After watching the performance, Andrew met members of the cast backstage at the theatre, including Verity Rushworth (Maria). Take a look at our picture of Andrew and Verity after the show (image credit: Graham Corney.)

Verity, who has received rave reviews for her portrayal of Maria, will be continuing the role during the tour’s final engagements at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (23 August – 3 September), Manchester Palace Theatre (6 – 17 September), Newcastle Theatre Royal (20 September – 8 October) and New Theatre Wimbledon (11 – 22 October).

Since Connie’s last appearances in the tour in Oxford she has been suffering from a vocal condition which has seriously compromised her singing voice.  Despite intensive therapy and coaching it is now apparent that her voice has not recovered sufficiently for her to tackle the demands of the role of Maria. 

Connie said today “After many months of battling with a throat condition known as congenital sulcus vocalis, my vocal range has altered dramatically and it is with much regret that I have to withdraw from “The Sound of Music” as I no longer have the range to sing the part of Maria.  My journey with this amazing show has been such a magical one and I am devastated that I am not able to close the tour. I have loved every minute of working with Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian and the cast and crew of “The Sound of Music” and I am only sorry that I am not able to be with them until the last performance.”

Despite this disappointment, the producers are delighted to announce that VERITY RUSHWORTH (who has been winning rave reviews in every city for her performance as Maria) will continue in the role for the remainder of the tour.  Verity is probably best known to television viewers as Donna Windsor in ITV1’s “Emmerdale”, a role she played for eleven years.  Her West End theatre credits include the lead role of Penny Pingleton in “Hairspray”.

“The undoubted star of the show was Verity Rushworth, a perfect Maria”  Irish Daily Mail
“We couldn’t have wished for a better incarnation of Maria”  Nottingham Post
“She really is superb – with a great voice and a natural charisma which more than does this revered role justice.  By any measure Verity is wonderful”  Yorkshire Evening Post

It has been a really busy couple of months on the show, so sorry about the delay in doing another blog but here it is…

Derry passed really quickly, when you do two weeks in a venue by the time the show opens it is suddenly time to pack again, plus we were all really excited about our season in Dublin.

The Dublin adventure started at 10am on the Sunday morning with most of the company travelling together on coach. The journey through Ireland was really beautiful and most of the company even managed to keep it a ‘quiet coach’ for as the production crew (who had been working all night) were also travelling on it – with our company that really is a major achievement!

Dublin really felt like a bit of a holiday, when a show travels ‘abroad’ we are provided with accommodation and in Dublin we all had really lovely apartments a short 5-minute walk from the theatre.

The Grand Canal Theatre is the most amazing building, it is only a year old and truly an amazing theatre to visit and work in. The stage is vast, the auditorium has amazing sight lines and for a large theatre it is surprisingly intimate. The theatre district is around the canal, with a real continental feel. With the amazing light features, restaurants and bars, you forget you are in the middle of a big city.

When the theatre was designed, so much thought was put into backstage as well. There are so many dressing rooms so everyone has space, all the corridors are carpeted and it actually feels more like working in a 5-star hotel than a theatre. The favourite thing for me was the leather reclining seats in most of the rooms, perfect for a cheeky nap between shows.

The buzz about the show in Dublin was amazing and we were really thrilled that every one of the 31 shows got a standing ovation. The staff at the Grand Canal couldn’t have been friendlier, as was the welcome we got everywhere in Ireland.

 As it was the Easter holidays the Von Trapp’s got plenty of time to explore Dublin and the surrounding areas and even had a couple of days at the beach. They also had enormous fun flying backwards and forwards. I travelled with the children as one team flew back from Derry and give massive credit to our chaperones. Travelling with seven excited Von Trapps through an airport certainly was an experience!

It was great to have Mr Donovan’s family with us in Dublin, and Zac and Gemma are now honorary Assistant Stage Managers as they followed our ASM’s Mim and Clint for the show. 

The Nuns certainly had a good time in Ireland, plenty of Guinness was drunk and before we knew it, it was time to fly back for a holiday.

It was a holiday for everybody apart from Frank (Resident Director), Jonny (Resident Children’s Director) and Tom (Children’s Musical Director) who had to go to London to start rehearsing with our new Von Trapps. Six months passes so quickly, and this time all but 3 of the children are being replaced – these children are with us now until the end of the tour.

After the splendour and space of The Grand Canal Theatre, we were brought back down to earth with a bump in Glasgow. Although it’s a very beautiful theatre, we were back to squashed dressing rooms, no space for anything plus a children’s cast change meant we had an extra 21 people in the building. From the moment we arrived in Glasgow it rained, in fact it rained every day (apart from the last two) of the four weeks we were there.  This didn’t actually matter that much as we were all in cast change mode.

