The air was filled with excitement as one of the world’s most beloved musicals — The Sound of Music — had its first run in Jakarta.

Audiences of various ages swarmed the Ciputra Artpreneur Theater in South Jakarta during The Sound of Music’s opening night on Oct. 6 to enjoy a dazzling production from London’s Really Useful Group, based on the original 1959 Broadway theatrical performance.

The musical was also adapted to the big screen 50 years ago, with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer as the stars.

The latest version of The Sound of Music was created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian in 2006, bringing film-like qualities and carrying the essential elements of the original to the stage.

The performance tells the uplifting true story of Maria, a governess charged with taking care of widower Captain Georg Von Trapp’s seven children and who changes their lives by reintroducing them to music.

While the story may be familiar to many, this production gives a different, intimate feeling.

It begins when dozens of nuns come out onto the stage and blend with the audience before Maria appears behind a transparent screen, singing alone on a hill at night.

The Mother Abbess believes that Maria would be happier outside Nonnberg Abbey and sends her to the villa of retired naval officer Captain von Trapp to be a nanny for his children — Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl.

When Maria took her guitar and started singing “Do-Re-Mi” with the children, much of the audience sang along, as expected. The singing continued during several other songs, such as “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “So Long, Farewell”, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and “Edelweiss”.

The bond between Maria and the children gets stronger as she teaches them to sing various songs and often takes them out to play.

The captain is upset by this new situation and by Maria, who keeps trying to tell him to spend more time with the children. He later orders her back to the Abbey.

But when he hears the children singing for his girlfriend Baroness Elsa Schraeder, he joins them and sings for the first time in years.

During the scene when he hugs the children after they sing together, an emotional vibe was felt throughout the hall as the actors allowed the audience to feel their closeness.

The actors in the 135-minute show give great depth and vitality to the characters with their acting and singing skills.

Carmen Pretorious, who plays Maria for the show in Jakarta, said her role had taught her about many things in life.

“I’ve learned a lot from Maria; she’s very excitable, optimistic, problem solving, clever, a little bit cheeky and naughty. She’s very mature for her age and very spiritual. All those things I’ve learned from her and incorporated into my own life,” she said backstage.

Mark Rayment, who has been with the production for 16 months, said he had enjoyed playing Captain von Trapp, who was stern and disciplined, but also damaged and hurt at the same time.

“His world turns upside down when this young, novice nun comes in, and she doesn’t do what she’s told, and that’s pretty astonishing for him. It’s lovely playing that character, and playing it together,” he said.

The air was filled with excitement as one of the world'€™s most beloved musicals '€” The Sound of Music '€” had its first run in Jakarta.

Audiences of various ages swarmed the Ciputra Artpreneur Theater in South Jakarta during The Sound of Music'€™s opening night on Oct. 6 to enjoy a dazzling production from London'€™s Really Useful Group, based on the original 1959 Broadway theatrical performance.

The musical was also adapted to the big screen 50 years ago, with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer as the stars.

The latest version of The Sound of Music was created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian in 2006, bringing film-like qualities and carrying the essential elements of the original to the stage.

The performance tells the uplifting true story of Maria, a governess charged with taking care of widower Captain Georg Von Trapp'€™s seven children and who changes their lives by reintroducing them to music.

While the story may be familiar to many, this production gives a different, intimate feeling.

It begins when dozens of nuns come out onto the stage and blend with the audience before Maria appears behind a transparent screen, singing alone on a hill at night.