Let’s start at the very beginning; I’m told it’s a very good place to start. On sheer scale and ambition alone, OXOPS have outdone themselves with their staging of Rogers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music; boasting a cast of (seemingly) thousands, a live orchestra and a lavish, high-production-value set, it’s clear how much care the cast and crew have put in to breathe life into the world around free-spirited Maria (Emily Booth). This is of course true of the principal cast - more on them later - but also of the ensemble. There are so many little dynamic character details going on in the background, from stolen bikes to errant clowns, that add to the richness of the city of Salzburg. It feels sprawling and all encompassing right down to the final number, as the entire cast fan into the audience and we’re treated to the full power of OxOPS’ collective vocals.

Our Maria is played with equal parts sweetness and grit by Emily Booth. Her interactions with both the children and a gruffer, short-fuse Captain Von Trapp (Andy Blagrove) are sincere without ever veering into mawkish, and the delicacy of her voice blends so well with the youth ensemble - her duet with Holly Soame’s Liesl in ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’s’ reprise is one of the most lovely vocal moments in the show. Speaking of which, what an impressive group of young actors this is! I saw Team Platinum on press night and every single one of them was a joy to watch, cute as buttons and brimming with playful chemistry. My particular standouts were firebrand Brigitta, played by Alvia, and May as the littlest Von Trapp, Gretl. (Honestly if your heart doesn’t melt at her delivery of “I’ve got a sore finger”, I don’t know how to help you. Protect Gretl at all costs.)

As Liesl, Soame imbues the role with innocence, curiosity and quite a bit of humour - it seems pretty clear during her duet with Kenan Reeve’s Rolf that our girl has got the ick, and her various attempts to rebuff his advances are very funny, even if it does make Rolf’s heel turn towards Nazism hit less hard (you mean this guy who couldn’t take no for an answer was ready to fall in line with the Third Reich? Ya don’t say!). Glen Young and Nicola Pratley as Max and Fraulein Schraeder are an absolutely riveting double act, giving two of the night’s best performances; I need a sitcom starring these two greenlit asap.

The defining moment of the night, however, belongs to Sarah Letherbarrow as the Mother Abbess. Her vocals on ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ are truly something to behold, and thoroughly deserving of the multiple standing ovations she received at curtain call. Yes, there had been a few tech hiccups leading up to it, but the final image before the interval, Maria silhouetted against the moon as Letherbarrow hits that haunting final note, is so powerful it could have come straight out of Broadway.

Speaking of Broadway, this particular production is very faithful to the original stage script, so if you’re going in with the 1965 film as your base of knowledge, you might be thrown for a loop. I’m personally of the opinion that the film’s changes to the Broadway version are almost entirely for the better. ‘I Have Confidence’ is sadly cut from this score (though the equally excellent ‘Something Good, also written for the film, is included). It’s a shame because it establishes Maria’s emotions far more effectively than ‘My Favourite Things’, which in turn makes much more sense lyrically to comfort the children during the thunder than ‘The Lonely Goatherd’ does. Having ‘Edelweiss’ only appear in the second act rather than as a reprise lessens its emotional impact, as that reprise does so much to underline Captain Von Trapp’s character development and link his love of his family to his final show of defiance against fascism.

The two songs kept from the Broadway score, ‘How Can Love Survive’ and ‘No Way To Stop It’, flattens Fraulein Schraeder’s character considerably into a money-grubbing Nazi apologist. They’re performed exceptionally by Young and Pratley, but I personally prefer the more grounded human drama of a woman unfairly caught up in a triangle she never anticipated quietly and graciously accepting defeat; her final goodbye to Maria in the film speaks to a much more complex character than the stage version permits itself to have. Similarly, the insidious reach of Nazism is much more potent as an ever-present but subtly seeded threat before the Anschluss, rather than having an entire on-the-nose number about ignorance being bliss. The turn for the sinister following the Nazi occupation isn’t given a lot of time to establish itself before the Von Trapp’s great escape, leaving their presence a bit defanged (apart from Herr Zeller, who is absolutely bringing the Strum und Drang).

So is the source material perfect? Not quite, but in the hands of OXOPS it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The strengths of the ensemble are on full display, especially in the gorgeous choral arrangements, and only the stoniest heart would remain unmoved by their final spirited reprise of ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’. So if the dog bites and the bee stings, or you’re feeling sad, pick up a ticket for one of their shows and then you won’t feel so bad…