'THE SOUND OF MUSIC' Beloved, now, then and always

Jill-Christine Wiley as Maria Rainer, Trevor Martin as Captain von Trapp, and Lauren Kidwell as Mother Abbess

By Christina Alpad

March 16, 2023 

The Sound of Music is arguably one of the most recognizable musicals of all time. Who can forget the troublesome but charming Maria? How about the adorable Von Trapp children and the stern but loving head of the family Captain Von Trapp? Most of all, who can resist singing along to such classics tunes as "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" just to name a few?

The Sound of Music (which inspired the 1965 hit movie adaptation of the same title starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer) has been showcased numerous times — a thousand times, to be actually, with London's West End alone recording more than 2,000 performance.

But there's no stopping in retelling the uplifting true story of Maria, the fun-loving governess who changed the lives of the widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children by reintroducing them to music, and the family's flight across the Austrian mountains as tensions rise prior to the outbreak of World War 2.

In fact, a brand new international production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic is currently playing in Manila, with performance running until March 26 at the the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati.

The cast of ‘The Sound of Music’ plays in Manila through March 16.

Presented by Broadway International Group, Broadway Asia, AMA Group of Companies, and in association with GMG Productions, The Sound of Music in Manila is the third stop of the international tour after having played successful runs in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

The tour highlights the original creative work of three-time Tony Award winning director Jack O'Brien, Broadway choreographer Danny Mefford, and Musical Supervision by Andy Einhorn as well as an established award-winning Broadway creative, design, and production team.

The Sound of Music stars Jill-Christine Wiley as Maria Rainer, Trevor Martin as Captain von Trapp, Lauren Kidwell as Mother Abbess, and Joshua La Force as Max, and Lauren O'Brien as Liesl, and joining the Touring company for the Manila season are Filipino talents Karylle Tatlonghari as Baroness Elsa von Schraeder and Markki Stroem as Rolf.

The Von Trapp children starring in the musical joined the company for the first time during the Manila production.

Now, if the musical is such a classic, why should the audience, Filipinos in particular, still watch the show if, say they have seen previous stagings or watched the movie?

For lead actors Wiley and Martin, the story of hope that Maria and the Von Trapp family brings is needed now more than ever.

"History repeats itself and I feel like this show is more relevant now more so than ever with everything's that happening especially in Ukraine. It's one of those stories that present here's what could be the outcome," Wiley, who plays Maria said.

Unfortunately it's not always everybody's outcome [the happy ending that the family had] but here, we have a message of hope, of fighting for what you believe in, of family and standing up for what's right and I think it's an honor to share this with the audience," she added.

Martin agreed, saying, "Over the course of time, every, unfortunately, all over the globe, the story continues to happen over and over again — people are forced out of their countries, forced away from government and tyranny that they are trying to escape for them and their families, all the time, in every continent and every country.

"So hopefully, the show can present a sense of hope, and can instill a sense of courage. It's an amazing thing to be able to play someone [Captain von Trapp] who doesn't back from his principles. I would hope in that if I were to face the same situation, I would do the same thing — to choose what's right for me, for my family and for my country."

In ending, Martin, who plays the principle Captain von Trapp, noted, "It's always a relevant story no matter what year we do it in."

Catch Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in Manila from Tuesday to Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. until March 26.

For tickets, visit ticketworld.com.ph.