To say goodbye to our old teams we gave each of them a party, and as suggested by James (our Stage Manager) each one was Pirate-themed, with the children in Pirate fancy dress  – although one of the children did come as a banana and another as a sumo wrestler..! We had three fun parties between shows and an enormous amount of pizza and chocolate was consumed. Then it was time for final dress rehearsals and opening performances of our three new teams. We have got this like a military operation now, Trish (Wardrobe Department) is the most organised person you have ever met, wardrobe is a mass of lists and colour coded hangers. Frank really doesn’t hang around when rehearsing so this cast change felt much quicker. The three new teams really did great first performances and seem to have settled in well. Speaking of settling in, I think for the first couple of venues Jason Donovan had lulled us into a false sense of security and was (almost)on his best behaviour at work, this slipped in Glasgow and on a number of occasions both myself and Verity were attacked by him and the water spray he had ‘borrowed’ from wigs.  We have had the best couple of months with Jason, he really is so much fun to work with – and we can’t wait for him to come back later in the year. On the subject of Wigs , Rose our fab Wigs Mistress left the show in Glasgow – it is always sad when people move on to do other projects and we will really miss her.

Then time for Leeds. The Grand in Leeds is one of the best theatres on tour, it is such a beautiful and unusual theatre. The auditorium and Front of House were restored recently and anyone with any interest in theatre must see it. Backstage has had some work done but still has such a great atmosphere, it really feels like working in a museum. It is also our lovely Maria Verity’s home town, so every show so far she has had loads of people in.  Plus (and coming from Yorkshire I am very biased) Yorkshire audiences are really lovely and the staff at the theatre couldn’t be more welcoming.

At the end of this week Jason takes a break from The Sound of Music to rediscover his 80’s roots on the ‘Hear and Now‘ tour and it certainly will be quiet without him. Also at the end of this venue we say goodbye to some lovely cast and crew – Simone, Carly, Alyssa, Fiona, Neil, Kirk, Sophie, Jonny and Len.

After Leeds the show has two rehearsals before the final tour starts in Nottingham – two years has gone so quickly…

Neil x

Bradfords on Sauchiehall Street was called on to bake the cake.

The classic musical first lit up the London stage in 1961, running for an incredible 2385 performances. It went on, in 1965, to become an Oscarwinning film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plumber. The latest revival of the show was in 2006 after Andrew Lloyd Webber launched his TV talent search.

The show is on at the King’s Theatre until Saturday June 4.

To buy tickets for The Sound of Music UK tour and for further information about the tour, click here – and don’t forget to follow the cast and crew on Twitter!

Both Lesley and Connie played the roles when this production first opened at the London Palladium in November 2006.

Lesley is one of Britain’s most popular sopranos. As a recording artist, Lesley has released 13 solo albums, all receiving either silver or gold discs. Her television credits include ‘The Lesley Garrett Show’, ‘Lesley Garrett Tonight’, ‘Viva La Diva’ and ‘The Lily Savage Show’. Lesley was also the subject of ‘The South Bank Show’, reached the semi-finals of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and is a regular weekly guest on ‘Loose Women’. Her opera credits include many critically acclaimed roles for the English National Opera and ‘The Merry Widow’ at the Royal Opera House. As well as ‘The Sound of Music’ at the Palladium, Lesley also appeared in the West End as ‘Nettie’ in ‘Carousel’ at the Savoy Theatre.

Connie Fisher won BBC 1’s “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” and played the role at the London Palladium for 15 months, to critical acclaim. Before reprising the role for the UK tour she starred in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of “They’re Playing Our Song” and the ITV drama “Caught in a Trap”.

Although the producers of The Sound of Music cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artist, Lesley Garrett is expected to appear at all performances excluding Mon 17 Oct whilst Connie Fisher is expected to appear at all performances excluding Wed 12 & Thu 13 Oct 2:30pm, and Thu 20 Oct 2:30pm & 7:30pm; both subject always to illness and holidays.

This wonderfully lavish production tells the story of the Von Trapp family’s flight across the mountains with its unforgettable score that includes some of the most memorable songs ever performed on the musical stage including ‘Edelweiss’, ‘My Favorite Things’, ‘Do-Re-Mi’, ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’, ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ and the title song ‘The Sound of Music’.

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC” has music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp.

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC” is directed by Jeremy Sams, with choreography by Arlene Phillips, design by Robert Jones, sound by Mick Potter and lighting by Mark Henderson.

This production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opened to rave reviews and sell-out business at the Wales Millennium Centre in July 2009 following a record-breaking 954 performances at the London Palladium where it was seen by well over 2 million people. “THE SOUND OF MUSIC” originally premiered on Broadway in 1959, when it won six Tony Awards, including “Best Musical”.  The show first opened in London in 1961 and its last London revival was in 1981, both productions having record-breaking runs.  The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Oscars, including “Best Picture”.

For box office information, click here.

17th May 2011