'The Sound of Music' returns to Manila this March 2023

If you have missed it in 2017, now is definitely the time to catch it. If you've seen it before, all the more reason for you to watch it again onstage

The international tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, produced by Broadway International Group is set to stage the beloved and award-winning musical at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati this coming March. For a limited run only, The Sound of Music will captivate audiences, both young and young-at-heart, with its timeless story and enthralling music that people across generations have grown to love.

The touring production is headlined by Jill-Christine Wiley as Maria Rainer, Trevor Martin as Captain von Trapp, and Laura Kidwell as Mother Abbess. Also featured in this musical are the kids from the North American tour of The Sound of Music who will be joining the company for the first time during the Manila leg of the tour.

Above Marc Routh, Jill-Christine Wiley, Trevor Martin, and Laura Kidwell

The Sound of Music follows the uplifting story of Maria, the governess who changed the lives of the widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children whom we'll find grieving after the loss of their beloved mother four years prior. By reintroducing them to music, Maria helps the von Trapp family carve new paths in their lives full of dreams and hope while in the midst of the rising political tension across the Austrian mountains before the Second World War reaches their homeland.

Featuring music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, this Tony Award-winning musical, which was later adapted into the Academy Award-winning film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, highlights the new creative vision of its three-time Tony Award-winning original director Jack O'Brien.

Above Lauren Kidwell as Mother Abbess

Above Trevor Martin as Captain von Trapp

Joining the three principal cast members at the early media launch last January 18 was Tony Award-winning producer and president of Broadway Asia and Broadway International Group, which is bringing The Sound of Music again to Manila after the West End touring production had staged it at The Theatre at Solaire in 2017. This year's production is in partnership with GMG Productions.

Wiley shares that she will be having her 500th performance as Maria in the Manila tour of The Sound of Music, making it a milestone for her worth celebrating with the Filipino audience. "I was five years old when I first saw The Sound of Music, thanks to my mum who brought me along. At the time, I had no idea that one day I would have this musical theatre career and be able to play the role of Maria. . .I sing for the young Jill-Christine inside of me and for the young five-year-olds out there who we might not know become future Maria or Martha or Captain von Trapp," says Wiley.

Above Tony Award-winning producer Marc Routh

With the hit musical being known for its anti-Nazi theme and promotion of libertarianism, Martin who plays Captain von Trapp shares that it is what makes The Sound of Music relevant among many cultures and generations. "The same situations that the von Trapp family has experienced continue to happen today in many parts of the world—dealing with grief, seeking reconciliation, the search for love, and of course the political undertones of the musical that become the main highlight towards the end of the show. For me, it makes the show fresh every single time we step on stage because audiences are able to access these themes and associate them with what's relevant in their places," Martin says.

The Sound of Music will be staged from March 7 to 26 (8pm from Tuesday to Friday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm every Saturday, 1.30pm and 6pm every Sunday) at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. Tickets are available at Ticketworld.

Tatler Asia

'The Sound of Music' returns to Manila this March 2023