Cappies Review: 'The Sound of Music' At Westfield High School

By Alden Walcott of South Lakes High School

The "hills were alive" with budding romance, harmonizing nuns, and youthful optimism at Westfield High School's production of "The Sound of Music," which showcased the resilience of the human spirit with heartfelt melodies and welcome nostalgia.

Debuting on Broadway in 1959, "The Sound of Music" won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, the music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, becoming an instant classic, whose popularity soared with the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews. Set on the brink of World War II as the Nazis annexed Austria, the musical tells the story of Maria, a novitiate nun who leaves the abbey to become a governess to the motherless children of Captain von Trapp, a proud Austrian struggling with his emotions and his loyalty to his homeland. As they fall in love and wrestle with a dawning reality, they are forced to take an unexpected path while finding courage in each other.

From her first spin through the hills, Lilli McNerney radiated a joyful exuberance as Maria, perfectly capturing her warm tenderness as well as her strength of character. Whether lovingly tending to each Von Trapp child or confronting Nazi officers in her home, McNerney drew audiences in with her emotional range and palpable sincerity. Her emotional power was matched by the clarity of her vocals, including a buttery smooth belt in "The Sound of Music" and stylized yodeling in "The Lonely Goatherd." Peter Dalton proved an enticing counterpoint to Maria's optimism as the emotionally fraught Captain von Trapp. Commanding his estate with rigidity and a perceptible need to control his anchorless world, Dalton's von Trapp visibly relaxed as he fell in love with Maria, reflected in the softening richness of his vocals as he sang "Edelweiss," as if aching for a time gone by.

With childlike innocence and resonant harmonies, the von Trapp children captured the zeitgeist of a simpler era along with audiences' hearts. Simultaneously earnest and mischievous, with the teasing banter of true siblings (and fabulous matching outfits made of drapes!), they were believably bonded to Maria and each other - a visual reminder of the power of family. Brigitta (Langlen Heisnam), the precocious bookworm with disarmingly honest charm, was especially memorable for her deadpan comedy and straightforward takes on love. Likewise, Elsa Schraeder (Scarlett Anthony) was a comedic force as the Captain's glamorous love interest, pulsing with conniving wit while amusingly sparring with her rival, Maria.

This timeless classic played out against a backdrop of creative and transportive technical elements. The set (by Chloe Lupo, Rachael Shore, & the Westfield Set Team) featured a soaring, 14-foot manor house of creamy-painted brick with an elegant moving staircase, highlighting the von Trapps' elegant performances, while a creatively designed stained glass window of painted shower curtains and plastic sheeting gave the abbey a sense of place. The lighting (by Ella Mescher, Aidan Petrinjak & Rebecca Ryles) consisted of vintage chandeliers, handmade projections, and spotlights illuminating the stained glass, as well as background lighting that brought emotion to each scene, alternately glowing red to give the scenes with the Nazis a foreboding air or sunset pink to highlight growing romance. Add in a student-conducted orchestra (Sean Salas, Ameerah Byfield & the Von Trapp Family Players) whose 24 musicians gave the soaring melodies new life, and this production was inspiring.

In a poignant reminder of the importance of standing up for what's right, even at great cost, Westfield's production of The Sound of Music was a triumph of the human spirit as a light in the darkness.