‘The Sound of Music’ Climbs the Mountain at Toby’s

Rachel Cahoon stars as Maria von Trapp and the Children

For decades The Sound of Music has enthralled audiences worldwide with its superb score and its uplifting message that the power of love can prevail against all odds during a dangerous period in our history.  It is fitting that during these precarious times, when many people today experience anxiety about the future, this classic musical is on display at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia, Md. to shine a bright beam of hope through its charming story as well as its delightful music and sterling performances.

Director and Choreographer Mark Minnick along with the technical crew, musicians and performers, successfully took on the challenge of mounting a classic musical and adapting it to the contours of the in-the-round theatre.

Scenic Designer David A. Hopkins ably utilizes all the walls, steps and balconies in the theatre displaying windows—regular and stained glass—and images, props and set pieces to capture the myriad locales in which the action takes place. And yes, the image of the distant iconic mountains is displayed on the wall throughout.  Lynn Joslin’s imaginative lighting design amplifies these scene changes, which are executed seamlessly throughout the production.

Costume designers Janine Sunday and Sarah King fitted the cast with a wide variety of 1930’s style European attire that feature eclectic garb ranging from nuns' habits to chilling German Nazi soldier uniforms to the multiple outfits worn by the children in the show. The costumes are exceptional and realistic.

Mr. Minnick, a Helen Hayes Award winner, helms this production with strong attention to detail and solid pacing with a nod towards the humanity contained in the story. He affords the performers the artistic freedom in interpreting their respective characters, and the results are wonderful.

The staging of this classic at Toby’s is a beauty to behold—both visually and through its superb score penned by the legendary team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The book, written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, was based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.

Jeffrey Shankle as Captain Georg von Trapp and his children

For Oscar Hammerstein II, The Sound of Music represented his final production as he died nine months after the show debuted on Broadway in November 1959 with Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel as the leads. Having won five Tony Awards, it closed in 1963 after 1,443 performances. Several revivals both on Broadway and London followed and, of course, the immensely popular 1965 film with its five Oscars, based on the musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Even a live TV production was spawned.

The Sound of Music boasts a catalogue of well-known and endearing songs including “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “So Long, Farewell,” “Climb Every Mountain,” “Edelweiss” as well as the title song. Musical Director and Conductor Ross Scott Rawlings and his six-piece band do a glorious job in delivering the wonderful music without overpowering the vocalists. Mark Smedley’s sound design brings clear audio to the dialogue and vocals.

"The staging of this classic at Toby’s is a beauty to behold—both visually and through its superb score..."

Many musicals offer a plot simply to connect the songs. In The Sound of Music, the plot is as integral as the performances to the entertainment value of the show. In the familiar story, The Sound of Music is set in Salzburg, Austria in 1938.  The inevitability that the homeland will fall (Anschluss) to Nazi Germany forms the backdrop for the musical, while the plot focuses on the improbable love between two incongruent individuals.

The story centers on a former postulant, Maria, performed brilliantly by Rachel Cahoon, who has been sent to be the governess of the seven children, ages underlings, of Captain Georg von Trapp (Jeffrey Shankle), a widower and former Austro-Hungarian Navy Captain. He treats his children like military underlings, but Maria teaches them to sing and a whole new world opens up to the kids and Maria.

Rachel Cahoon as Maria

The Captain had intended to marry Elsa Schraeder (Asia-Ligé Arnold), a wealthy socialite. But differences in the way they see the imminent Anschluss—the annexation by Nazi Germany of Austria—and his growing affection for Maria doom the union.

After being shaken by the real prospect that she and Captain Georg are falling in love, she runs back to the abbey and listens to the advice of Mother Abbess (Adrienne Athanas). Maria then returns to the von Trapps’ house to determine if there is indeed love between the Captain and her. They eventually marry.

Max Detwiler (David James), a mutual friend of Elsa and Captain Georg whom the kids refer to as Uncle Max is a pushy music promoter. He convinces the Captain that the kids should perform at the upcoming Salzburg Music Festival.

Meanwhile Captain Georg is under intense pressure to accept a commission in the Third Reich’s Navy, who as an Austrian, is loathe doing. Leaving him no choice, the Captain decides to escape from Austria and pulls it off following the children’s performance at the festival, which took place with eight large swastika banners unfurled from the ceiling signaling what was about to come and leading to a tense conclusion.

As the plucky Maria, Rachel Cahoon is a standout. Ms. Cahoon, who was magnificent as Belle in Toby’s Beauty and the Beast, brightens the stage with her shiny presence and her glorious singing voice. Radiant throughout the show, her crystal-clear soprano voice does justice to such songs as, “My Favorite Things,” Do-Re-Mi,” and “Something Good.” Ms. Cahoon’s empathy and love for the children comes off perfectly, and she displays the romantic connection to Captain Georg with eye-watering tenderness.

 Veteran actor and Helen Hayes Award recipient Jeffrey Shankle is excellent as Captain von Trapp. He commands the stage with the vigor of an authoritarian father whose icy demeanor slowly melts upon meeting Maria.  There have been sterner versions of the character to be sure, but Mr. Shankle portrays the role admirably with nuance and a softer edge.  

His powerful tenor voice is on display when he joins the children in “The Sound of Music (Reprise).” And he particularly shines in the moving number “Edelweiss.”

As Max Detwiler, a mutual friend of Elsa Schraeder and the Captain whom the kids refer to as Uncle Max, David James, another Helen Hayes Award winner, convincingly plays a pushy music promoter. He playfully injects his own campy personality into the role, providing some of the show’s comedic moments.

Then there are the adorable and talented von Trapp children who are on stage throughout most of the production. As good as the leads are, these children are fantastic and will pull at your heartstrings. The young performers are quite adept in their singing, dancing, acting and stage positioning.  Their voices sound so well harmonized as a group as they perform in many of the show’s numbers.  Their rendition of "So Long, Farewell" is particularly outstanding. 

Moreover, Emily Signor who is a mainstay in the cast as oldest sister Lisl von Trapp, turns in a fine duet with her love interest Rolf Gruber (Jackson Miller) in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”

On the evening this production was reviewed, the other von Trapp children were Lucas Rahaim as Friedrich; Ava Lamanna as Louisa; Noah Frieman as Kurt; AJ Bassett as Brigitta; Kylie Gourley as Marta; and Gwyneth Porter playing the youngest child, Gretl. (The other children who will alternately be playing these roles throughout the run as well as the other cast members are listed at the conclusion of this review.)

Every great musical has a blockbuster showstopper.  In The Sound of Music “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is that number.  Adrienne Athanas as Mother Abbess brings that song home in a truly virtuoso performance that concludes the first act on a high note in more ways than one. The other Sisters in the abbey all sing like bells—beautiful, on pitch and resounding.

Indeed, The Sound of Music at Toby’s climbs the mountain and is sure to lift the spirits of theatergoers during this holiday season at a time when it’s needed most. Adults and children alike will be entertained by the music, the story and the artistry of the performers of this well-directed and executed theatre classic. And let me tell you, the buffet is out of this world.

Running time. Two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.

The Sound of Music plays through January 25, 2025, at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre, 4900 Symphony Woods Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 410-730-8311or visiting here. Next up: 9 to 5, January 17 - March 16, 2025.

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Photos by Jeri Tidwell Photography

The Menu is shown here.

Specialty Drink: “The Favorite Thing”

The Cast & Understudies in Order of Appearance