Puppet Version of Sound of Music
The Salzburg Marionette Theater Presents The Sound of Music
A review of the Salzburg Marionette Theater's latest touring production, an all-puppet adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein's classic The Sound of Music.
Staging a well-known and much-loved piece challenges any theatrical company; striking the right balance between expectation and experimentation is crucial for the production to be both approachable and innovative. There are multitudes of strings to pull in such an endeavor, but the Salzburg Marionette Theater added a few more – literally – in their current touring adaptation of The Sound of Music.
This ambitious re-imagining of Rogers and Hammerstein’s classic musical played to a full house at Roberts Hall in Providence, Rhode Island on December 3, 2007. The skilled Salzburg troupe invested their puppets with movements so graceful and nuanced that the figures took on a life of their own as actors.
The marionettes’ interaction is very natural and shows to great advantage when numerous figures are onstage together. Even when a character is not the central focus of a scene, the puppet maintains unobtrusive and subtle motion, such as the tilting of a head or shuffling one foot to another.
Intricately crafted, the marionettes are further enhanced by the obvious attention given to their costuming and props. The von Trapp staircase is both beautiful and functional, as is Rolf’s bicycle, which he and Liesl ride with lifelike ease. Each costume similarly boasts painstaking detail in design and execution; every button on the men’s suits shines and the ladies’ dresses flounce and flow along with the characters’ movements.
As Maria changes through each phase of her story from novice to governess to wife, the marionette dressed for each new stage enters and silently faces her former self before assuming her position and role. This “mirror image” lends a layered depth to the character’s turning points and experiences, allowing a moment of reflection before proceeding.
While most scenes feature marionettes only – like “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss,” Maria singing the title song from the mountaintops and the Captain’s interaction with each of his children – the Salzburg Marionette Theater added innovation to innovation by including human actors as well. The Mother Abbess, counseling Novice Maria, is a human character. Like the marionettes, her words are recorded and expressed solely through mimed movements. Though using a large gap in scale, this interaction between person and puppet appears perfectly natural and not at all disjointed or out of proportion.
The only other human included is a Nazi soldier. Appearing onstage briefly from the arms down, he briskly sweeps aside the lifeless body of a deer shot dead by the regime. While the scene can be viewed comically, its deeper implication speaks to the soldier’s careless, matter of fact action. The faceless adherent of the Nazi worldview – one towering far above his fellow players – chillingly represents a lack of value and respect for the life lost.
The production’s encore is a crowning achievement, recreating the iconic puppet show from the 1965 film. The Providence audience, already on its feet for a full standing ovation, was spellbound as the Salzburg puppets returned to the stage manipulating marionettes of their own to perform “The Lonely Goatherd.”
For their Sound of Music tour, the Salzburg Marionette Theater utilizes a prerecorded score featuring the voice talents of several top Broadway actors, including Christiane Noll, Bill Youmans, Jennifer Hope Willis, Jonathan Groff and Jenn Gambatese.
Many of the troupe’s performers are also part of the puppet making team, and while the figures are created to be enjoyed from any seat in the house, tickets closer to the stage are preferable to fully appreciate the marionettes’ detailed crafting.
The Salzburg Marionette Theater was founded by sculptor Anton Aicher in 1913 and met with instant success. Aicher expanded his company through the years, performing adaptations of operas and fairy tales to a worldwide audience. At Aicher’s death, his son Hermann and later granddaughter Gretl became the directors of the Salzburg Marionette Theater. Since then, they have continued to expand the company’s repertoire with works including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hänsel and Gretel, and Peter and the Wolf.
