New season at SCT is about to begin with beloved show

The 1968 movie musical of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein classic was one of French's favorite films as a child, and Andrews, an English actress and soprano, was one of her favorite actresses.

"I grew up watching Julie Andrews play this part," said French who was raised in the small town of St. John near Great Bend.

French endlessly practiced the famous Andrews twirl on the hillside, imagining a moving helicopter shot framing her as she started singing, "The hills are alive, with the sound of music ..."

Now the Salina woman gets to sing in front of an audience when she takes on Andrews' role of Maria von Trapp in the stage version of "The Sound of Music" opening Sept. 11 at the Salina Community Theatre, 303 E. Iron.

The musical is the first production of the theater's 49th season and runs through Sept. 27. Other productions this season include the rollicking farce "Don't Dress for Dinner" (Oct. 23-Nov. 7); the sentimental drama "On Golden Pond" (Jan.8-23); the jazzy Hollywood musical "City of Angels" (Feb. 12-28); the classic Tennessee Williams' drama "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (April 9-24); and a musical inspired by the songs of Elvis Presley, "All Shook Up" (June 11-27).

A final collaboration

"The Sound of Music," which opened on Broadway in November 1959, was the final collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who had revolutionized the American stage with a series of groundbreaking musicals that included "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," "South Pacific" and "The King and I."

"The Sound of Music" is one of the duo's most beloved musicals, primarily due to the movie version with Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which became one of the highest grossing movies of all time and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1969.

The story focuses on Maria, an energetic young woman and nun-in-training who becomes governess to the children of Captain Georg von Trapp, a decorated captain of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. During the course of the musical, Maria and the captain fall in love, flee to Switzerland with the children during the Nazi occupation of Austria and later gain fame as the Von Trapp Family Singers.

Each Rogers and Hammerstein musical has produced several classic songs, and "The Sound of Music" is no exception. These include the title song as well as "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Climb Every Mountain" and "Edelweiss."

"The Sound of Music" was chosen to open the 2009-2010 season because of the familiarity of the music and the story, said Michael Spicer, the musical's director and managing artistic director of Salina Community Theatre.

Not done here in 20 years

"It's a classic that hasn't been done here in 20 years," he said. "We're returning to those classic pieces because there's a whole generation of young people who don't know it."

The show also provides several significant roles for children and teenagers, Spicer said.

"Our education department does such a good job training young people," he said. "This gives them the opportunity to work with skilled actors who have more experience from which they can learn."

Perhaps most important, Spicer said, the musical is helping to attract more season subscribers to the theater.

"A lot of subscribers are returning because we're doing a show like this," he said. "We won't turn our back on doing new shows, but we have to give credit to the desires of our audience."

"The Sound of Music" is a show Spicer has wanted to revisit. He first directed the musical in 1985, which he called "a very straightforward rendition."

While directing the SCT production, Spicer said he's discovering new elements in the work he missed the first time.

Finding humor in Maria

"This time, I'm finding more of the humor that comes from the kids as well as Maria," he said. "I also think the historic element means more to me now that I'm older."

French approaches Maria as a more extroverted, lively, even brassier woman than Andrews' more prim and proper interpretation, which French said is closer to her own personality.

"(Maria) is very spirited, much like myself," she said. "It allows me to bring something fresh to the character and not be Julie Andrews. I can make it my own."

This one's for mom

Salinan Mike Wilson, who plays Captain von Trapp, said he is a natural extrovert who has to play a very interior character full of suppressed emotion.

"That's a stretch for me," he said. "I'm more of a singer who acts, now I have to be more of an actor who sings."

Wilson has a very personal reason for wanting to do the show -- It's his mother's favorite musical.

"I've been watching the movie since I was a kid, so my mother was excited that I got the part," he said. "She always wanted to hear me sing 'Eidelweiss.' "

Wilson said his mother has been going through cancer treatments, so he's happy she'll be able to see him do the role now.

"This might be the last show I get to do for her," he said. "She bore me and gave me the gift of music, so this is for her."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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MST says....
The movie opened up in 1965 and won the Best Picture Oscar in 1966.
9/4/2009

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