The hills are alive with “The Sound of Music!” The well-known musical comes to Harwood Union Middle/High School April 6-8 at 7:30 p.m. with a special children’s matinee at 1:30 on Saturday, April 8, that will include a pre-show presentation by the orchestra and a meet and greet with the cast following the show. Tickets will be available at the door.
According to a press release, “The classic tale of the von Trapp family, with special ties to Vermont, will feature a cast of 27 Harwood Middle and High School students, as well as students from Waitsfield Elementary and Crossett Brook Middle School.”
“I think many people in the area have some sort of connection to the von Trapps, including myself,” director Scott Weigand said. “My wife used to come up to the Trapp Family Lodge [in Stowe] to vacation as a kid, which led to her parents moving up here when she was in high school. When we got engaged, we were living in NYC, and decided we wanted to make our lives in Vermont, so we moved here. If not for the lodge, we would have never become Vermonters.
“We chose this show mostly because we knew we had the kids to do it. Also, because of the connection to the area, and the fact that it is a classic musical with a female lead, which is difficult to find!”
The press release said, “The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein, this 1961 classic was destined to become the world’s most-beloved musical. Featuring a trove of cherished songs, including “Climb Every Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” and the title number, “The Sound of Music” won the hearts of audiences worldwide, earning five Tony Awards and five Oscars for the feature film version. The inspirational story, based on the memoir of Maria Augusta von Trapp, follows a young nun in-training who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, Maria, and the entire von Trapp family must make a moral decision.”
The cast features senior Abby Holter, playing Maria von Trapp, and sophomore Christopher Cummiskey playing Captain von Trapp. The von Trapp children are played by sophomores Zoe Blackman as Liesl and Emma Riley as Louisa, eighth graders Tarin Askew as Friedrichm and Harmony Devoe as Brigitta, seventh grader Robin Weigand (CBMS) as Kurt, fifth grader Ari Weigand (CBMS) as Marta, and fifth grader Desi Dahlgren (Waitsfield Elementary) as Gretl.
Other featured cast members include seniors Mia Lapointe, Arianna Clark, Lucie Ruggerio; stage manager Maddie Thibault, sound engineers Otis Neville, junior Ben Robinson, sophomores Annie McMillion, Kai Haddock, Elsie Pawul, and Ellie Buckingham, and freshman Aiden Heath; as well as a large ensemble of hard-working students on and offstage. Guiding the cast are director Scott Weigand, music director Molly Clark, orchestra conductor Chris Rivers, set builder Aleta Kibler, lighting designer Avery Bacon, and producer Skyler Bradley.
To Weigand’s knowledge, this is the first time “The Sound of Music” has been performed at Harwood.
