Theater review: The Sound of Music at Asheville Community Theatre

Out of the darkness, a convent of nuns emerges holding glowing candles. Their nirvanic prelude sets a tone of devotion and unified strength, illuminating the theme of perseverance for the story that follows.

From this memorable onset, Asheville Community Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music completely envelops onlookers and seems poised to do so until its closing day on Sunday, Dec. 22. The original run was unfortunately altered by Tropical Storm Helene, but the production persevered with only a few changes to the casting.

Perched on a hill overlooking the Austrian Alps in 1938, Maria Rainer (played by Amanda Clifton) is transfixed by the beauty of her surroundings, yet finds her restless spirit yearning for more. As a peculiar young nun, she doesn’t quite fit in and isn’t allowed to sing without permission. On this special day out of the abbey, with guitar in hand, she offers up the title song — one of the show’s numerous classics by Richard Rodgers (lyrics) and Oscar Hammerstein II (music) — to the land before her.

Working from the original 1960 book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, ACT’s production highlights music’s potential for powerful connections. Poetically, it is a harmony shared between all things living and even those passed. Music is a feeling, a mood, an erasure of fear, and it releases something held within. Such emotions are conjured up by Clifton’s invigorating singing.

Maria, having lost track of time, rushes back to the abbey to find herself urged by Mother Abbess (Naimah “Nemo” Coleman) to take leave for a time. Maria is reluctant but obeys. After all, she’s certain of her own return to continue serving God among the other dedicated nuns. For now, it is recommended that she live with the wealthy von Trapp family as the new governess of seven children.

Playing the young von Trapps, Zoe Zelonky, Elias Ritter, Ellie Brown, Kip McClure, Vivian Kominski, Ella Isner and Ainsley McClure are collectively an absolute highlight. They are extremely dedicated and dutiful to Eli Cunningham’s direction of this play, and that commitment works within the story as Capt. Georg von Trapp (Kit Johnson) has his children trained by a whistle. Instead of allowing them to simply be kids and play, he’d prefer they march with obedience. Upon Maria’s arrival, neither the whistle nor the marching stands a chance as such stern methods are replaced with singing.

Eventually, Capt. von Trapp grows smitten with Maria, who doesn’t understand the very new feelings she is experiencing within. Should she run from passion or stay and allow herself to reap the wild harvest? And considering the presence of Elsa (Daniela Risquez), the beautiful socialite engaged to Capt. von Trapp, does Maria stand a chance? To make matters worse, there’s fear that Austria will fall prey to a Nazi takeover. Once this happens, everyone will be forced to choose a side or face the dire consequences.

With many great performances abound, the real treasure of this production is the believable chemistry between Clifton and Johnson. Together, they manage to stir the feelings of a classic romance. Clifton in particular warrants praise for her feisty yet wistful take on Maria, an interpretation that suits the part and is distinct from that of Julie Andrews’ in the Oscar-winning 1965 film version of The Sound of Music.

It’s also evident that every song is attentively worked on by musical director Shua Scilex. These versions are as close to flawless as it gets in live theater and should be considered a grand achievement.

That said, the musical’s best and most moving song, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” misses the lyrical undercurrent of longing for “what might have been.” Peggy Wood’s memorable performance from the film version captures such haunting emotions of doubt, and while it’s well sung in this production by Coleman, it doesn’t quite give us further insight into her character. Regardless, Coleman’s cheery interpretation renders this Mother Abbess a kind of personal angel for Maria — and who doesn’t want one of those?

However, most surprising with this production is the lack of aesthetic details in some of the technical elements. Scenic designer Jill Summers’ sprawling staircase that doubles as the hills makes up most of the set and is impressive, but the color scheme looks like something from a late ’80s sitcom as does the artificial garden decor. Equally puzzling are the costumes by McKinney Gough, which are either dead-on terrific, as with the families’ lederhosen-influenced musical group attire, or appear like an afterthought. A wrinkled wedding dress with a bad hemline is as distracting as the gloveless von Trapp butler’s modern-day slip-on shoes. Such missteps make the production appear tacky and lack cohesion.

But the show overall is extremely entertaining and holds your attention from start to finish. It’s clear that Cunningham knows how to effectively work with a cast, though there are times when it feels as if he holds back a fresh theme in fear of altering the crowd-pleasing classic we mostly see before us. LGBTQ+ moments are speckled softly about but flicker out quickly as a candle. Because of this restraint, the potential to draw stronger metaphorical connections between the Nazis, anti-gay groups, segregation and fascism in the modern world goes largely unrealized.

For many people, The Sound of Music has a reputation of being a sugary confection. However, this delightful production which is perfect for the holiday season goes deeper and fosters a powerful message about the resilience necessary to forge through the darkness to achieve our dreams. After all, we can’t master the journey by sitting alone on a hill, letting the wind sweep our chances at happiness away.

WHAT: The Sound of Music
WHERE: Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. ashevilletheatre.org
WHEN: Through Sunday, Dec. 22. Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m. $18-$36.50.