SMALL STARS OF THE S TAGE ARE ON SONG

IT’S late into the night in a cold warehouse in Belmont.

But the hills are alive as more than 90 passionate Geelong music theatre performers are putting the finishing touches to The Sound of Music.

For the two youngest in the cast, it’s way past their bedtime but Milla Best, 8, and Molly Martin, 9, pictured, are taking it all in their stride.

The pair are sharing the role of Gretl von Trapp in the lavish musical adaptation of the famous 1960s movie, with the season starting at GPAC on Friday, July 19.

The cast started rehearsals started in April and have ramped up to about 12 hours a week as opening night approaches. The Sound of Music will be Milla’s fourth show with CentreStage and Molly’s second, but it’s their first major role.

“We have been rehearsing full days and late nights and all the children in the cast have just been amazing,” the show’s co-producer Liz Powell said.

“This is a big show and I think we are going to blow the audiences away.”

Standing alongside professional and seasoned performers and rehearsing for more than three months, often late into the night, has been a labour of love for the two young cast members.

“It’s so much fun and I’m very excited,” Milla said.

“We have had to learn our lines and lots of songs and we’ve got quite a few costume changes.”

The pair will feature as part of the von Trapp family, singing the classic songs Do-re-mi, The Lonely Goatherd and The Sound of Music.

“They met on stage in Molly’s first show and they’ve been joined at the hip ever since,” Molly’s mother Raquel Martin said. “They’re so lucky to be sharing this experience together.” Set in the Austrian Alps, The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the von Trapp family singers during the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The Sound of Music, presented by CentreStage is at GPAC from 19 July until 3 August.