**** As an actor, I have had the good fortune of playing Captain Von Trapp on two occasions. While this musical has been around for a long time, the story is one that reminds us of a historical  period that needs to be remembered. For those unaware of the story of how the Von Trapp Singers were born, this is that story, as told by a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse ( based on the story by Maria Augusta Trapp) with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is simple. A young girl, who desires to become a nun, although her personality would never allow this to be, finds herself planted as a nanny to seven children , and ends up falling in love with their father.

All of this takes place while Europe is falling into the heands of Adolph Hitler, and while this is Austria, as the story goes on, Germany and its new leadership does indeed take over. In this story, we see how one family resists and what happens to them. As I have said, I have done the show several times, and have seen over a dozen different productions. I have seen Broadway tours, community theater and even some high school productions. Even a “road show” such as the one currently on the stage at  The  James M. Nederlander Theatre can bring a warm feeling to one’s heart.

The cast in this particular production has some amazing talent. Cayleigh Capaldi is a marvelous Maria and the Mother Abbess ( Christine Noll) is superior. While that could be taken as a pun, it was meant to say, her vocal range is wonderful and her  “Climb Every Mountain” that ends the first act is stunning!. I guess I was a little let down by the performance of Kevin Early as Captian von Trapp as I did not feel the love that should have been seen by the audience. Part of what makes this story so special is that Maria, through her personality, brings Georg ( von Trapp) back into the real world and back to his children. I did not feel it!

The children were adorable and played their roles well. Ariana Ferch, Eli Vander Griend, Ava Davis, Benjamin Stasiek, Haddie Mac ( my fav- Brigitta), Ruby Caramore, and Luciana Vandette. Their voices blend well, and they play their roles to perfection. I was also quite impressed with Nicholas Rodriguez as max Detweiller, Georg’s friend who plays by the rules, until he breaks them and I thought Kate Loprest was a powerful and quite realistic Elsa Schraeder ( the woman von Trapp was supposed to marry, until Maria came to work there).

This is a stunning production , well directed by  Jack O’Brrien with choreography by Danny Mefford. There is not a lot of dancing in this production, but the vocals are more than enought to please an audience for two plus hours. Besides “Climb Every Mountain”, you will also be thrilled to hear “My Favorite Things”, “How Can Love Survive”, “Edelwiss”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria” and many more.

Movie lovers, will see some different songs and a few alterations to the story, but, they should not detract from what you are enjoyng- a powerful look at some history and how lives were changed because of a young girlswho was meant to be something other than what she wanted to be.

“The Sound of Music” will continue thru – Nov 2nd with performances as follows: