The Sound of Music opens at OKC theatre

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 7, 2001 by Joan Gilmore

Lyric Theatre opened its 2001 season Tuesday night with the glorious sounds of The Sound of Music featuring M. Kathryn Quinlan as Maria and Todd Thurston as Captain Georg von Trapp.

The nearly packed house was most appreciative, showing pleasure through applause, whistles and shouts of Bravo. Whatever, the evening was joyous. We'd forgotten how many great songs originated with this musical, which first appeared on Broadway in 1959 with Mary Martin as star and made into a 1964 film starring Julie Andrews.

Tuesday is considered preview night, with official opening on Wednesday, so it was interesting to see so many folks that first night. Lots of youngsters were in the audience - the von Trapp family had seven children, you know - and seemed thrilled with the musical. By the way, do bring your youngsters to this show because the next musical, Pippin, is rated PG-13 and not for children. The Sound of Music will run through June 16.

Among the hit tunes are, of course, The Sound of Music; My Favorite Things, So Long, Farewell, Climb Ev'ry Mountain, Edeweiss and Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II provided the music and lyrics for the book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. You'll never find a better foursome to produce a great musical.

The play opens with impressive singing by Tulsa Jackie Reichman and her nuns, the nuns of the Nomberg Abbey in Austria. Maria is a novitiate who doesn't quite fit into the nunnery and is sent to be a governess for Von Trapp's children. The two fall in love and, with a couple of incidents along the way, marry, threatened by the invading Germans and escape, with the children to a better world.

Fortunately for all, not only do the children sing (they were just darling) but so does their naval officer father. Thus, the singing Von Trapps.

Quinlan's voice is lovely as she interacts with the children and she holds her own in the acting department as the Nazis close in on Von Trapp, a patriotic Austrian baron. Tod Thurston took this role and shows off his singing talent well. He seemed just a bit stilted preview night but that may have been due to the fact he was portraying a man with strong military background.

A special highlight was Reichman, in the part of the Mother Abbess. All three of them have impressive Broadway and regional credits,7 by the way. Paula Stover, Lyric's executive director, was especially pleased to have Reichman in the case. I went to school with her in Tulsa, she boasted.

Oklahoma Children's Theatre's artistic director Ellen Webster plays the role of Elsa Schrader, a German woman who hopes to marry Von Trapp. As you can guess, this marriage didn't come off - but Webster is excellent in her role. A real scene stealer is Enoch Elms in the role of Max Detwelier, producer of the Salzberg Music Festival, friend of Von Trapp, German culture director and hero who allows the Von Trapps to escape. Elms, an OCU staffer, directs the Surrey Singers as his day job. Jeffrey Meek is costume coordinator.

Director and choreographer for The Sound of Music is Lyn Cramer with Laura Bergquist as music director. Bank of Oklahoma is the 2001 season sponsor, in association (for this play) with Dorchester Capital and Teleflora. Show underwriter is Investrust and UMB Bank.

Curtain time for this musical is 8 p.m. nightly and tickets are available at the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Theater on the OCU campus.

- Joan Gilmore