Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Glorious Sounds of Music

Last night, I got to see the play "The Sound of Music" put on by the local high school alumni group. They offered the nicest dinner, then the show afterward, so it was a lovely evening. This is the show that I did costumes for.

For my costuming efforts, I was offered a nice thoughtful gift of two free tickets to this show, including a dinner! My theatre buds were all busy, so I went alone, but was highly entertained by the whole evening.

The dinner was delicioius. This was a Catholic event, so, unbeknownst to me, it was also a BYOB affair! I had just found a bottle of Korbel Rose Brut, which I had been looking for for two months, and found it at a local quick store/liquor store that I can see from my house! I was just dying for a taste of it, and could have shared it with my tablemates--Darn, if I'd only known!

Then the show began. My friend LM, who was the one who brought me into the costuming picture for this group last year, was the assistant producer. But more than that, she is the mother of the lead female actress, who played Maria. Last year, this poor girl had to undergo back surgery a month before the performance, and was in intense pain, so she couldn't participate in the show. This year, she got the lead, and she was fabulous! She and her sister, who is a grad of this school, are dancers, and her sister is a fabulous dance teacher. Her sister choreographed/assistant directed the show.

Their little brother, who is in 7th grade also was in the production. He was Kurt, one of the vonTrapp kids. He did a very nice job with his singing and dancing roles. I sat at the table with the whole family, Mom and Dad M, Grandma, 2 aunts and a great aunt. I could just feel their pride as they watched their progeny sing and dance and entertain.

I always think parents of kids whose talents are displayed in plays or other areas, such as sporting events, must think of the many lessons they brought their kids to. They have to think of the work they had to do to support the kids' efforts and failures over the years of hard work. All of this goes behind a successful leading role like this young lady played in the Sound of Music. I was proud for them, and found myself with a quivering jaw and near tears throughout the whole show, just knowing them, and what they've had to go through to get their aspiring actors and actresses to this point. And I was proud for them.

This year's production was very fine. The singing and acting was great. They had a nice crop of very talented and confident singers in this show. Captain vonTrapp and the Baroness were reprised actor and actress from the same show that had been done in the past, and they still have it as far as talent to be shared. Max was the comic relief, and he was very good. Each of the vonTrapp kids had their own personalities that came out, and they were excellent. But Mother Superior of the Abbey was the most outstanding of all. She is a trained singer, and is the musical director of the show (her hubby is the director). She had trained her group to sing well, and she herself blew us away with Climb Every Mountain (I'm getting choked up just thinking about it!) She looked the part except for the French Manicure on her hands! And I know her well enough to know that she has Elvis tatooed on her ankle! What we don't know about our Mother Superiors!

So, good show to you all! You gave us all an excellent evening of entertainment.

By the way, the kids looked great, I'll post pictures when I figure out how to get them off my iPhone camera!

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