How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Today was spent at the Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff as we had tickets to see The Sound of Music which has been running there since 23 August 2011, concluding today.

Getting there proved to be a nightmare as Cardiff Bay is hosting a large scale motoring event today, namely the Red Bull Speed Jam and all the roads around the Centre were closed to normal traffic and a crowd of 15,000 motorsport fans were expected.

We finally arrived with a little time to spare for a coffee. Our visit to the show had been dampened as Connie Fisher who many of you may know from the TV Series which is the title of my Blip, has been suffering from a vocal condition which has compromised her singing voice. Despite intensive therapy and coaching her voice has not recovered sufficiently for her to tackle the demands of the role of Maria. Maria therefore was played by Verity Rushworth and the role of Captain Von Trapp was played by Jason Donovan.

Luckily for us, Mum and I had seen Connie in the role in London. Prior to her success in the TV Series, Connie had attended Swansea Grand Theatre many times and we had got to know her really well. We always knew that she was set for stardom. In her new found fame she took to the role like a duck to water and was an outstanding Maria.

And so for the next 2 hours 35 minutes we watched as Verity tried her very best to encapture the role of Maria and engage with 7 children whilst an Australian Jason tried his best to become an Austrian Captain. Suffice it to say, both roles simply just did not "do it" for us. We found that the well known songs were sung in the wrong places, the story was in certain parts incorrect and had it not been for the outstanding Marilyn Hill Smith in her role as Mother Abbess our experience would have been completely disappointing.

So, how do you solve a problem like Maria? For me, I'd much rather solve the problem of "a fix" to get Connie's vocal chords back in A1 condition so that she could resume her role as Maria, continue the tour and be back in a role that is most dear to her heart and which is rightfully hers.