REVIEW: ‘The Sound of Music’ ever wonderful @ Porthouse Theatre

Reviewed by Laura Kennelly

The Sound of Music, tuneful as ever, thrilled the crowd Thursday night at the Porthouse Theatre in (not so far away) Cuyahoga Falls. Director Terri Kent created space for the classic musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein to blossom and the talented performers to shine. Especially effective was the simple set by designed by Nolan O’Dell; it magically became a mountain meadow, a church, an estate with just a few shifts of a block here and a screen there.

It’s tough to sing music that most of the audience already knows by heart and make it sound fresh, but the appealing cast did a terrific job of it. Kayce Cummings projected all the bounce and beauty that made Maria unfit for life as a nun. Her interactions with the children were believable (especially when the children all flocked to her bed during a thunderstorm). The adorable, scene-stealing von Trapp children — Lucy Anders (Liesl), Samuel Culver (Kurt), Cameron Andrew Howell (Friedrich) and sisters Courtney Anne Nelson (Louisa), Cameron Danielle Nelson (Brigitta), Cassidy Josephine Nelson (Marta) and Carly Marie Nelson (Gretl) acted like real children (albeit children who could charm and sing like nobody’s business).

Among several highlights were the choreographed duet (“Sixteen Going on Seventeen”) between a lyric Anders and an earnest Rolph (Kyle Kemph) that involved at one point riding a bicycle around stage and singing in tune at the same time. Awesome. Kemph’s restrained gesture of love when he didn’t give them away in the last scene was also touching. Larry Nehring’s Captain von Trapp was elegant, but at times a little too distinguished to seem smitten with Maria.

And, of course, the nuns played a huge role in making the show work. The large ensemble trooped up and down the aisles and set the mood for the show’s opening and closing scenes. Lissy Gulick as Sister Margaretta, the nun who claimed “Maria made her laugh,” also made us laugh with her wide smile.

Jennifer Korecki played the keyboard and led a small ensemble of eight musicians that nicely filled the intimate setting with music.

Although Barry Manilow drew huge crowds right next door at Blossom that night, the Porthouse provided a back-roads route so theatre goers could avoid most of the crush. The Porthouse Theatre itself offers a very pleasant setting for picnics before the show with shady spaces and entertainment provided by strolling and singing Kent State summer music camp students.

Final remark: Summer is almost over, but there’s till time to enjoy a first-rate show in a charming site.

FACTS: The Sound of Music, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through next Sunday, Aug. 12. Special 2 p.m. family matinee, Saturday, Aug. 11. Where: Porthouse Theatre, 1145 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls. Tickets: $17-$37, available at the box office and by phone at 330-929-4416 or 330-672-3884, or online at tix.com.

 


Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.

Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.

 

 

 

 

 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223

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