The Minneapolis Star from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 27

lT VARIETY The Minneapolis Star Friday, March 20, 1981 5C Music "The Sound of Music" Director Howard Dallin' Set Design Tom Butach Lighting Design Michael Vennerstrom Costume Design Sandra Nei Schulte Maria Rainer Shelley Chall Sister Berthe JIURogosheske Sister Margaretta Merriann Gleaaon The Mother Abbess Louisa Kerry Sister Sophia Lola R. Watson Captain von Trapp Paul Boesing Franz Philip Ron Frau Schmidt Kati Belle Collins-Cook Liesl Jody Brieske Freiderich David F. Miller Louisa Jennifer Blagen Kurt John Peitzman Brigitta Laura Ellen Karpeles Marta Tammy Kangas Gretl Heather Hecht Rolf Jon Reininga Elsa Cathleen Alexander Max Paul Eiding Zeller Christopher Bloch Baron Elberfeld Mark Bradley Postulant Mary Ann Raymond von Schreiber Clive Rosengren Chanhassen Dinner Theatre presents 'The Sound of Music" by Rodgers and Hammerstein for an indefinite run at the main dinner theater. For reservations and information, call 934-1525. Reviewed by PETER VAUGHAN The Minneapolis Star For years, there had been a behind-the-scenes war of wills going on at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres about whether to stage Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music." The artistic forces at the theater opposed producing the frothy musical about the formation of the Von Trapp family singers in prewar Austria.

The business side of the operation supported it as the perfect long-running financial hit the theaters can always use. Artistic director Gary Gisselman invariably managed to win the battles. However, with Gisselman gone and no permanent successor yet chosen, the businessmen at Chanhassen have won the war, and "The Sound of Music" is packing them in at the 600-seat main dinner theater. Howard Dallin, who seems to have assumed Gisselman's job in fact, if not in name, has directed a glossy production that clearly il lustrates what the argument was all about. In the first place, let us admit the validity of the commercial argument.

"The Sound of Music" opened week, and already its matinee performances are sold out well into fall, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find evening tickets for the next couple of months. This, without a review or time for word-of-mouth praise to spread through the community. It is already a hit that may well be occupying the same performing space a year from now. Let us admit, also, that Gisselman and his artistic colleagues knew what they were talking about. "The Sound of Music" is one of the most vapid, simple-minded fairy tales ever to hit the stage.

And what makes it worse is that, tangentially at least, it deals with an extremely serious subject: the rise of Nazism. When the main characters in a play are a singing nun, seven adorable children and their truculent, recently widowed father, you know significance is going to take a back seat to sentiment. To compound its problems, "The Sound of Music" is not one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's stronger works. It has a song or two you can hum for a couple of days, but overall it is a weak score that re-' lies on frequent reprises of the catchy "Do Re Mi," the inspirational title song and "Climb Every Mountain" to fill out the final act. At Chanhassen, director Dallin has made no attempt to soften the sentimental excesses of the Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse book, and has played into its sugary core as if to emphasize the artistic weakness of the play.

As a result, we have a production that is technically excellent in all its aspects, but has no soul or sense of commitment. Its characters are pleasant, one-dimensional creatures living through a predicament that can only have a happy ending. There is hardly a scent of danger in this frothy concoction. plied costumes that are numerous, colorful and inventive. Anita Ruth leads a brass-dominated pit orchestra in always appropriate accompaniment, as an excellent cast handles the musical side of its assignments with skill and enthusiasm.

Shelley Chall sings well, and is a bright and bubbly Maria. Paul Boesing is a bit remote as von Trapp, but otherwise fits the role well. The best acting comes from Paul Eiding and Cathleen Alexander who, not surprisingly, portray the most interesting characters, Max and Elsa, in the play. Other solid performances come from John Peitzman, Louisa Kerry, Jody Brieske and Jon Reininga. I suspect that the Chanhassen argument over "The Sound of Music" will be ongoing, for this production has settled nothing.

Both sides are right. It is great box office. But it is also a very, very insubstantial work for a theater that has built its reputation by demanding far more from its audiences than "The Sound of Music" asks. Dallin has demanded nothing more from his performers than that they fill out their roles with skill and verve. He is content to let Maria, the would-be nun, and Captain von Trapp go through the motions of falling in love, but there is never a sense that their relationship is anything other than a stage convenience.

Similarly, there is no feeling of menace in the presence of Nazi sympathizers in the pro-Austrian von Trapp household. They wear swastikas and talk tough, but they aren't credible. What Dallin seems to be doing is giving people what they want. In doing so, he has overlooked whatever limited possibilities there are for making "The Sound of Music" more than a beautiful meringue with a hollow core. And what an impressive exterior it has.

Tom Butsch has worked wonders with rich settings of the abbey and the von Trapp residence, shielding the many scene changes behind a beautiful blue-print curtain. Sandra Nei Schulte has sup Dear Abby Cleric's wife added painful P.S. to letters Our buyer has done all the footwork. So, sit back and enjoy your velvet recliner from the Signature Collection in Herculon olefin. Special Purchase 299o00 He got this wall lounger in velvet from the Signature Collection in Herculon olefin at considerable savings.

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