This is just one of My Favourite Things!

This may seem incredible that before the other day, I had never seen the show on stage before, but I went to Nottingham's gorgeous Theatre Royal to see the Bill Kenwright-produced UK tour of The Sound of Music.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic may be one of the most loved shows of all time nowadays, but in 1959, when it originally opened on Broadway, it was not as critically-acclaimed as some of the other works, including Carousel and Oklahoma. Nevertheless, it still won Mary Martin (the original Maria) a Tony award, and the piece was made into the wonderful 1965 film version starring Julie Andrews that everyone knows and loves. The film has become one of the most successful movie-musicals of all time, and in 1960 won 5 out of its 9 Oscar nominations. Last Christmas, ITV filmed a live TV version of the musical, which you can read about here.

You should know the story, but just in case, The Sound of Music is set in 1930s Austria; after finding being a nun may not be for her, young Maria Rainer is sent to be a governess for Captain Von Trapp's 7 children, bringing music back into their lives in the process - meanwhile, the Nazi threat is knocking on Austria's doorstep.....

The gorgeous Theatre Royal Nottingham

Leading the cast was Voice UK runner-up Lucy O'Byrne as Maria, and I think she did a wonderful job! The role is more complex and daunting then people normally think, and she handled it brilliantly. Plus, her voice was perfectly suited to the role. As her employer-turned-husband Capain Von Trapp, Andrew Lancel seemed a bit too cold for me and I didn't quite believe some of the chemistry shared with his co-star. Weirdly enough too, his voiced suited some songs better than others (No Way To Stop It, which he shares with Max and Elsa was probably the highlight for him). I think the other small group of people I have to mention were the young actors playing the kids; let's put it this way, I couldn't fault them...

As I said before, Sound of Music is a classic, and this production is just as heart warming and utterly charming as you would expect it to be - it has just ended its Nottingham run, but is continuing to tour the country, so if it comes near you, it is definitely worth a see.