Theater Review—

Richter’s ‘Sound of Music’ Is A Great Show For The Whole Family

By Julie Stern

DANBURY — The hills of the golf course are alive with music.

This year Danbury’s Musicals at Richter has chosen to end its summer season with a resounding bang: a deftly directed, talent-filled, happy production of  The Sound of Music.

While this tribute to the Trapp Family Singers and their escape from the Nazis is probably not in the top tier of Rodgers and Hammersteins’ creations, directors Donald Birely and Joanna King have done wonderful things with it.

If you are among the three or four people in the world who have not seen the movie or the play, know that it tells the story of Maria, a delightfully rebellious nun-to-be who is sent by the distraught Mother Abbess to test her religious vocation by spending a year as governess to the seven children of the rich but grieving widower, Baron von Trapp.

A retired naval captain, the Baron runs his family like a tight ship, insisting that the children dress in identical white sailor suits and drill to the piped commands of his bosun’s whistle. Like a cross between Mary Poppins and Pippi Longstocking, Maria introduces music and laughter into the house and quickly wins the hearts of the children, as well as their father.

But it is 1938, and the shadow of Nazism and the approaching “Anschluss” – the forced union between Germany and the Baron’s beloved Austria – hangs over the little mountain village. People are being forced to take sides; swastikas appear on new flags.

When his outspoken political opinions lead to the breakup of his proposed second marriage to a wealthy widow, von Trapp realizes it is Maria whom he really loves and they happily get married. However,  when the Germans demand that he accept a commission in their navy, the Baron, Maria and the seven kids flee to Switzerland, by way of sanctuary in the very abbey that brought them together in the first place.

What is done so well in this Richter production is the dramatic acting. We can sympathize with the Mother Abbess as she listens to the other nuns arguing over what to do about Maria. We feel the impact of Maria on this mournful family. We believe that she loves children, and that the children, in turn, fall in love with her.

We see her impact on the bemused Baron.

We recoil from the hypocrisy and opportunism of those Austrians who capitulate to German rule because it seems inevitable.

Then there is the music. The score alternates the sugary songs like “Doe, a deer…” and “My Favorite Things” with the powerful choral chants of the nuns (the parts of the score that you don’t hear on supermarket Muzak) and this works extremely well, beginning with the opening “Preludium.”

Lucy Horton does a terrific job in the central role of Maria, both with her acting and her singing, as she emerges into a wise and confident adult. Jason Moyer in the role of the Baron has an equally powerful singing voice that is a pleasure to listen to.

Melissa Casey Jose, Janis Chapin, Mary Shuldman, Denise Smoker and Barbara Kessler, as the lead nuns, are wonderful, both musically and dramatically.

The seven children are cute and charming, as they ought to be. Played by alternating teams on different nights, they include a talented bunch of Newtowners – Maggie DeMarco, Andrew Nichols, Madalyn Petrovich and Stephanie Paproski – as well as youngsters from Danbury, Southbury, Ridgefield,  Middlebury and Branford.

Veteran professional performers Bradford Blake and Juliette Garrison also contribute their talent to  supporting roles, adding to the pervasive sense of polish and competence that marks this production.

This is a great show to bring the family to. It’s lively, fast paced, and offers different rewards to people of different ages. It’s a great evening out in Danbury and a great way for Richter to end its 20th season under the stars.

(Performances continue on weekends until August 13.

See the Enjoy calendar for full details.)