Broadway in Boston's "The Sound of Music" may surprise long-time fans of original musical
For many children, the movie version of "The Sound of Music" is a first exposure to a musical. Now, Broadway in Boston has brought a new production of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic to town, giving kids the chance to experience it on stage.
Cayleigh Capaldi, who plays Maria, said, "This show is timeless, but it's also extremely timely."
She called it a "real gift" playing the role forever associated with Julie Andrews.
"She represents so much to so many different people," Capaldi said.
And she represents different things to different generations.
Broadway veteran Christiane Noll, who portrays Mother Abbess, said she loves seeing "grandparents taking the grandchildren, or the entire family coming together and the elders sitting and having the memories of their childhood, but then spending more time watching their littles watching."
"I hope kids in the audience can see themselves on stage and think, if they can do it, so can I," Capaldi said.
Different from the original musical
The stage production inspired the 1965 movie, but the two are not exactly the same, and that may surprise some in the audience.
"They see that it's like, 'Oh wait This is different.' So they lean in a little and then they realize what it is they're watching… What we're doing, is really going back to that text, and what is happening between these people, and why is it important? And maybe, you know, what is unsaid?" Noll said.
While young children may not absorb all of the nuance, Capaldi explained that the broad ideas are clear.
"Whether or not they are old enough to understand certain themes of our show, I hope that the pervading message of love and the power of music to bring people together are at the center of what they can take away," she said.
"I find that the most heartwarming thing. About bringing children to the theater. It becomes part of the culture of the family and of the community, and Boston has been that and still is that, which I'm so gratified to see," Noll added.
You can check out The Sound of Music at the Citizens Opera House in Boston through Sunday, January 18th.