Malaysian von Trapp children to stage nostalgic ‘Do-Re-Mi’ at Istana Budaya

The cast during a rehearsal. After several months of rehearsal, the young cast has shown huge improvements compared to the first day of rehearsal

Most of the young actors chosen are fresh talents with no prior experience in stageplay and they will portray their own little stories throughout the show

by ANIS HAZIM

SIXTY years ago, “The Sound of Music (TSoM)” premiered in the US, kicking off a historic run as one of the highest-grossing movies of all time and chalking up a multitude of impressive achievements.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, TSoM won five categories, including those for best picture and best director and was placed 40th on the American Film Institute’s 1998 list of the 100 best films ever made.

Even after all these years, the legacy of Maria and von Trapp’s singing children continues to win over the world and it had a successful Broadway run since it was first staged in New York City’s LuntFontanne Theatre in 1959.

Set in pre-World War II, the musical tells the story of Maria, an aspiring nun, who is sent as a governess to take care of seven motherless children belonging to Captain von Trapp.

Known for its tuneful and heart-warming story, TSoM touches hearts of all ages with its most memorable songs ever performed in the musical including “My Favourite Things”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Edelweiss”, “The Lonely Goatherd”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, as well as its glorious title song “The Sound of Music”.

The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) was invited to visit the cast and creative team of the tour in Singapore and talked about the production.

(From left) Kidwell, Martin and Annie Sherman are among the main cast who will bring the musical to life in Istana Budaya

A Fan Favourite

“TSoM is one those films that — whether you watched in the theatre or not — almost everyone across the globe has seen at least once in their life,” associate director Anthony C Daniel told TMR.

TSoM last performed in Malaysia in 2011 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), featuring a London cast, while in Singapore in 2017 at Marina Bay Sands, it featured Singapore-based young cast.

This time around, the musical picked 17 local child actors from Malaysia and 16 from Singapore out of 400 children auditioning, aged from seven to 15 to perform as six of the seven von Trapp children in rotation — as Gretl, Kurt, Friedrich, Marta, Brigitta and Louisa.

“It has been about a little over two and a half years of planning, auditioning and casting. When we came over the summer (this year) to cast the kids both in Singapore and in Kuala Lumpur (KL), it was like the first taste of it becoming a reality and it is finally coming to fruition after the Covid-19,” he said.

Tour choreographer James Gray said that the idea to feature local talents was a brainchild of the production, Broadway International Group and Base Entertainment Asia.

“This is the first time we’ve had a tour here in South-East Asia (SE Asia) and Malaysia. Broadway Asia and Base Entertainment intend to have local children (in the musical) instead of bringing American children.

“So, we came in July this year to cast the local children and surprisingly, we saw a huge number of children turning up,” Gray said.

Raw Talents

He said that most of the young actors chosen for TSoM are fresh talents that have no prior experience in the stageplay, which is what they treasured most.

“There are so many raw talents and it is fabulous because we were not looking for showbizzy-trained kids which we already have in New York. When we did the auditions, we tried to get someone who was natural and real, and that was abundant here,” he added.

Meanwhile, Daniel said that the production sought for individualities in the cast so the actors could portray their own little stories throughout the show.

After several months of rehearsal, local children director Jordan Murphy said that the young cast has shown huge improvements compared to the first day of rehearsal.

“They came (during the first day of rehearsal) as kids and they leave as professional actors. I think seeing that growth is one of the most enjoyable processes to see.

“It is definitely something that makes us really proud. It is very demanding to give these children a lot of weight as they do carry a lot of scenes in the show,” said Murphy.

Each and every one of the children come from different backgrounds and interests, but are united in their love for musicals and theatre. Their enthusiasm for ToSM will surely make the show a memorable one for the audiences

Flourishing Young Cast

One of the young cast, Christian Duvan Garry Malo, 12, who played Friedrich, shared his first-time experience auditioning for a musical.

“I was very nervous as this was the first time I went for a big-scale audition, which I’d never done before.

“I don’t know if I will be doing another musical or anything similar to this in the future because I might be working in a nine-tofive job when I grow up, so I will treasure this experience,” he told TMR.

En Huang (Brigitta), 10, said that she never expected to be chosen as one of the von Trapp’s children from among hundreds of those who went to the audition.

“I didn’t actually think that I was going to get chosen because I got a little bit of stage fright. But I tried to overcome it, and was very glad that I went through with it.

“I learned to express myself and I really did it because this might be the only and the last time I had a chance to perform in a musical,” she said.

Olivia Wood (Marta), 9, said that she learned a lot of things from being a part of TSoM and most notable is believing in herself.

“I probably want to say to myself and also to everyone else, even though you think you can’t do it, you actually can do it because if we (the TSoM children) can do it, you also can do it, too, and overcome anything,” she said.

Exciting Performance in SE Asia

On the other hand, Trevor Martin (Captain von Trapp) expressed his excitement to perform in SE Asia for the first time.

“I’m elated as we have been waiting to do this for a long time. I’ve never been to Asia and this is the perfect reason to be able to perform TSoM here and to get to explore as much as possible,” Martin said.

Lauren Kidwell who played Mother Abbess hoped that the audiences in SE Asia will watch TSoM as it will give the audience a mesmerising experience.

“If you think you know TSoM from watching the movie or seeing other productions of it, this show will completely surprise you.

“This is a show about how music, family and faith help you and guide you to do the right thing even when nobody else would — and that needs to be retold over and over again,” Kidwell told TMR.

TSoM International Tour is directed by threetime Tony Award-winner and Broadway veteran Jack O’Brien, choreographed by Danny Mefford and music supervised by Andy Einhorn.

The musical is produced by Broadway International Group, Simone Genatt and Marc Routh, and presented in Malaysia and Singapore by Base Entertainment Asia.

TSoM will be performing at Istana Budaya in KL from Dec 27 to Jan 15. Visit premier.ticketcharge.com.my/shows/show.aspx?sh=TSMUSIC22 for tickets.