The Milan News-Leader
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'The Sound of Music' climbs every mountain
Brian Cox
PUBLISHED: March 13, 2008
Again this weekend, the Milan High School Drama Club proved there are no production challenges too great for the undertaking.
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A few years ago, I sat stunned during a marvelous performance of "The Wizard of Oz" that pulled out all the stops. Last year, it was "Grease" that left me duly impressed.
With this year's production of Rodger and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," the Drama Club again had me shaking my head in almost disbelief at the level of quality they achieved.
I have seen some half-dozen high school and community theater productions of "The Sound of Music," and the one currently on stage at Milan High School is easily among the best.
There is no doubt that the musical's artistic director, Tom Fahlstrom, who headed up the same talented team that produced "The Wizard of Oz," knows what he's doing and does what he knows well.
The participation level alone that Fahlstrom appears able to inspire is impressive.
"The Sound of Music" opens at the Nonnberg Abbey with 20 candle-holding nuns filing in through the audience to line the front of the stage while singing "Dixit Dominus." Count them — 20! That's remarkable.
At the abbey, an impossible postulant, Maria Rainer (Alisha Eddy), is sent by the Mother Abbess (Kaity Hill) to the home of Capt. Georg von Trapp (Joey Cadagin) to serve as a governess for the widower's seven incorrigible children (played by Kathryn Allore, Nick Mitchell, Bethany Anderson, Ben Peacock, Ashley Chudzinski, Julia Greenspan and Shayna Greenspan).
As an Austrian naval captain, von Trapp is a strict disciplinarian distanced from his children. The exuberant Maria brings renewed life into the home, introducing the children to music through such popular songs as "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd."
Milan High School's staging of "The Lonely Goatherd" number, in which Maria and the children put on a puppet show during a thunderstorm, is of particular note for its ingenuity and charming creativity in employing live marionettes. The puppets, played by Travis Matts, Sam Fital, Ben Delnay, Kailey Schneemann, Genevieve Harwood, Clarice Harwood, Jacob Kanitz, Adarius Carr, Stephanie Melchi and Jacklyn chrzanowski, are brilliant.
It is a thoroughly delightful number.
In a short span of time, Maria falls in love with von Trapp, who is engaged to wed the aristocratic Elsa Schraeder (Jessica Werstein). Maria flees back to the abbey conflicted over her emotions.
The wise mother abbess sends Maria back to von Trapp, closing the first act with the powerful and inspiring "Climb Every Mountain."
Von Trapp and Maria eventually marry only to return from their honeymoon to learn Nazi Germany has invaded Austria. Through the assistance of an old family friend, Max Detweiler (Kyle Anderson), the von Trapps narrowly escape the Nazis by fleeing across the Austrian Alps after the family performs reprises of "Do-Re-Mi" and "So Long, Farewell" to win first prize at the Kaltzberg Music Festival.
As Captain von Trapp, Cardigan performs a pleasant, reserved rendition of "Edelweiss."
Rounding out the strong and able cast are Lauren Kartje as Sister Berthe; Kelsea Kerkes as Sister Margaretta; Marrissa LeClair as Sister Sophia; Matt Allore as the butler Franz; Amanda Burch as the housekeeper Frau Schmidt; David Harwood as Rolf Gruber Zeller; and nuns played by Bethany Anderson, Katie Bean, Annie Borema, Emily Campbell, Ashley Chudzinski, Jaclyn Chudzinski, Mariah Dunivant, Erin Ervin, Stephanie Melchi, Jenna Rieberger, Megan Snyder, Keri Throne, Clarice Weiseman, and Amanda Williams.
A surprise guest appearance or two adds a little fun into the casting.
The production, of course, is not without flaws and soft spots, but they are few and far outweighed by the overall strength of the performances and stagecraft.
The costuming challenges of "The Sound of Music" are daunting, but Fahlstrom and his crew are up to it. There are party dresses, a bishop's miter, several military uniforms, a wedding dress, three or four outfits for the von Trapp children (I lost count), a beerman's getup, goats and, of course, 20 wimples for the nuns. The wardrobe achievement itself is astounding. Backstage must look like a second-hand clothing shop.
The number and detail of the sets, too, is impressive, right down to the ornate drapes decorating the von Trapp home and the cutout snowcapped mountains that line the right side of the auditorium.
The Milan Drama Club's "The Sound of Music" now at Milan High School only confirms what I realized a few years back while watching their production of "The Wizard of Oz": a show at Milan High School is one of "my favorite things."
"The Sound of Music" runs again this weekend, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 439-5026 for ticket information.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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