|
|
THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Richard
Chamberlain and Laura Benanti now star in the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II
revival, with book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, directed by Susan H. Schulman,
choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, music direction by Michael Rafter. Martin Beck
Theatre, 302 W. 45th St., Manhattan. Seen at Saturday matinee.
'HOW CAN LOVE survive?" asks one of the songs in "The Sound of Music."
And how can a Broadway musical survive when its two leading players are replaced a year
after the initial opening?
Quite well, thank you. In fact, better than before. Not only has Richard Chamberlain
- who looks dashing in those brass-button Austrian outfits and who sings
nicely, too - taken over the role of Captain Georg von Trapp, but the former
understudy, 19-year-old Laura Benanti, has succeeded to the central part of Maria, the
novice nun who ends up marrying the widower whose seven children she's been sent to care
for.
It may be Chamberlain (replacing Michael
Siberry) whose handsome face is on the billboards and newspaper advertisements, but the
heretofore unknown Benanti is the bigger news. Unaffectedly graceful and with a
bell-clear voice, this newcomer, whose previous experience was at the Paper Mill Playhouse
in her native New Jersey, is surely a star in the making.
She replaces Rebecca Luker, who was charming but gave a somewhat muted performance in a
production that, a year ago, came off as respectable, but drab and over-familiar. That's
not the case anymore.
Fortunately, Benanti, who's pretty in a classic, old-fashioned way, looks far more mature
than her years. This makes for a not-uncomfortable-looking match with Chamberlain, who is
62.
Chamberlain's stiffness as a performer, which didn't work well in the surreal 1993 revival
of "My Fair Lady," suits the role of the unbending navy Captain von Trapp very
well. He even plays the guitar in his Act II solo, "Edelweiss," though with the
reserve that his character would have possessed.
The supporting cast, which is largely the same, has settled in without becoming bored, and
the children are less overlycute than before. Perhaps also because this time I was seeing
the musical with my almost-8-year-old niece, to whom the show was entirely new -
and who loved it - the production now seems far fresher. Even
"Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things" have more bounce. The rompiness
that Benanti adds helps a lot.
Indeed, director Susan H. Schulman's staging now flows more fluidly and with a quicker
pace, as Heidi Ettinger's picture-postcard scenery quietly glides in and out while the
show moves forward. The huge red Nazi banner that's unfurled during the final escape scene
still doesn't add the chilling seriousness that's intended. A much tinier swastika flag
that pops up early on at the back of friendly messenger Rolf's bicycle is much scarier.
Among the remaining crew, Jan Maxwell is still splendid as Elsa Schraeder, the
sophisticated but unmotherly woman the captain is initially engaged to, as are Patricia
Conolly as a spirited housekeeper, Sara Zelle as the oldest daughter, and Tracy Alison
Walsh as wise little Brigitta. Lenny Wolpe has stepped in as the flashy impresario Max
Detweiler, and Jeanne Lehman fills the role of the Mother Abbess with impressive gravity
and a beatific smile. Her "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is inspirational without being
over-sentimental. That's the case with the whole show. And, these days, a little
inspiration is a very good thing.
