‘The Sound of Music’ not the same old song

If you need an example of how revive a musical that even casual theatergoers know entirely too well and, regrettably, expect a carbon copy of the movie version, ländler over to Bass Performance Hall this week.

We’re of course talking about The Sound of Music, the last of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s works together (debuted in 1959; book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse), which has become one of the world’s most beloved musicals thanks to the Oscar-winning 1965 film. The national tour opened at Bass Hall on Wednesday.

The movie, which added new songs and rearranged placement of other songs and scenes, has become such a force that many professional stage productions use some combination of the original stage version and the film. For instance, two of the better-known songs written for the movie, Something Good and I Have Confidence, often appear on stage now. In this tour, directed by multiple Tony-winner Jack O’Brien, only Something Good does.

Here, O’Brien and choreographer Danny Mefford add new layers to the story, spicing it up a bit. In Sixteen Going on Seventeen, Liesl (Paige Silvester) and Rolf (Austin Colby), there’s a sense of danger — he is a boy going on 18, after all.

The länder dance scene at the von Trapp party, which is when Maria (Kerstin Anderson) and Captain von Trapp (Ben Davis) realize they are in love with each other, the dance is longer and more physical, and that moment when they sink into each other’s eyes is palpable.

When von Trapp’s soon-to-be-fiancée Elsa Schrader (Teri Hansen) is first seen, it’s with a thunderclap and under the cover of a black umbrella. As Max, Merwin Foard amps up the humor with his desperate selfishness. Among the seven children, Brigitta (Iris Davies) plays a bigger part in Maria’s decision-making than she does in the film, and Davies makes her delightfully precocious.

And for non-traditional casting, Melody Betts as Mother Abbess approaches the song Climb Ev’ry Mountain differently than you’ve heard before, and brings it home on the ending. Kudos to music director/conduct Jay Alger, leading a mostly pick-up orchestra that never overpowers the actors.

The two leads excel at making their characters their own. Davis has a rich baritone and has a greater sense of grief over losing his first wife—and music in the home. As Maria, Anderson is a little bit goofy, and has a shaky voice when she’s nervous, all of which makes it easy to see why the children, and Georg, fall for her so quickly.

If you think you can’t possibly see another production of this Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpiece — either because you’ve seen too many mediocre productions or you can’t imagine anyone except Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer starring — then take a chance with this tour. You just might change your tune.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 3:10 PM with the headline "‘The Sound of Music’ not the same old song."