“The Sound of Music” has always been one of my favorite things. I grew up watching the Julie Andrews movie, singing along with every note. Yes, I have even done the classic 180 degree twirl while belting out “The hills are alive ...” but no one needs to see that.
My love of the story went even further when my high school did its own production my sophomore year. I played one of the nuns, Sister Margaretta, and I got to watch my fellow schoolmates and music/theatre lovers take on the classic roles I had learned to love at an early age.
So when I took my seat Tuesday among the nearly full Des Moines Civic Center, I was extremely excited to finally see the national tour of the musical so near and dear to my heart.
The Civic Center was abuzz with excitement as curtain time neared. From the first chords of the “Praeludium” at the abbey, I knew I was in for a wonderful performance. The opening sequence with the nuns will always have a special place in my heart. “Maria” was my first “big” musical number when I was in high school.
The nuns have their leader, and Melody Betts as the The Mother Abbess was absolutely breathtaking. She drew you closer with her portrayal in the beginning and blew you away with her centerpiece solo in “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” She was very much the stern leader of the nun sisterhood, but Betts brought an element of lightheartedness while singing “My Favorite Things” with Maria.
The Mother Abbess was an important role; however, the story revolves around a girl named Maria. Charlotte Maltby had wonderful stage presence in the role. She brought all the wide-eyed joy the character was supposed to have mixed with a beautiful singing voice. I had chills when she hit the high notes on the titular song of the performance and even more on every note thereafter.
Maltby’s leading lady needed a good leading man. Ben Davis played an excellent Captain von Trapp. He played the strict ship captain well in the beginning, but he was phenomenal when those walls were shattered by finding love once again. The stage show always makes you wait until near the end to hear the beautiful strains of “Edelweiss,” but Davis’ voice made the wait worth it.
The show depended on its young cast as well bringing the seven von Trapp children to life. Maltby does so well with the children. You can tell they have worked together to get everything to flow so well every night. It was wonderful to see such a fine group of young actors on the stage. They were on point the whole time.
One of the most interesting occurrences for me was not on stage at all. We were seated next to Gretel’s mother, or more precisely, actress Anika Lore Hatch’s mom. Seated with her very well-behaved young son on her lap, you could see the pride she had in her daughter as she performed her role in front of thousands.
Six-year-old Anika was a delight to watch on stage. I consider it a privilege to have met her mother and learn a bit more about why she wanted to be Gretel and how she made the leap from their hometown in Arizona to traveling the country for the U.S. tour of a major musical. I couldn’t stop smiling every time she was on stage. Keep up the good work, Anika!
“The Sound of Music” is at the Civic Center through Sunday. It’s one of my favorite stories and this cast does such a wonderful job with it. Go see it at your earliest opportunity.
Contact Pam Rodgers at
prodgers@newtondailynews.com