virtually fell from our eyes. The Mother Abbess was drawing on her own younger experiences, and thus, reawakening her own calling." Tour director Matt Lenz agrees. "There is something deeply moving, profound and universal when the Mother Abbess asks Maria, âHow do you want to spend your love?' just before she sings Climb Ev'ry Mountain. The urgency and depth of that moment never fail to affect me."
The "universality" of the story is what O'Brien aims to portray with each onstage rendition. He muses about how classic stories have their own appeal. "It's a great experience of pride and delight for us to be able to carry this message outside of its original expectation."
WHEN: May 3 to June 4, 2.30 PM and 7.30 PM
WHERE: The Grand Theatre, NMACC
PRICE: Rs 1,000 onwards
TO BOOK: nmacc.com
