In November 1959, a show opened on Broadway that would go on to win five Tony Awards including Best Actress and Best Musical. In 1965 it was made into a major motion picture starring Julie Andrews and won five Academy Awards.
Since then it has been revived on Broadway and in London numerous times and has been produced around the country making it one of the most well known musicals in musical theater history.
The show, of course, is The Sound of Music and it is pulling into the Civic Theatre this coming Nov. 15-20.
It tells the story of Maria, a young nun who, as much as she tries just isn’t cut out for the life of a nun in a convent. Maria is asked by the Reverend Mother to take on a job as a governess to Captain von Trapp, a widowed, retired Austrian naval officer and his seven children. She isn’t the best fit in the beginning, but in time she ends up not only winning the affections of the captain’s children, but she also wins his affections as well.
The show is based on the life of Maria von Trapp and her memoir The Trapp Family Singers.
Christopher Plummer would become best known in his film career as the gruff, strict and rigid Captain von Trapp, even though he’s credited for over 206 films and television appearances. He has been quoted as saying it was his toughest role, because it was awful and too sentimental and had very little humor in it.
This version of the show is directed by former Old Globe Artistic Director Jack O’Brien. He is best known for directing The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, as well as the yearly hit The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Since he has left his position at the Old Globe, he has gone on to direct both the stage version and film version of the musical Hairspray and is slated to direct the stage version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which has a tentative Broadway opening sometime in 2017.
O’Brien’s take on The Sound of Music has given the show a new look. He has freshened up some of the material and has given the once gruff Captain von Trapp a little more love and sympathy mixed in to his tough exterior. It’s definitely something that has always existed in the character, but it’s also not the first thing you think about when you think of the widower.
Ben Davis, best known for his work on Broadway in such shows as Violet (with Sutton Foster), A Little Night Music (with Angela Landsbury and Catherine Zeta Jones) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (with Sutton Foster as well) takes on the role of the captain for this tour, a role he’s played before but admits this time around is a little different.
“This is a completely different take on the captain than I’ve previously performed,” Davis said. “Much more multidimensional with humor and pathos. He’s more human and less archetype of ‘Captain von Trapp’. It’s been a lot more interesting for me to discover these little parts of him.”
Davis didn’t grow up on the stage like most musical theater actors, although, while in high school, he did play the piano and often sang in an attempt to impress girls. However, he was more into sports as a child but quickly found his true passion was on the stage. Davis also found that he had issues with those in positions of authority. It was when he quit the basketball team that things started to shift for him.
“I was a jock,” Davis confessed. “I didn’t start doing theater until my junior year in high school but once I started, I knew it would be my life.”
Davis also admits that even though O’Brien has made some changes here and there to the iconic musical, he promises that it’s nothing that loyal fans of the show will be disappointed with.
“I think audiences can expect to see everything they’re going in hoping for in that, within the reinvigorated production, nothing has been added or subtracted,” Davis shared. “It’s still The Sound of Music you know and love but it’s been examined anew and is being approached with an urgency that makes the audience sit forward and pay attention rather than passively sitting as nostalgia washes over you.”
The film and stage version of the show also features the von Trapp children who are spotlighted in many of the show’s most memorable moments. In fact, it’s one of those kids’ moments that has become one of Davis’ favorite parts of the show.
“‘Do Re Mi’ is amazing because the kids bring something fresh to it every night,” Davis said. “You can feel their excitement doing it and even just listening to it, it’s palpable.”
The show is chock full of Rodgers and Hammerstein favorites including “Climb Every Mountain”, “Edelweiss”, “The Sound of Music” and of course “My Favorite Things”. However, in the stage version “My Favorite Things” is sung by Maria and the Mother Abbess and not by Maria and the children during a thunderstorm as it is in the film. The scene still exists but the song “Lonely Goatherd” is sung instead.
Davis, no stranger to national tours having been in both the national tours of Les Miserables and Spamalot, has now spent the better part of the last year on the road with the show and has hit many different cities across the country. While he spends most of his time on stage he has had time to dabble in some new hobbies that keep him more than busy. One of those hobbies includes food … eating, blogging and preparing it. And, while cooking is not one of his favorite pastimes he is not shy to say that eating is!
“Every town has something to offer,” Davis confided. “Being able to explore is so much fun. I try to get to the gym as often as I can so I can keep eating irresponsibly. Along those lines, I started a donut blog called The Davis Donut Diary to document said irresponsible eating.”
Many actors can look back on their careers and remember what, and who, it was who kept them going, who inspired them so many years ago. For Davis his inspiration was found across the globe in Australia.
“Anthony Warlow, an Australian actor, was my hero in college,” Davis confided. “I wanted to sound just like him. Now, it’s people who have found ways to stay in the business for a long time and continue to surprise. There are a lot.”
After his two year stint as Captain von Trapp, Davis will head back to the East Coast. He admits that at the moment he has nothing waiting for him in the wings after this current tour comes to a close in July 2017, but seems ready to hit the ground running upon his return.
“I will be going back to New York City and auditioning!” Davis said. “The tough part about this business is not knowing what will come next. It’s also the amazing part about this business.”
For now, at least for the next nine months, you will find Davis on stage nightly stepping into the shoes of Captain von Trapp in a show that has warmed the hearts of many including Davis himself.
“Everyone has a special and individual connection to this show,” Davis admitted. “It evokes memories of family, holidays and just love. The movie was obviously instrumental in that but it’s popular because the themes of family, love, pride, hope and the power of music are beautifully written into it.”
For tickets call the Civic Theatre box office 619-570-1100, or buy them online at broadwaysd.com
