 The Sound of Music is one of the great American theatrical productions. Sadly it was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere. The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened on November 16, 1959. It was adapted as a 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which won five Academy Awards. The musical is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.
Maria von Trapp died of heart failure on 28 March 1987, in Morrisville, Vermont. She outlived her husband Georg by forty years, he having died before the book, musical, and films appeared. Maria, her husband Georg, Hedwig von Trapp, and Martina von Trapp are interred in the family cemetery at the Von Trapp Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. source: Wikipedia The Sound of Music (2011) PERFORMANCES
Edmund Keefe Auditorium (in Elm Street School)
PRODUCTION STAFFDirector ……………………………………………………………………… Joe Vago CASTMaria Rainer ……………………………………………….. Sarah Reese Souter Scenes & Music (as listed in the Libretto)Act I
Act II
Casting/Audition InformationFor more information of the Sound of Music theatrical production please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Music Principal cast must be excellent singers and actors unless otherwise stated below. All cast must be able to sing. Children (10-16years) must be able to move to music, keep time and rhythm. The are no children ensemble roles.
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| Role | Ages* | Character Description |
| Maria Rainer | 25-35 | A postulant at Nonnberg Abbey. A charismatic, full of energy, country girl who has a charming but gawky, awkward physicality and personality, naive, confused about her vocation, naughty, witty, strongminded, tomboyish. Needs to have a obvious affinity with children and an ability to relate at their level. |
| Captain Baron Georg von Trapp | 35-45 | A retired very wealthy Austro-Hungarian Naval Lieutenant Commander, distinguished, active, highly organised and regimented, efficient and very smart. A widower with seven children. Strong and yet with a hidden softness. Major plus if actor can play guitar. |
| The Mother Abbess | 40+ | A true big-hearted mother figure, loved, adored and respected. |
| Baroness Elsa Schraeder | 35+ | A very wealthy widow, President of her late husband’s corporation. Elegant, sophisticated city person. Clever and canny and very much into making a good social arrangement with von Trapp rather than a massive love match. In favour of the new Nazi Regime. |
| Max Detwieler | 40-50 | A theatrical agent and First Secretary of Education and Culture. A personal friend of von Trapp and a sort of uncle to his children. He is clever at his job, witty and charming though quite pushy to get what he wants. We are not sure whose side he is on until the last moment. |
| Liesl Von Trapp | 16-18 | Eldest daughter of Von Trapp. Innocent, naïve, infatuated with Rolf, pretty but unsophisticated and tends to think everything is wonderful. Growing up fast with no maternal role model, she represents the juvenile romantic plot. |
| Rolf Gruber | 17-20 | The other part of the juvenile romantic plot is the telegram delivery boy friend of Liesl- blond , self-important, boasting and with Hitler as his paternal role model and the Nazi regime as a future goal. He seems to know an enormous amount of what is going on because of his job and seems to relish his spying tactics. |
| Sister Berthe | 30+ | No nonsense type, officious and very strict. Not a supporter of Maria. |
| Sister Margaretta | 35+ | Kind and understanding supporter of Maria. |
| Sister Sophia | 25+ | Dutiful and kind. She takes the middle road to avoid controversy. |
| Friedrich Von Trapp | 14 | Shy and aloof, desperately needs his father. Major plus if actor can play guitar. |
| Louisa Von Trapp | 13 | Likes to play tricks on people and is quite a tomboy. She misses her mother a great deal. |
| Kurt Von Trapp | 11 | A very respectful lad with excellent manners. He is sensitive and easily hurt. Appears quite old for his years as a result. |
| Brigitta Von Trapp | 9 | She is an avid reader, always says what she thinks and observes well. She is suspicious of ‘Uncle’ Max. |
| Marta Von Trapp | 7 | Very inquisitive and smart for a 7 year old. Loves her siblings. |
| Gretl Von Trapp | 5 | Sweet and loving-doll-like and loves attention. |
| Franz | 40+ | (the Butler) Originally a sort of unmarried batman to von Trapp in the Navy, he is now retired into this position as valet, which he carries out with sombre efficiency. He is humourless and appears harmless but underneath we discover he is secretly plotting with the Nazi party Anschluss and might have become a major threat had the family not escaped. |
| Frau Schmidt | 40+ | (the Housekeeper) Going slightly deaf, she obviously has been around a long time and hates the way she is treated with whistles by the Baron. It affects her dignity. She appears to be a thoroughly reliable member of the staff and respected by all. |
| Herr Zeller | 45+ | A sort of district governor appointed by the Nazi Regime to prepare or the Anschluss. He is overbearing, arrogant and autocratic, self-important and pompous. |
| Baron Elberfeld | 50+ | A neighbour of von Trapp and one of the “Old Guard” of Austria, violently opposed to the takeover of his beloved country by Nazi Germany. Can double with other roles in the ensemble. |
| Baroness Elberfeld | 40+ | Wife of the Baron and a neighbour of the von Trapps |
| Admiral von Schreiber | 45+ | An important figure in the Austrian Navy and appears to be much respected by von Trapp. He has obviously agreed to be part of the new regime with Germany. |
| Ensemble | 18+ | Roles include neighbours of von Trapp, nuns, novices, postulants, contestants in the Festival Concert. |
| *Age are listed so actors/actresses must be able to ‘look’ the part in that age. They need not physcally be that age. | ||