We take a look at what is being said about Chichester Festival Theatre’s latest musical revival.
The Stage: **** “Sincere, solid revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic.”
Box Office Radio: **** “Unlike many recent revivals, this production has very few surprises during its 2 hours and 45 minutes duration, and this familiarity, in both the dialogue, and the incredibly well-known songs, helps the capacity house to relax into the show from the outset. Like greeting an old friend, who has suddenly reappeared in your life, we know exactly what to expect, and it is delivered superbly.”
Fairy Powered Productions: **** “The beating heart of the production though is Gina Beck’s Maria, a creation of such magnetism, musicality, emotional depth and irrepressible good humour that she almost succeeds in obliterating memories of most previous interpreters of the role.”
Susan Elkin.co.uk: ***** “Rarely have I enjoyed a musical as much as I did Adam Penford’s fresh, vibrant account of Rogers and Hammerstein’s best known and final collaboration. It’s respectfully traditionalist but feels sparklingly new minted.”
Theatre South East: ***** “It’s a faithful interpretation and no wheel has been re-invented along the way however this is a must-see show – a musical that you can sing along to before bearing witness to perhaps the most ultranationalistic, violent and ideologically pernicious regime the world has ever known.”
Musical Theatre Review: *** “So, a mixed bag of a production on many levels which is unlikely to enjoy the same transfer success as previous Chichester musicals like South Pacific and Crazy For You. But if you are a first-timer to The Sound of Music, or you just like your packages neatly tied up with string, it might be for you.”
Theatre Vibe: “If you are looking for a conventional rendering of a musical where you can actually depart singing the tunes The Sound of Music at Chichester is it! Gina Beck has it all and a charming personality and the children are to die for.”
Jonathan Baz Reviews: **** “Beck is quite simply the sound of musical magnificence. Rodgers & Hammerstein wisely gave her character the lion’s share of the show’s (many) big numbers, and from the moment Beck rises from a trap door, sprawled across a local mountain top and singing the title number, she sets spines a’tingling. Whether partnering the show’s (excellent) company of kids or Janis Kelly’s equally wonderful Mother Abbess, Beck’s singing is a dream and her casting is an inspired choice.”
The Guardian: **** “Beck has a lovely wide-eyed radiance and the same haircut as Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, and a sometimes uncanny resemblance. She carries all her songs commandingly, from the ecstatic strains of her first number onwards. She also has a finely tuned balance between mischief and sincerity – we gun for her romance with the Captain (Edward Harrison), waiting for his heart to melt.”
Sussex Express.co.uk: “The Daniel Evans years at Chichester Festival Theatre have given us a succession of hugely-enjoyable big summer musicals. But, in his final season, he has scaled new heights – or indeed mountains – with a simply wonderful production of The Sound of Music, beautifully directed by Adam Penford and so cleverly designed by Robert Jones.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “It’s good, hearty, traditional stuff. Beck is brilliant, Kelly is superb, the kids are awesome. The score is a classic, but the book remains a problem – and is one that, like Maria, has yet to be solved.”
The Telegraph: **** “Adam Penford’s production at the Chichester Festival Theatre is achingly lovely to listen to – and Gina Beck is a delight as Maria.”
iNews: **** “Gina Beck’s Maria has a voice that is as clear and pure as fresh Alpine air and she’s bundles of fun too, enlivening the strict and staid Von Trapp household immediately by making innovative dressmaking use of old curtains. There is winsomeness aplenty from the six smallest Von Trapps (Lauren Conroy’s appealing Liesl is the constant while two teams of children alternate performances).”
The Sound of Music continues to play until the 3rd September 2023.