Leapin' Lederhosen

It's like visiting a dear old friend," says director Susan Schulman about why audiences might be compelled to see a Broadway revival. The old friend in this case is The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein's last collaboration, which will open on March 12 at the Martin Beck Theater, featuring veteran musical star Rebecca Luker (last seen in Show Boat) and Shakespearean actor Michael Siberry in his Broadway musical debut. "When I do a revival, I try to do it as if it's never been done before," says Schulman, which is probably just as well, seeing as she's dealing with something of an American institution the original (and only other) Broadway production (1959) ran for 1,443 performances, and the movie (1965) ranks (adjusted for current dollars) second only to Gone with the Wind in box-office gross.

Though it's been described as "an uncomfortably sweet show" and dubbed "The Sound of Mucus," Schulman, who directed The Secret Garden on Broadway, sees it differently and has chosen to embrace the show's complexities—the lightness as well as the shadows. "There's lots of teeth here," Schulman says. "There's a very loving heart at the center of The Sound of Music, absolutely, but there's also a dark side to that heart."

As for Maria, played in the past most famously by Mary Martin and Julie Andrews, Schulman allows for her sense of humor and independent nature, but also points out that the character has real struggles and must "exorcise her demons." Overall, The Sound of Music is, Schulman says, cathartic. "You come out feeling. Yes, O.K., 1 can do it. If they can climb over that mountain into Switzerland, you know, I can face my next problem." The show that produced such unforgettables as "My Favorite Things" and "Do-ReMi" may be moodier now, but its irrepressible sweetness is timeless, and bound to please. Kind of like an old friend.

BETSEY OSBORNE