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Oct 2011  |  By Barry Reszel  |  Comments

Drury Lane’s “Sound of Music” Waltzes Patrons Down Memory Lane

The hills, indeed, are alive with the sound of music.

And north suburbanites living in proximity to Barrington Hills, Vernon Hills or Winnetka’s Indian Hill should know this—it’s an immensely worthwhile trek to just north of Clarendon Hills to listen in.   

Oakbrook’s Drury Lane Theatre is one of two professional suburban houses consistently hosting Broadway’s best while raking in annual Jefferson accolades (the other is, of course, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre). The theater’s current staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “The Sound of Music” only solidifies its position as a top-tier regional company.

True to the core of the 1959 Broadway winner of eight Tony Awards, this production is memorable for its authenticity. It’s particularly noticeable in actress Jennifer Blood’s eminently approachable Maria, the postulant-turned-nanny who ultimately captivates a captain, flees the Nazis, and then, presumably, lives happily ever after. A full show synopsis is found here.

Blood’s performance should cause musical theater casting directors entrenched in a “singing over acting” philosophy to rethink their positions. Make no mistake, Blood’s vocals are perfectly lovely; but it’s her characterization that’s most striking.

When the audience first glimpses this Maria, it’s not in the oft-copied head-back, arms flailing, ready-to-belt position. Instead, Blood’s fresh-scrubbed wannabe nun is lying on the ground, socks off, legs in the air, breathing, feeling and owning the mountain near Nonnberg Abbey like the late teen she portrays. Appropriately, she’s more Selena Gomez than Julie Andrews.

Later in the first act, Maria’s scolding of Captain Von Trapp (Larry Adams) for failing to know his own children simultaneously sells the audience on her love for the Von Trapp children as well as their father. The scene’s end, including a dreamy reprise of the title song, beautifully illuminates this romantic love returned.

To be sure, Drury Lane’s staging features memorable vocals. Patti Cohenour, reprising the role of Mother Abess she played in the 1998 Broadway revival, belts out a rendition of “Climb Every Mountain” that should lead patrons to Google alert “Cohenour,” lest they miss a chance to hear her in a cabaret. Adams, too, deserves plaudits for his soothing baritone.

Stage and TV veteran Peter Kevoian is stellar as Max Detweiler, painting just the right comic touch and careful not to overdo it against the backdrop of Nazi occupation.

Clever staging and choreography by Director/Choreographer Rachel Rockwell is particularly noticeable as the children’s singing lessons become a study of movement and dance, again breathing authenticity into this well-known story’s retelling. Rockwell’s Von Trapp children are actually children, not the marching mannequins seen in too many versions of this tale.

For all its fine touches, what this production does not do is as important. And that’s recreate the wheel. Identifiable sets, straightforward orchestrations, truth to the script ... yes, generations past will know this “Sound of Music,” and those who are nostalgic will not leave disappointed.

Drury Lane’s “The Sound of Music” is here just in time for the holiday season. Indeed, this perfect family gift should make it onto everyone’s list of their favorite things.

“The Sound of Music” runs through January 8 at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Parking is free. Tickets are available online at drurylaneoakbrook.com or 630-530-0111.

About the author: Barry Reszel is a Libertyville-based writer, at-home dad and executive director of the not-for-profit entertainment company Liberty Town Productions.