The Sound of Music

A really overdue review.

The theater version of The Sound of Music came to town late last month. At first I wanted to give this a miss but then I thought "Hang on a minute. This is Sound of Music; of which the movie version of it is a staple movie when I was growing up. I know every song and love the movie. How can I give this a miss?".

So with that in mind, I caved in and bought tickets. Since it's being held in KL Convention Center, it's best to buy the best seats i.e. the nearest to the stage and typically, the most expensive. Dang!
I've mentioned this before - KL Convention Center should not have been used for theater shows. It's way too big and non-personal. But then, having said that, if you want optimum profit (yes, bringing theater to Malaysia is super-expensive), then this venue will definitely provide quite a significant profit.

Program Book

Ok, several things to highlight:

1. I've never been late for a show before, be it a concert, a theater show, anything. This is the first time that I am. I had to wait outside the door until permission is granted for us, late-comers, can be allowed in. There were quite a few of us waiting there. ... Grr... I hate being late.

2. Then, after finding our seats, in front of us, was a girl who was making such a fuss, calling after her mother every so often, at the top of the voice, and coughing. Imagine having to sit for one and a half hours trying to get into the show and enjoying it, and every 10 minutes or so, this girl will make a fuss right in front of me. It was so very irritating. But after awhile, by observing the girl,  I find that she's no normal little girl. There's something wrong with her. Oh no, she's mentally disabled. Oh no! I want to be irritated and mad but knowing what I'm dealing with now, I can't, can I? That left me with a moral dilemma.

3. If you have a mentally disabled child, would you take him to a place like this i.e. to watch a theater show? Yes, you do have the right to do it but should you? You want your mentally disabled child to enjoy the show but being in his state, would he actually enjoy it? Does he know what is really going on? Bringing him along, would you be enjoying the show yourself? What about other people?
I had a little mental battle in my head thinking about it over the weekend after the show. I just cannot decide until today what the right thing to do.

4. Ok, back to the show. Right, now, the theater version of The Sound of Music is quite different from the movie version with Julie Andrews. Well, coming in, I did not know that. I did not know that the theater version came out first in 1959 before the movie version in 1965. I imagined that the movie and show would be same. I mean, it would be just a live version of the movie, wouldn't it? Well, the storyline is the same but the placement of songs is different and some songs are not even in the movie. So there were several things that just did not sit well with me. For one, I cannot imagine that the Mother Superior was singing "My Favorite Things" with Maria in the abbey. What the heck is that?! That caught me off guard and it just threw me. They sang it together after Maria was told that she is to be sent to the Von Trapp family home. Also, Uncle Max and The Baroness sang which is kind of weird. I don't mind Uncle Max but I had this vision that the Baroness was a very regal, classy lady and singing out loud would not be something she would do. The songs sung by Uncle Max and the Baroness were of course nothing I've heard before. They were pretty ok songs; just that, I did not see them coming. I thought I had the story locked down. Well, obviously not the theatrical version. Also, during the rain-and-thunder scene where the children storm into Maria's room, which in the movie, is one of the most loved scenes, Maria and the children were to sing "My Favorite Things", well, in the show, they sang "The Lonely Goatherd". Peh! What a letdown. 

5. Being so used to listening to Julie Andrews' voice, whoever was playing Maria, just did not match up. Also Captain Von Trapp's voice is not macho enough for me.

6. When Captain Von Trapp and Maria kissed after professing their love, they kissed on stage and from a far corner of the hall, a little teeny tiny near silent voice of a girl went "eeewww". The whole hall erupted into laughter. I was laughing out loud. I couldn't help it. But seriously, I applaud the actor and actress for staying in character through the laughter. It must have been difficult. They are truly professionals.

All in all, it was an enjoyable show but yeah, with some minor hiccups.