The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of My Childhood
October 15, 2017
I'm finally posting again! Life has taken much of a toll on me, both physically and emotionally, but I'll write about that in another post. Allow me to make a good vibes post first. :)
A little fun fact about me that few people know is that I really love broadway musicals. My all-time favorite is The Sound of Music. I can also name many more but if there's one musical I will never get tired of watching and listening to, it's definitely The Sound of Music.
Yesterday, I went to see The London West End Production of The Sound of Music at The Theater at Solaire. I have to admit, I was really really really excited for this. Broadway musicals are rare gems in the Philippines. (I've only seen Wicked, about two years ago. I was not able to see Les Miserables and West Side Story because of financial whatsoevers. I'm hoping to see The Lion King though!) That being said, I was quite disappointed with how the crowd behaved during the play.
I was mainly annoyed with two things: clapping and dress code. Clapping. This really annoyed me to the high heavens. The audience kept clapping after. every. song. It's not supposed to be that way argh!!! Theater etiquette people, have you ever heard of it? I'm not being mean but seriously, the logic behind this is because clapping after freaking song distracts the actors! There were times when the dialogue got delayed because of the clapping. Actors can get distracted and might forget their lines. Geez people, this ain't a concert. Dress code. This. This was even more annoying. I literally saw a couple of people who were just in a plain tshirt and jeans. TSHIRT AND JEANS. TO A THEATER PLAY. I'm just... Ugh. Honestly, I'm sorry not even sorry, but if you're just going to watch a play just because you want to bandwagon and be cool about it so you can post pictures on Instagram, can you at least try to do a little background research on what theater etiquette is? Comparing it again to a concert - imagine going to Bruno Mars' ridiculously expensive concert but not knowing any of his songs, but you went because you wanted to post something on social media? Sounds stupid right? Yes, that's my point.
Anyways, moving on! The Sound of Music is literally my childhood. Ask anyone in my family lol. I'm serious - I know every song, dialogue and tune by heart. I would watch the film on repeat when I was a child, and until now at 23, I still watch it whenever I feel really sad and down. It's such a feel-good film that's guaranteed to lift your spirits after watching!
That being said, I had high expectations for the broadway. It did meet my expectations, broadway-wise, in all fairness. But film-wise, not so much. Why? I guess because the film had more emotional impact. I can prove this because I really am emotionally attached to the film and the characters and even the actors. I cried when I found out Charmian Carr passed last year. I cried when Lady Gaga performed The Sound of Music at the Academy Awards a couple of years back. And Julie Andrews always puts a smile on my face no matter what role she plays.
But in all fairness, the broadway was a feel-good show. It was so wonderful to be able to hear and sing along to the beloved songs live. It's always a different feeling when you watch something live, isn't it? I also think it was written very nicely. They put emphasis on Captain von Trapp's angst with the Nazis. Although, I felt like they could have done better with Maria and the Captain's love story. There wasn't much build up to it. It's like, it just happened. Boom, they fell in love. Not much of a background. Also, I liked the Baroness better in the film, she worked well as a jealous high society woman rather than a rich but politically-affiliated lady to me (in the broadway they called her Fraulein Schraeder??? That was so weird for me lol).
Speaking of storyline, I couldn't help but snicker when people reacted when Maria sang "Do-Re-Mi" when she first met the children because it wasn't like that in the film. Hahaha joke's on you folks, that's how the original broadway really went! :P They followed the broadway not the film. In the broadway, Maria did sing "Lonely Goatherd" instead of "My Favorite Things" during the thunderstorm scene; though in my most honest opinion, "My Favorite Things" was more fitting for that scene because the message of the song is to be happy instead of being scared. See, small details like this is why the film had more emotional impact.
My favorite roles were that of the nuns and the children. I LOVED the actress who played the Mother Superior. Her voice was just... Wow. WOW. I'm betting my money that the late Peggy Wood gave a standing ovation to her everytime she sang "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". It was too good it gave me intense goosebumps. Among the children, of course Liesl was my favorite, which is biased because she has really been my favorite ever since lol and because I relate to her the most. The other kids were so good as well, especially with the dances - kudos to the choreography department as well for those really amazing numbers!
Now going back to expectations: I admit, it was hard watching a Maria and a Captain that were not Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, respectively. The actors were great, don't get me wrong - but I don't think anyone can ever replace Julie and Christopher for me. I mean, come on, I literally grew up watching The Sound of Music so it was difficult to not see them as the respective characters. In fact their roles as Maria and the Captain are so iconic, I don't even remember much of their other roles haha! Except of course Mary Poppins and Queen Clarisse for Julie; she truly is my childhood hero. And I think the real fans will agree with me on this one. :)
Nevertheless, it was a wonderful show! I loved it so much simply because of the fact that it's The Sound of Music. No other explanations needed. Film or broadway, this story will always have a special place in my heart.
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| GIF via christopherplummer.eu |
♥, Murgaloo
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