Review: DPAC Will Fill Your Heart With the Sound of Music
Although Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music originally opened on Broadway in 1959, it is the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer that has stuck with generations and become a fixture of pop culture. The movie is synonymous with Andrews, leaving Jack O’Brien, the director of the new touring production of The Sound of Music, with Swiss-Alp-sized expectations to meet.
Cayleigh Capaldi (Maria Rainer) in The Sound of Music
Loosely based on the book The Story of The Von Trapp Family Singers (authored by real life Maria von Trapp as she chronicled her family’s journey) and set in Austria during the rise of the Nazi regime, The Sound of Music tells the story of Maria Rainer (Cayleigh Capaldi), a Postulant at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg, as she is sent to work as a governess for the seven children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp (Kevin Earley), a former naval captain. Captain von Trapp runs his household with a firm and militant grip until Maria brings music and laughter back into the house as she and the Captain fall in love. When Captain von Trapp is ordered to report for the German Navy after its takeover of Austria, he refuses, and the family famously escapes through the mountains on foot and into Switzerland.
Capaldi’s Maria is sunshine personified as she brings an energy that is bright and bouncy to the role. Maria’s love for the children is obvious as she gently herds them around the stage in true governess fashion, bringing just the right amount of cheesiness needed for the fun-loving, tree-climbing character. Coupled with a voice as radiant as her infectious smile, Capaldi flawlessly makes the role her own while still keeping the joyful essence of the character that is beloved by generations.
Since the original production, the musical numbers in the show have attained their own levels of acclaim and recognition, and songs like “The Sound of Music,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “My Favorite Things” are now often considered to be among the classics of both theater and music in general. Capaldi meets these high standards (and operatic soprano notes) with ease, although the order of musical numbers in the show may throw audiences only familiar with the flow of the movie. Her physicality and comedic timing are paired with a mountain of rapid-fire dialogue, and her giggly rendition of “My Favorite Things” is as warm and fuzzy as the woolen mittens she sings about.
Unfortunately, Earley’s Captain von Trapp is not quite as lovable. While a stoic, straight-laced performance makes sense for the beginning of the production, he loosen this iron mask only slightly in Act II. This lack of emotion limits Earley’s chemistry with not only Capaldi, but his children as well, who he is supposed to adore and dote on by the second half. His vocals, however, do not disappoint, and his rendition of “Edelweiss” is full of the emotion lacking in the rest of his performance.
Foreground: Christiane Noll (Mother Abbess); Background: Cayleigh Capaldi (Maria Rainer) in The Sound of Music
Normally, Elsa Schraeder (Kate Loprest) is the villain in this story (besides the whole Nazi thing), but I was actually rooting for her right up until the end this time. Loprest brought a sparkly, snarky zing of businesswoman confidence to the character (along with fabulous costumes, thanks to costume designer Jane Greenwood), and her chemistry with Nicholas Rodriguez (as the cocky and cheeky Max Detweiler) was far more fun to watch than her drab (intentional I presume, given the plot) interactions with her would-be fiancé Georg von Trapp. While Elsa and Max’s musical numbers “How Can Love Survive” and “No Way to Stop It” don’t add much in terms of plot, their interactions together are clever enough to be entertaining as Loprest proves Elsa is more than just a pretty face.
Rounding out the cast of adults is the butler Franz (John Adkison) and Frau Schmidt the housekeeper (Jennifer Malenke), who provide helpful context and background into the life of the von Trapps and the plight of Georg as he navigates life as single parent. But it is Christiane Noll as the Mother Abbess who stands out above the rest with a rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” that earned her the loudest applause of the night. Known to be a notoriously difficult (and high) number, the song was interrupted by a technical difficulty when floor-to-ceiling Nazi banners dropped to the stage too early in the show and filled the abbey. While the technical team quickly recovered, audiences were already distracted and chittering in their seats. Unsurprisingly, Noll’s performance didn’t waver, but it is to her credit as a performer that she was able to re-captivate her audience so quickly and thoroughly.
Of course, the von Trapp children are the lynchpin when discussing The Sound of Music. Liesl (Ariana Ferch), Friedrich (Eli Vander Griend), Louisa (Ava Davis), Kurt (Oliver Cirelli in this performance, normally played by Benjamin Stasiek), Brigitta (Haddie Mac), Marta (Ruby Caramore), and Gretl (Luciana Vandette) are all utterly charming and play off each other’s energy like real siblings without missing a beat, but I would be remiss if I did not give Ferch, Davis, and Mac their own moment of attention.
Ferch’s version of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” with Ian Coursey (as Rolf) is full of childhood innocence and naivety as they prance around the von Trapp patio. Sneaking around and basking in the glow of first love, Ferch’s pouty-faced-eyelash-batting is a far cry from the bratty teenage side-eye Liesl gives Maria upon her arrival.
While Louisa doesn’t say as some of the other children, Davis’ sweet voice is full of maturity and clearly honed technique that make her a vocal stand out, even amongst a chorus of six other voices.
Ian Coursey (Rolf Gruber) and Ariana Ferch (Liesl von Trapp) in The Sound of Music
Brigitta has always been the honest one of the bunch, evidenced from her first moments on stage when she famously tells Maria her dress is the ugliest dress Brigitta has ever seen. But Mac brings a special kind of precociousness to the role with some of the best lines in the production, thanks to her impeccable delivery and comedic timing.
The production features a book from Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp, as well as gorgeous scenic design from Douglas W. Schmidt, lighting design from Natasha Katz, sound design from Kai Harada, and choreography from Danny Mefford. Music and lyric credit to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, respectively.
The Sound of Music runs at the Durham Performing Arts Center through Sunday, October 12, 2025. Audiences should be advised that this production utilizes fog and haze smoke effects and non-firing prop firearms. Tickets can be purchased here.
All photo credit to Jeremy Daniel. Additional production photos can be found below.
