The Sound of Music (UK Tour)
Palace Theatre
Reviewed on Tuesday 13th March 2018 by Becca Cromwell
★★★
The Bill Kenwright production of The Sound of Music has embarked on another UK tour, but this time with Lucy O’Byrne and Neil McDermott at the helm. Based on the 1959 Rogers and Hammerstein musical of the same name, the film became one of the highest grossing films of all time.
The well-loved story shows Maria Rainer, a young Postulant at the Nonnberg Abbey who is sent to be the Governess for the Von Trapp Family after not fitting in at the Abbey. It is there that she meets Captain Georg von Trapp and his seven children Liesl, Friedrich, Luisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretel. During her time as Governess, the Anschluss begins where the Germans invade Austria, and the second act of the show depicts the struggles and changing moods during this time.
Lucy O’Byrne is known for becoming runner up on ITV’s The Voice in 2015 and landed the role of Maria in the previous UK tour of this production. Since then, O’Byrne has gone on to play Fantine in Les Miserables in the West End, and has now thrown herself back into the iconic role of Maria von Trapp for the 2017/2018 UK Tour. Originally played by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, she has big boots to fill. The vocals were impressive and her portrayal of Maria was fantastic. It was well acted and believable.
Neil McDermott plays the Naval Captain Georg von Trapp, who after the death of his wife lost touch with his children. McDermott is known for playing Ryan Malloy in BBC’s Eastenders, amongst many other theatre roles. With a strong voice, McDermott gave a fantastic performance.
A stand out however, was Megan Llewellyn as the Mother Abbess. Her voice was absolutely astounding. Even though she does not make too many appearances in the show as the Reverend Mother, you certainly knew about it when she did.
The child cast were superb, providing incredible vocals for their ages. They were true professionals from the beginning through to the end and I hope to see them go far in their careers. The rest of the company all gave very good performances, leading to a fantastic performance of the show.
I was pleasantly surprised with the production, and it deserved a bigger audience than the one it got. I would recommend seeing this when it comes to a theatre near you in the future, as it is a highly enjoyable family show.
The Sound of Music UK Tour unfortunately comes to an end this week; however I hope to see it tour the UK again in the next few years.
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