Sound of Music' at Prickett's Fort
One of the most familiar musicals to play in theatres around the world is "The Sound
of Music," with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book
by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.
The show opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959, and
starred Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp. This production
helped the musical to win Tony awards in 1959, and yielded a best-selling cast album
on the Columbia label (with sales of 3 million copies). The original Broadway production
ran for 1,443 performances.
Fairmont State's Town & Gown summer theatre will present its production of the musical
at 8:30 p.m. July 14-16 and 21-23 at the Prickett's Fort Amphitheatre. Ticket prices
are $12, general admission; $10, seniors; and $8 for students with ID. Reservations
may be made by calling the Fairmont State Box Office at (304) 367-4240.
Troy Snyder will direct; Valarie Huffman will be the musical director. Cast members
include Dani Brake (Maria); A. Shawn Dunn (Georg von Trapp); Jatanna Bolyard (Liesl),
Jason Noland (Friedrich); Heaven Satterfield (Louisa); Brady Dunn (Kurt); Julia Paladino
(Brigetta); Madison Moyer (Marta); Bailee Tucker (Gretl); Victor Folio (Max Detweiller);
JoAnn Peterson (Baronness Von Schrader); Patrick Sibbett (Rolf Gruber); Dave Shaver
(Franz, the butler); John Piscitelli (Herr Zeller); Clayton Dunn (Nazi Lieutenant);
Linda F. O'Connor (Mother Abbess); Kathy Dunn (Sister Margaretta); Anne Patterson
(Sister Berthe); and Susan Woods (Sister Sophia).
The nuns' chorus includes Sara Baxa, Roxanne Brake, Kelsey Corder, Sarah Grumblatt,
Carol Hall, Michelle Keefover, Courtney Lafollette, Chris Lavorata, Valerie Phillips,
Tessa Shackelford, Brittany Stire and Heidi Tucker.
The story of the von Trapp family, centers on the personality of Georg von Trapp,
a widower who runs his home near Salzburg like the ship he once commanded. An ex-naval
officer with seven children who serve only to remind him of his deceased wife, the
von Trapp home has been turned into a gloomy place of order and discipline. This unhappy
condition is mitigated with the arrival of a new governess, Frauline Maria who is
from a nearby Salzburg abbey.
Maria shows the Von Trapp children the miracle of the Sound of Music, and teaches
them how to sing. Captain von Trapp's heart opens up to feelings he had long forgotten
and he and Maria fall in love. As they marry, their world is brought down around them
by the 1938 Anschluss of Austria, whereby Nazi Germany takes control of the country
and demands that Captain von Trapp assume a position in the German Navy.
The end of the story is actually its beginning, as the von Trapp family leaves Austria
to make its way to America.
