‘The Sound of Music’ in new Dutch production with spirit and a dreamed Maria

Maria rotates on her axis, with green mountains in the background. The beginning of the movie The Sound of Music is iconic, as well as Julie Andrews’ rendition. Every actress who plays Maria follows in her footsteps and those of countless Marias, who sang “Do-Re-Mi” in an effort to teach the children of the grumpy Captain Von Trapp the art of singing.

Some actresses know how to give Maria something special, others let you forget Andrews for a while and then you have Nandi van Beurden – the exceptional category. She won the TV program ‘In search of Maria’, in which viewers (co-)determined who would play the lead role in this musical, and now she is bouncing and fluttering across the stage.

Her Maria is fearless and cheerful, but also has depth. Van Beurden is a dream Maria, also because of her humor and fantastic voice.

Her energy fits perfectly with the direction of Carline Brouwer, who refreshes the musical classic. There’s spice in songs like ‘Sixteen, soon seventeen’. This scene can quickly look old-fashioned, with a fledgling crush and a girl who glows with innocence, but in Stanley Burleson’s choreography she is in control and the goodness has been dusted off.

Brilliant

Another discovery in the cast: Francis van Broekhuizen. She stole the hearts of the general public through her TV appearances, after a career as an opera singer. In addition to having a great voice, she also appears to have the necessary acting skills: her Mother Superior is sympathetic and at times just as cheerful as Maria. Their joint performance of ‘Something I Love Deeply’ is brilliant.

When the German occupier roughly disrupts the idyll, the video backgrounds – which until then conjured up eye-catching landscapes – become dark. For the lover of an immaculate ‘happy ending’ it is hard to swallow, but this twist gives weight to the story.

–