Review: Come alive with The Sound of Music at The Theatre Royal Windsor (From Bucks Free Press)

Review: Come alive with The Sound of Music at The Theatre Royal Windsor

4:13pm Saturday 18th February 2012 in Freetime By Rachel Cook

ONCE again The Theatre Academy have come together to put on a spectacular family show, this time the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, The Sound of Music. The adult principals were supported by the excellent young cast of 6 – 19 year olds, who sang the famous songs with true musical spirit. Laura Clements shone as Maria, capturing the same joie de vivre as Julie Andrews in the well-loved film whilst still bringing her own mischievous take to the character. Her interactions with the children were lovely, and refreshingly for an amateur production, her love scenes with the dashing Captain Von Trapp (Lee Thomas), were tender and free of any awkwardness.

Lee Tomas, last seen as villain Bill Sykes in The Theatre Academy’s production of Oliver!, was an absorbing Von Trapp, and his rendition of Edelweiss (my favourite song of the night) brought a lump to the throat.

But the real stars of this production were inevitably, the seven Von Trapp children. From little Gretl – who certainly had the ‘aww’ factor – to Keran Jervis as a sweetly naïve Liesl, each of them acted professionally and engagingly. Each of the children has different actors playing the role throughout the run, which will give other members of the strong cast times to shine. Lucille Barclay as Elsa Schraeder brought her powerful voice to the less familiar songs in the repertoire, and together with Simon Shaw’s ‘luvvie’ Max Detweile (think a camp Simon Cowell), added a touch of comedy to proceedings. Max’s fate was left unclear, which one younger member of the audience found a little upsetting, gasping “He’s going to die!” Hopefully not, for then who would find the next big thing for the Austrian music scene!

The Theatre Academy have once again put together an entertaining performance, showcasing the best talent from around the Windsor area. The Sound of Music is well worth a watch, running until Saturday 18th February with matinees on Wednesday – Saturday.