The Sound of Music: Newcastle Theatre Royal,
YET another adaptation of the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical has come to the stage, this time from successful West End producer Bill Kenwright.
The Sound of Music is one of those tales that everyone knows, even if they haven’t seen the 1965 film phenomenon starring Julie Andrews, they will at least know a song or two. This fantastic production stars Danielle Hope as Maria Rainer, winner of the Andrew Lloyd Webber BBC show Over the Rainbow (2010) and Steven Houghton as Captain Von Trapp.
The show was a hefty two hours and 40 minutes long (including an interval), so there was a lot of pressure to keep the audience entertained. The first half was just short of one hour 30 and it was fantastic; songs such as The Sound of Music, Maria and Do-Re-Mi were captivating and sung to a high standard with defined diction.
The acting and beautiful voices definitely kept this show alive. I must give a special mention to Grace Chapman, who plays eldest Von Trapp daughter Leisl; her singing and dancing is impeccable and her duet with Luke George (Rolf Gruber) was touching and well-choreographed.
I really cannot fault this show – everybody was fantastic, all the children were champions and remembered their lines and the stage design was one of the best I’ve seen. It is suitable for all of the family and if I were you I would by your tickets as soon as possible because I’m predicting they will sell out fast.
* Runs until Saturday, September 12. Box Office 08448-112121 or theatreroyal.co.uk
Emily Craig
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