Sydney Reviews

Held in the State Theatre, Sydney, this event brings with it audiences obsessed with the musical film released almost 50 years ago, back in 1965. The basic premise is that you arrive (preferably dressed in costume) and get prepped with the special goodie bag you find on your seat before they screen the 174 minute film on projection (with an intermission, to cope with the length).

It is clear from the structure of the evening that the enjoyment you get out of attending an event such as this, is solely dependent on the audience. Here, the audience members are the stars of the show as they interact with, heckle and gesture towards the crucial musical sequences of the film.

On this particular night the lovely Marika Aubrey, Sydney-based performer, hosted the evening. Dressed in a puppet costume that mirrored the puppet show in the film, Aubrey coached us through appropriate behaviours during the screening. The first comes with the number ‘Maria’, where we were required to hold up cards every time the nuns sung “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”, “A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!” And apparently it is still a mystery, even amongst the fanatics, what a ‘flibbertijibbet’ actually is.

There were also swatches of material which we had to wave in the air and yell “behind you!” when Maria realises she can make the children’s clothes from the curtains in her bedroom. In addition to this, we routinely booed the Nazi’s, hissed at the Baroness and cheered for Maria the whole way through.

The audiences were incredibly diverse, from young children (dressed as the Von Trapp family, and some in brown paper packages, tied up with string), young, old, men, women and everything in between. The lyrics were subtitled so everyone could sing along, and there were even some people present who had never seen the film before. However, a large majority didn’t need that kind of help at all as I assume this wasn’t their first rodeo.

Playing a few shows annually, the Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music is nothing if it isn’t a hilariously good night out. It is a joy to be surrounded by 1300 people who love the film so much, and will probably continue to for the next 50 years.


Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music

Venue: State Theatre. 49 Market St, Sydney
Dates: February 21 – 23, 2014
Times: Friday and Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 1pm
Tickets: $55 adult, $49 group (6 or more), $155 family (2 adults, 2 children), $35 child (under 15)
Bookings: 1300 139 588 | www.ticketmaster.com.au
Visit: www.singalonga.net