I hate not having time to write
because at a certain point I feel like a
shaken up coca cola just waiting to
burst . I guess I can only take in a certain amount of art before I start
convulsing and talking about my precious opinion. The “gigil feeling” was all the
more heightened because my opinion is about an all time favourite “Sound of Music”
.
I grew up watching the 1965 movie version starring Julie Andrews as Maria
and Christopher Plummer as Capt Von Trapp. I
watched that movie and King and I over and over til my eyes hurt . While my
classmates performed “Anak ng Pasig” by Smokey Mountain for school entertainment, I
thought me and my friends should perform “So long Farewell” of Sound of Music
(complete with choreography I might add). I wanted to be Liezle . I wanted to
be sixteen with a young admirer. I seem to remember I also had an odd crush on
the Capt. Needless to say, Sound of Music was a staple in my life. Even in my
teenage and adult years it was my marshmallow with hot chocolate. I popped in our
vhs, then vcd then pirated dvd in that player a million times . Now that I’m a
mom, my 3 year old kid sings Do-Re-Mi
etc. Imagine my excitement when I was presented the idea of watching it
live.
I caught the second to the last show of Sound of Music in Resorts World (May 26, 2012 8PM Cast). The cast was led by
the legendary Joanna Ampil as Maria and pop singer Ariel Rivera as Capt Von Trapp. I waited in
bated breath for the curtains to open. Much
like the original it opened with Maria in hills and the sisters in the abbey .
Instead of a stationary backdrop, the scenes were framed by Led Screen with animated video graphics. At
first, I said to myself “At least they tried new technology”. This kind of
approach to set design has been trending
in Europe but has only recently made its
way to Philippine theatre. I must say I’ve seen better execution, but as the
play progressed Paul Soriano’s animation did its part in painting a beautiful
landscape to a beautiful story. Mio Infante’s intricate sets complimented every scene. Most notable
was the abbey set that just seems to give the right touch of eeriness and serenity of a convent. Given the size of the
theatre, it was a brilliant idea to have a camera to support the stage activity
with close ups shown on the side
screens.
Joanna Ampil was amazing as
Maria. She opened the show with so much energy flowing from head to toe. For a moment there when she sang “The hills are alive. . . . with the sound of
music ...” I forgot all about Julie Andrews. (That’s a compliment indeed) She
transitioned to every scene with the same amount of gusto. Every word she
uttered was consistently in perfect accent, every heavenly note sung dripping with emotion. She
was uhhh-maaazing. On a screen, usually theatre acting seems a tad too
overperformed . But in this case, as my eyes drifted from the stage to the screen, she just managed to take me
to that place of just feeling how Maria felt.It did not feel excessive nor bland.
My favourite performance among
the children was that of Rebecca Coates who played Louisa. This bright eyed
girl was always a scene stealer. Even in the quiet moments she stood out. She
committed to the role. Did I mention she also had a beautiful voice to match
her pretty little face?! Though the
children as a whole gave a sound performance. Individually some of the
children, needed a bit more mentoring as I could not hear the solo pieces where
I was sitting. There was a do-re-mi- did i hear a FA... SO .... i definitely did not here a LA. . . . ti do.
I just must mention that having veterans like Pinky Amador as Baroness
Shraeder , Debraliz Valasote as Frau Shmidt , Pinky Marquez as Mother Abess and “the” Miguel Faustman as Max Deweiler (not
to mention Joanna Ampil) ensured a success.
Each one of them performed their
character perfectly en pointe. Pinky Marquez’s voice brought me tears when
she sang “Climb Every Mountain” . Debraliz Valasote, ever the comedian had me
chuckling and waiting for her next punch line. Pinky Amador was enigmatic yet sensitive, almost to the point of pushing me to whack the Captain in the
head for putting tears in her eyes. I
have always been a fan of Miguel Faustman, he can do no wrong in my eyes. He is
funny when he needs to be funny, pensive when he needs to be pensive. He
consistently is a star.
Though most, including the cute
bickering nuns (Carla Guevarra, Pamela Imperial and Jillian Pena) did a stellar
performance, I could not help but be disappointed about Ariel Rivera’s
portrayal of Capt Von Trapp. I do believe he is an excellent singer, and a competent TV screen actor. But in
that theatre, I did not see MY Capt Von Trapp. I saw Ariel Rivera trying to
look and sound like Capt Von Trapp. He lacked confidence and conviction in his delivery. His
accent was constantly failing. There were no peaks nor highs and lows in his acting.
At times, his lack-luster performance was a downer. Such was the case when Maria
and Capt Von Trapp have their first dance
and when she returns from the Abbey. I do believe, he has a place in the
theatre, but he must feed from the brilliant people around him . Perhaps he was
nervous about his theatre comeback?!
Picture Credit from Circuit Magazine
Overall, I must commend director
Roxanne Lapus for presenting to the audience a refreshing take on Sound of Music. Though I missed some
of my favourite scenes, I felt that the
show was put together with love for the story and its music. Despite numerous
changes and improvements, I really felt that the spirit of the musical remained
on that stage. It was authentic, the real deal.
This play brought me back
beautiful memories of my childhood and
teenage years. It soothed my soul as the theatre always does. It reminds me of
how beautiful life can be with music and dance
embracing you. Til we meet again Von Trapp Family.
