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The summer between my first and second grade years, my sister — and all of the other girls in our West Point, N.Y., cul-de-sac — decided they wanted to put on an amateur performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music for our parents.
The problem? Just one boy in the neighborhood was willing — nay, dying — to play a role. And thus, that boy was “forced” to perform all of the male parts: Capt. von Trapp, Rolf, even Friedrich and Kurt.
That boy was me. And yes, even at the age of 7, I was an enormous homosexual.
Doug Elkins’ Fraulein Maria, a modern-dance deconstruction of the well-worn story of a World War II-era Austrian nun who becomes a nanny who becomes a bride (all while the threatening storm of Nazism creeps ever closer), comes to town Nov. 20-21 courtesy of DANCECleveland.
And it begins much like my theater career back in 1982.
“It starts out like it was a bad high school play,” says Kevin Ferguson, who performs as one of three Marias. “And you know how children play in their houses and they use sheets and they use little things? And all of a sudden [Fraulein Maria] bursts into a scene.”
In case you got caught up in the middle of that sentence — yes, a man is one of the portrayers of Maria. And it’s an XY chromosome for 16-going-on-17 Liesl, as well. And choreographer Elkins himself dances the emotive solo piece set to “Climb Every Mountain,” the soaring monologue sung by Mother Abbess, the head of the local convent.
 Gender isn’t the only thing tossed on its head in Maria. While the traditional music from the 1965 Julie Andrews film forms the basis for the production, Elkins combines dance styles that are all over the place, from modern to jazz.
“He uses everything from ballet to hip hop,” Ferguson says. “What’s special about him is he’s able to blend it very well together, and he makes it one voice.”
The Houston, Texas, dancer previously worked with Elkins in high school — and his upcoming performances in Cleveland will be among his first in the role of Maria. (He just started in the role this month.)
“I actually used to watch the movie a lot,” Ferguson says. “It’s funny how things come back around in your life. I never thought I would have a chance to dance to this score or play Maria.”
But don’t expect a performance more suited for the divas and the stage at Bounce.
“It’s not a drag show. It’s actually very challenging for me,” he says. “I have to find the balance between being a woman or being Maria, and also being a man.”
It’s not a show that takes itself too seriously.
“Doug is a very funny man by nature,” Ferguson says. “This show is hilarious. There are a lot of funny moments, and comedy is very hard to choreograph successfully.”
Critics agree. Last year, Quinn Batson of OffOffOff magazine had this to say of the NYC Joe’s Pub incarnation (then in its third year): “In a better-than-average world, Fraulein Maria would become the anti-Nutcracker of the holiday season, a truly twisted staple some of us would look forward to every year the way many anticipate the Nutcracker.”
And the Boston Globe’s Janine Parker said this in August: “Elkins mines all that is good and generous from The Sound of Music, then adds his own magic. It’s true alchemy.”
For those of us whose love of The Sound of Music has been growing for nearly three decades, that’s a great tease. And when it arrives in two weeks, we’re hoping it becomes one of our favorite things.
The Details
Doug Elkins and Friends: Fraulein Maria
Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare
Presented by DANCECleveland
Nov. 20-21, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15-$55. For more information or to purchase, click here.
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