Sound Of Music is a Luther tradition
Undoubtedly one of the favourite musicals of the 20th century, The Sound of Music is being revived by Luther College High School as its offering in the fall season of student stage productions.
It’s a family classic that’s been presented live on countless stages, on the big screen in theatres and on television.
In 1959, the Broadway musical opened featuring story of the singing von Trapp family, who left Austria prior to the Second World War to escape the fascist Nazis.
And two generations of children have cut their teeth while watching the 1965 film, starring Julie Andrews and her legendary performances of songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, including The Sound of Music and My Favourite Things.
In the meantime, no fewer than four prior sets of Luther College High School students have presented the musical, according to viceprincipal Nancy Ostime.
She and the school’s theatrically inclined students of autumn 2015 are betting that this modern classic remains equally attractive to Regina fans of musicals, and that they’ll support Luther College High’s current interpretation.
It’s a safe bet. The musical proved its staying power in the 21st century from 200609, during a production at the London Palladium by the famed Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Ostime, a director of this latest Luther edition, is confident The Sound of Music still has plenty of staying power.
“It’s one that we really love here, and we’ve got some marvellous singers and it features great songs that people know and love,” she said in a recent interview.
Noting it’s been 50 years since the film’s debut, she added the high school’s latest production sticks with tradition.
“It’s such a good musical, we’ve decided it’s best to stay true to the original intent.”
It’s still relevant today that the character of Rolf is a young man whose loyalties flip-flop between the von Trapp family and the threatening Nazis, according to Jonathan Lipoth, a Grade 12 student at Luther who portrays that character.
He went from “being a sweetheart” to a Nazi, said Lipoth, who prepared for the role by imagining what factors within Rolf factored into his evolution.
On the opposite end of the personality spectrum, Mother Superior “is very caring and she really loves Maria, so just finding that click of how to portray it but not go overboard” was important for actor Jordan Levesque.
Acting in The Sound of Music as presented by Luther College High is a tradition in the Levesque family. Jordan has two older sisters who acted in earlier editions of The Sound of Music.
Ostime said the musical involves a cast of 55 students, plus technicians who boost the tally of participants to 120. There was no problem attracting volunteers, she said.
Lipoth said his involvement springs from an interest seeded when he was a 10-year-old and attended an earlier Luther College High show.
“It was probably the first musical that I saw … and I absolutely loved it,” he said. And attending the very school where he witnessed that “was a cool childhood moment.”
The show will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at Luther College High’s main office, and at Bach & Beyond, Cobb Swanson Music and St. John’s Music.