The Sound of Music chimes in Colombo
View(s):Cinnamon Life marked its partnership with David Ian Productions Ltd, Company Onstage Ltd and the Broadway Asia Company LLC on the 9th of January 2018.
Carmen Pretorius portraying Maria VonTrapp with heartwarming performance of The Hills are Alive at Cinnamon Grand last week
David Ian Productions is a leading entertainment company and specializes in presenting large-scale theatrical productions in the UK, the US and internationally.
Broadway Asia Company LLC founded by Broadway producers Simone Genatt and Marc Routh, is one of the largest production, management, distribution, licensing and touring companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Resulting from this collaboration, Cinnamon Life will present for the first time in South Asia, Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian’s Really Useful Group production of The Sound of Music; the first of a series of events that will make Colombo a hub for entertainment in the region.
The Sound of Music will feature Carmen Pretorius and and Janelle Visagie, who are currently in Sri Lanka. Carmen Pretorius is the South African actress tasked with playing the lead role of Maria Rainer and Janelle Visagie as Mother Abbess in the touring production. Pretorius toured as Liesl in the show’s South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore and China staging, before assuming the role of Maria.
Nicholas Maude is a professional actor having graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 1992. He is currently performing the role of Captain Von Trapp on the international theatre tour of The Sound of Music.
A seasoned classically trained soprano in her home country of South Africa, Award-winning soprano Janelle Visagie has been active in the world of opera, previously cast as Sister Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, as well as other roles in productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the Magic Flute and more.
Twelve children from Sri Lanka will have the opportunity to appear in a large commercial musical, and perform alongside a fully professional theatre company adding flavour to the play’s award-winning international cast that has brought The Sound of Music critical acclaim. What began as a Rogers and Hammerstein stage musical in 1959, based on the memoires of the real Maria von Trapp, was eventually released as a film in 1965, starring Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. Today, the original manifestation of the von Trapp story as a theatrical production continues; the Sound of Music is still performed on the stages of Broadway and the West End, re-imagined by musical theatre maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber himself who went on to bag 6 Tony Awards for the production. Soon, this extraordinary experience will be available for audiences in Colombo. The Sound of Music was first produced on Broadway where it won 5 Tony awards.
This version of the production will be from the London Palladium in the UK’s West End.
For more details about Sound of Music log onto www.cinnamonboxoffice.com.
‘Maria Rainer’ and ‘Mother Abbess’, portrayed respectively by Carmen Pretorius and Janelle Visagie
Lisa Fleming - General Manager of David Ian production speaking on her experience with The Sound of Music and the opportunities that will be given to children in Sri Lanka
Panel discussion: Lisa Fleming, Marc Routh, Rajeev Pandithage, Capt. Suren Ratwatte, British Council Country Director Gill Caldicot