THEATER REVIEW:

The hills are alive once again with “The Sound of Music,” this time courtesy of the Huntington Beach Playhouse, which has revived the nearly 50-year-old show in a most enjoyable fashion.

This final collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II — a dramatization of actual events during Hitler’s incursion into Austria — is one of Broadway’s national treasures. And Hollywood’s also, as the movie version won the best picture Oscar back in 1965.

At the Huntington Beach Playhouse, director/choreographer Larry Watts (who doubles as the parasitic producer Max Detweiler) has orchestrated a faithful recreation of this ageless classic, bubbling with melodic charm. Overlong, perhaps, but overflowing with infectious and captivating delights.

What Mary Martin was to Broadway and Julie Andrews was to the cinema, Adriana Sanchez is to Orange County theater — a first-rate actress with a superlative singing voice. Sanchez beautifully slips into the role of Maria, the nun-in-training who takes on the task of governess to an Austrian captain’s seven motherless children and finds herself falling in love with their father.

Sanchez works her magic not only on the kids, but on her employer as well. Christopher Peduzzi is excellent as the stern Captain Von Trapp, who melts under Maria’s spell as the Nazis close in on his beloved Austrian existence.

The seven children work well as an ensemble, though two of them stand out with their earnest interpretations. Kristen Leigh Powell is a splendidly precocious Brigitta, and the youngest of the cast, 3-year-old Alessandra D. Rubalcava, is a certified show stealer as the tiny Gretl.

Jessica Porter as the eldest, 16-going-on-17 Liesl, is a gamin charmer, her warmth contrasted with her more sour sibling, Louisa, played by Annika Bertea. Cole Morgan, Austin Kelly and Chelsea Levy round out the junior cast quite nicely.

The role of the Mother Abbess calls for a superior voice, something Cyndra Niel doesn’t quite possess; her singing is melodic but falls short of inspiring. Amy-Catherine Bauer, Caitlin Macy-Beckwith and Dina Bartoloni are effective as the younger nuns debating the “problem” of Maria.

Watts adds a wry, gentle touch as Max, the Austrian entrepreneur who just wants to “get along” with the Germans. A patrician air, as well as a rich voice, is supplied by Candice Clasby as the moneyed divorcee hoping to blend her riches with the captain’s.

James Greene and Mary Hall lend staunch support as the captain’s rigid butler and more amicable maid, while Nick Miranda scores as Liesl’s teenage swain, Rolf. Stefan Berglund is a menacing nasty Nazi while Mike Walker and Victor Anthony Cocchiaro complete the contingent of baddies.

Andrew Otero’s complicated setting, with its impressive scenic backdrops, poses somewhat of a challenge for the cast members who must hurriedly alter it between scenes. Watts also designed the effective period costumes.

Familiar as it is by this time, “The Sound of Music” remains an emotionally stirring experience and an ambitious project for a community theater. This production continues a lofty 50-year tradition.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.