The Sound of Music is absolutely a show that I almost HAD to see alone. The first note provides such a visceral reaction in me that instantly takes me back to the Summer of 2001. Kathie Lee was stepping down from Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and all the gays and baby gays were abuzz over whether Gelman would choose the sexy and sultry Lisa Rinna or the bright and bubbly Kelly Ripa. It seems the entire world had taken a side. Except for the gays obviously, they were team Rinna and Ripa equally. To this day I stan both of these incredible women. I have only recently gotten into the newest season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and although I only occasionally, watch Live With Kelly and Ryan now (RIP, Regis, you were one of the kindest men I have ever met), I will forever love both ladies. I even have Season 1 of Hope and Faith on DVD. I only have season 1 because the other seasons were never released on disc.
Anyway, that was the summer that my wonderful mother introduced me to The Sound of Music. Obviously it was the Julie Andrews movie on VHS. We had much better TVs in the house, but the only VCR was now in my mom’s bedroom. My dad went out of town frequently when I was kid, so my, mom, sister and I would have slumber parties in her room all the time, where we would stay up late watching movies and Nick at Nite.
But my mom and sister didn’t watch with me that day, my mom put on the Sound of Music for me and went on with her day. I sat so close to the TV that I can remember the exact position I laid in. I had been introduced to Rodgers and Hammerstein before through the Mary Martin Peter Pan and the Leslie Ann Warren Cinderella. I have still yet to see the full production of Cathy Rigby’s Peter Pan, but I will forever say that the definitive production of Cinderella is Brandy and Whitney Houston’s. Julie Andrews was ALWAYS my Maria. That was until tonight.
Kate Rockwell made me entirely forget that she is most famous for dressing up as a “mouse, duh” and singing “Sexy” as Karen Smith in the Mean Girls musical. Her soaring vocals immediately set the tone for one of the most exciting nights at the theater I ever had. I won’t go into every musical number, everyone knows them already, and their haunting reprises. But to me, every. single. cast member played their part to perfection.
I need a whole paragraph to talk about Bryonah Marie Parham. She literally made me forget about Andra McDonald, and that’s not at all easy to do. I think just objectively, Clime Ev’ry Mountain is in the top 5 greatest musical theater ballads. I had been crying for most of the show, but she REALLY brought the waterworks.
The common denominator in all my favorite Muny shows has been Musical Director, Ben Whitely. The orchestrations alone made me sob at certain moments.
Director, Matt Kunkel utilized a digitally designed and projected set to tremendous effect. Never has a swastika been more jarring and ugly looking. You were instantly transported to the hills of Austria, where my grandfather grew up. I never got to meet him, he died when my mom was only 10. He played a few major league games with The St. Louis Cardinals, was accepted to Wash U at the age of 16, spoke both German and English, sang, and played the violin. He’s always been a hero to me, and why I always wanted to play Kurt in a production of The Sound of Music.
I am currently in my first musical since High School. It’s a production of Freaky Friday. I’ll be writing more about it later on here, but I’ve provided the ticket link several times on my Facebook. Our young lead, Sarah, played a nun in tonight’s production. Sarah’s voice has always given me “goosies” (Love ya, J. Lo, #bennifer4ever) as a member of the youth ensemble, I could still pick out her beautiful voice in a sea of harmonies.
This has gotten even more long and “rambly” than intended. My Uber driver got stuck in the infamous Muny traffic and as it frequently occurs, I was the last person to be picked up. I missed my opportunity to stage door with anyone but the child who played Brigetta and her mom, but I was on a bench writing this blog
Goodnight! I’ll be posting more frequently now, as Oscar Season is already in full swing again. Check for updates!
Just Another Gay With A Blog 