Perin’s School Hall in Alresford, Hampshire came alive last night as The Alresford Community Theatre Society as they presented the first night’s performance of The Sound of Music.
Casting a community production will always contain a cast of mixed abilities and experienced actors, some possibly never stepping on a stage before. This particular musical requires a larger cast and the dynamics of the casting worked very well throughout the performance and the less experienced ones didn’t stick out too much.
Although suspending your disbelief was essential with the ages of some of the Von Trapp children, the seven onstage siblings worked together well. Izzie Packer in the role of the eldest child Leisl gave a strong and believable performance.
The two stars of the night were Maria played by Emily Owen and Abbess (Amanda Buchan) who made sure all the Sisters abided by the rules and life inside the Nunnery ran smoothly. The opening scene led by Buchan made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
1938 Nazi Germany is influencing the people and friends who live in beautiful Austria where the Von Trapp family live. Captain Von Trapp (Ed Marriot) resists the Nazi regime and refused to follow blindly for a safer life under their rule. His strength of principles put his family at risk but with Maria believing in him and standing by his side the family have a strong chance of escaping the evils that are closing in.
The wedding scene between Maria and the Captain caused a few laughs in the auditorium. I was kindly informed by the lady next to me that the vicar taking the wedding scene in the musical is the Alresford Vicar. He gave a strong performance although standing in front of an audience would be part of his weekly work and wasn’t phased by the initial applause he received.
However, the scene changes disrupted the flow of the performances throughout the evening which was disappointing. They took far too long and appeared disorganised at times. A few slight changes in how the scenery was built and created would have sped these changes up and reduced the three-and-a-half production. These combined with editing would reduce the running time to under two and a half hours or under.
The Sound of Music runs until Saturday 22nd February 2025. For more information about the musical please visit the links below.
Three Stars.
Photo credit Leanne Lacey.
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/alresford-community-theatre-society
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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