Page 26 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • December 5, 2012 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic handsomely revived by Dennis Seuling “The Sound of Music,” the final collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, is the current production at Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse. This musical ended a brilliant teaming that also created the music and lyrics for the Broadway shows “Oklahoma,” “Carousel,” and “Flower Drum Song,” the motion picture “State Fair,” and the TV special “Cinderella.” Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, “The Sound of Music” takes place in the Austrian countryside just before World War II and focuses on Maria (Elena Shaddow), a young postulant to an order of Catholic nuns who hopes shortly to take her final vows. Maria, however, is restless and still lacks the discipline and self-denial required of sisterhood. The Mother Abbess (Suzanne Ishee) thinks it best for Maria to go out into the world and experience more of life before committing herself, and sends her to be governess for the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp (Ben Davis), a wealthy naval hero. Von Trapp runs his household with strict rules and regulations, which Maria finds humiliating and stifling to the children. Though the children are at first wary of Maria, they soon warm to her openness and high spirits and she brings a new joy to the household. The captain fears Nazi Germany will soon draw Austria into its fold. Many Austrians have accepted this as inevitable, but von Trapp is determined not to submit to German occupation, no matter how great the pressure becomes. Directed and choreographed by James Brennan, this production lives up to the Paper Mill’s high standards. It is elaborately staged and beautifully cast. One of the criticisms of this play is its tendency to become syrupy and overly sentimental, but under director Brennan’s care, the production is well balanced and the drama is kept in the forefront without sacrificing the warm relationship between Maria and the children or the growing affection between Maria and Captain von Trapp. Shaddow is appealing as young Maria, who is pretty much a child herself when she is given the task of caring for the children of a stern man who has become distant from them since the death of his wife. Shaddow conveys growth of character as her girlish, awkward movements give way to a more confident posture and considered restraint, though she lets her hair down with the kids, who come to adore her. She is a combination confidante, big sister, and mother to kids who crave affection from an aloof father. Shaddow’s Maria also makes the familiar songs of the show sound fresh, whether “Do-Re-Mi” or “My Favor- Governess Maria (Elena Shaddow, second from left) and the von Trapp children in song in a scene from the Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of ‘The Sound of Music.’ ite Things” performed with the children, the title song, or two songs from the motion picture interpolated into this production, “I Have Confidence” and “Something Good,” a duet with Davis. Donna English plays Elsa Schrader, a rich, elegant widow who has her marital sights set on the captain. An enterprising businesswoman willing to make the best of the German occupation, she is a striking presence and a dramatic contrast to unworldly Maria. She and Max Detweiler (Edward Hibbert), an artsy sophisticate and a frequent (continued on Crossword page)