‘The Sound of Music’ takes the stage in Moses Lake
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 7 months AGO
From left, Liesl (Julia Heaps), Friedrich (LJ Beavers), Louisa (Emma Leavitt), Kurt (Sawyer Roylance), Brigitta (Nora Sackmann), Marta (Kristi Jenks) and Gretl (Cambell Carpenter) perform a song and dance about a lonely goatherd led by governess Maria Rainer (Amy O’Donnell) in a dress rehearsal for “The Sound of Music,” presented by Basin Community Theater.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Prospective governess Maria Rainer (Amy O’Donnell) sings to bolster her confidence in a dress rehearsal for “The Sound of Music,” presented by Basin Community Theater. The local production is based on the original play rather than the movie script most are familiar with.
Maria Rainer (Amy O’Donnell) has some sharp words about Captain von Trapp (Brad Sorenson) regarding his parenting methods.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 6, 2022 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — The hills – and the Moses Lake High School theater – are alive with “The Sound of Music.”
“It's not the movie version, it is the actual play,” said Marion Wyman, the show’s producer. “So it varies a little bit. There's a couple of musical numbers people probably won't recognize. But most of them, they will.”
The beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is presented by Basin Community Theater and opened yesterday, directed by Toby Black of Moses Lake. The play first opened on Broadway in 1959 and was made into a hugely successful movie in 1965, which is perhaps the version most audience members will be familiar with.
“The Sound of Music” is set in Austria in 1938, on the eve of the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. Maria Rainer (Amy O’Donnell) is a postulant, a prospective nun with a lot more enthusiasm and piety than self-discipline. Reluctantly, the Mother Abbess (Deborah Roeber) sends Maria away from the abbey, with a job as governess to seven children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp (Brad Sorenson).
Upon arrival at the von Trapp home, Maria finds that the captain runs his household like a ship, with strict order and no play or frivolity – and above all, no music. This is intolerable to the bubbly Maria, who wins over the captain’s children, Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl and sets about teaching them to sing. The captain’s initial anger soon softens as he rediscovers the joy in music, as well as noticing Maria’s own charms.
Complicating matters are a baroness (Stephanie Moore) who hopes to marry Captain von Trapp, a delivery boy (Zeke O’Donnell) who is sweet on 16-year-old Liesl (Julia Heaps) and, of course, the German government, which puts heavy pressure on the proudly Austrian captain to return to military service under the Nazi flag. There’s safety and freedom for the family just over the Alps in Switzerland – but can they get there?
This production has been a popular one, said Wyman, with record ticket sales. Two shows were sold out as of April 29, she said, but that’s only according to the website. The troupe has to project a certain number of sales in order to get the license to produce the play, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s actually available.
“Our projection on average is about 200 seats per show,” she said. “So two shows already now are sold out online, but there will be 220 tickets at the door that they can buy.”
Wyman expressed appreciation for the cast and the orchestra, all performers from the local community, and saved a special shout-out for the director.
“Really, the star of the show is Toby,” she said. “He is the director, the choreographer, the set designer - everything is his vision. He has it all in his head, and he's the one that brings it to life.”
“The Sound of Music” may be seen Saturday, as well as May 12-14.
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
CAST:
Maria Rainer: Amy O’Donnell
Captain Georg von Trapp: Brad Sorenson
Mother Abbess: Deborah Roeber
Liesl: Julia Heaps
Friedrich: LJ Beavers
Louisa: Emma Leavitt
Kurt: Sawyer Roylance
Brigitta: Magnolia Burke (May 7 matinee, May 13), Nora Sackmann (May 7 evening, May 12 and 14)
Marta: Kristi Jenks
Gretl: Cambell Carpenter
Max Detweiler: Ed Backell
Elsa Schraeder: Stephanie Moore
Rolf Gruber: Zeke O’Donnell
Sister Berthe: Sheryl Cassella
Sister Margaretta: Rebecca Dalton
Sister Sophia: Shanna Stakkeland
Franz: Patric Connelly
Frau Schmidt: Jami Backell
Herr Zeller: Jacob Bang
Baron Elberfeld: Tom Silva
Baroness Elberfeld: Shaila Hardy
Admiral von Schrieber/Priest: Tom Silva
SS Soldiers: Tom Silva, Marshall Bang, Toby Black
Nun Ensemble/Party Guests: Shaila Hardy, Jeanne Klockers, Kristin Butterfield, Evve Higgins, Emily Haemmelmann, Jocelyn Jenks, Shauna Orton, Autumn Cottrell, Mercedes Gales
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