DULUTH — It would, theoretically, be possible to stoke something other than warm feelings with a holiday production of “The Sound of Music.” It would be interesting to see what Daniel Fish, who

radically reimagined “Oklahoma!”,

would do with this feel-good musical set at the dawn of a dark era.

Daniel Fish is nowhere near Minnesota, though, and the Duluth Playhouse’s latest production of “The Sound of Music” is led by Phillip Fazio with an emphasis on superb singing and good vibes. If you were hoping to spend more time grinning at cute kids than contemplating the horrors of World War II, you’re safe in his hands at the NorShor Theatre.

On Friday’s opening night, the audience signaled their state of mind by bursting into applause for Alyson Enderle, playing Maria, after just a single spin as she emerged onstage to sing “The Sound of Music.” Enderle’s performance, alert to every word, is the heart of this production that thrives on song.

If you’re only familiar with this musical from its iconic 1965 film adaption, you have a few surprises in store regarding song sequence and selection. You’ll also gain a new appreciation for how its creators (score by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) used music as a vehicle for these characters to engage with the world.

Governess Maria teaches the Von Trapp children to sing again (an adorable “Do-Re-Mi”), their happy harmonies quickly melting the heart of their mourning father, Georg (Jace LeGarde), and ultimately becoming the family’s enduring connection to their ideals of faith and freedom as Nazism overtakes their Austrian homeland. Every song has stakes, with the characters at once singing for themselves, for each other and for the audience.

Captain Von Trapp may be famed as a figure of patriarchal stiffness, but that’s not apparent here, where LeGarde just blusters a bit before dropping the act and falling gratefully into Maria’s orbit. The two lead actors don’t exactly ignite the stage with romantic chemistry, but that’s okay: we can readily imagine them getting together for the benefit of the children.

The kids are played by two alternating casts; Friday featured the “green cast” led by Abrianna Schmidt as Liesl and anchored by a cherubic Ada Sather as Gretl. Among the middle children,

Gigi Calland

does some of the best acting in the entire production as the forthright, observant Brigitta. If the Playhouse stages “Harriet the Spy” in the next couple seasons, their casting is set.

The show’s action unfolds on a stately, largely fixed set by Curtis Phillips, with lighting and prop cues serving to convey the story from abbey to mansion and back. The nuns are led by Lacy Sauter, whose singing soars in “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” Whether lifting their voices in devotion or setting the scene for Maria’s wedding with a pointed reprise of their passive-aggressive song about her, these sisters deliver under the baton of music director Kyle Picha.

Elsa and Max have much more to do on stage than in the movie, with two sardonic songs that were judiciously cut for the film adaptation. Those numbers allow Duluth audiences welcome opportunities to spend more time with the exuberant Antony Ferguson and an appealingly direct Hope Nordquist, whose Baroness remains the most self-aware adult character in this story.

The continuing resonance of this musical, based very loosely on a true story, has to do not only with the parallels between its setting and our own concerning political climate. “The Sound of Music” also portrays a world where men are failing and women, standing in solidarity even where the scenario would seem to invite conflict, step up to save the day.

At one moment in the musical, Georg is deciding what to do about a summons he’s received to join the Nazi navy. “Whatever you decide, will be my decision,” says Maria, in a line that jars with its explicit recognition of her mid-century marriage contract. Enderle’s delivery, though, reveals the strengths of her performance and Fazio’s direction. She plays it straight — and yet, with her eyes, signals her fervent desire for her husband to remember his humanity.

It’s typical of a performance, and a production, that stay within the world of the 1959 musical while giving the material enough breathing room to speak to a latter-day audience. The cast’s investment is manifest, and that extends to the kids whose effervescent rapport with their beloved governess is bound to buoy anyone’s spirits.

“The Sound of Music” is onstage through Dec. 17. For details and tickets, see

duluthplayhouse.org.

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He’s a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he’s also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. You can reach him at [email protected] or 218-279-5536.