Playhouse Square’s touring production of ‘The Sound of Music’ will be your favorite thing

Who does not love the Rodgers and Hammerstein movie “The Sound of Music”? It is the movie that most of us grew up with. It’s an engaging true story that has romance, singing, comedy and danger with songs that everyone has memorized completely. As for stage productions they seem to meet with various success. In order to pull off a successful production you need an exceptional cast (including seven cute kids), a wonderful orchestra, dazzling costumes and phenomenal stage sets.

Currently, the touring production of “The Sound of Music” is on stage at the Connor Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square and it is nothing short of sensational. Cayleigh Capaldi (daughter of musician Domenick Allen and actress and singer Leigh Zimmerman) is perfectly cast as Maria Rainer. Her work on the classic songs is inspiring. Christiane Noll as Mother Abbess stops the show with her renditions of “Preludium”, “Maria”, “My Favorite Things”, and of course “Climb Every Mountain”.

Kevin Earley as Captain Georg von Trapp truly fills the roll with his superb acting and vocal skills.

Then there are the children who are all cute as the dickens. Ariana Ferch as Liesl (the oldest girl) does a wonderful duet with Ian Coursey as Rolf Gruber (messenger boy turned Nazi). Ariana’s acting skills shine as she slowly learns to trust and warm up to Maria. Torben Mularski as Friedrich, Skylar Matthews as Louisa, Reece Boyle as Kurt, Haddie Mac as Brigitta, Berkeley Waluk as Marta and Everly Beeson as Gretl are all a force to be reckoned with and whose performance is greater than the sum of its parts.

The show covers the meeting of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp and Maria (a Postulant studying at the Nonnberg Abbey). Maria is considered flippant and a distraction by the heads of the order. Mother Superior decides to send her out into the world to be a governess for Captain von Trapp’s large family of seven children who have “gone through” a number of governesses. Her love of music and playful demeanor soon win over the children as she stands up to the strict Captain who, in spite of being engaged, falls deeply in love with Maria. War is in the air and Germany is beginning its push to take over all of Europe and beyond. Captain von Trapp (an Austrian naval hero) is highly sought after by the Germans. The family quickly comes up with a plan in order to escape enmasse.

Let’s talk about the stage set by Douglas W. Schmidt. It is dazzling beyond compare. We have the abbey, the mountains, the mansion with huge stair case, the patio with floor to ceiling windows, and Maria’s bedroom. It is a wonder how all of these colossal scenes are transported across the country. The costume design by Jane Greenwood outfits everyone perfectly from nun’s habits to uniforms (children and adults) to kids play clothes to formal dress to ball gowns. Natasha Katz’s lighting design is sparkling for setting the mood from lightness to troubling. Kai Harada’s sound design is crisp and clear. The fourteen member orchestra (using ten local musicians) is directed by Jonathan Marro and really makes the show. The show features book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and is superbly directed by Jack O’Brien.

If you ever wondered how the movie plays on a live stage (it started out as a highly successful Broadway show), here is your chance to witness a truly remarkable performance. All of the songs are there and then some. There is equal parts of love, laughter, chaos and danger that has the time fly by. It truly will become your favorite show.

The touring production of “The Sound of Music” will be on stage in the Connor Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square through April 26, 2026. For more information and tickets go to https://www.playhousesquare.org/events or call (216) 241-6000.