The hills come alive in West Holmes with presentation of The Sound of Music, Feb. 24-27

When it comes to musicals, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s entries is a veritable who’s who of the music industry. The list is long and notable, with hits like Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, The King and I and State Fair littering the list. But perhaps the most beloved is The Sound of Music.

Soon, the hills in a county will be alive, when Maria, Georg von Trapp and the von Trapp family children will be coming to Excaliber Theater at West Holmes High School Feb. 24-27. The West Holmes music department will present The Sound of Music with 7 p.m. shows Feb. 24-26, and a Sunday, Feb. 27 matinee at 2 p.m.

The Sound of Music, the final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein, was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. When a hopeful nun finds that the life in a convent is not to her liking, Maria is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of widowed naval Captain Georg von Trapp. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity and spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern captain. Upon returning from their honeymoon, they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the captain’s immediate service in their navy. The family’s narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theater. The motion picture version remains the most popular movie musical of all time.

And while you may know the movie version inside and out, West Holmes director Kristen Rodhe said that there are plenty of differences in the stage version, which takes a different route in arriving at the exciting conclusion.

“This is something that I’ve wanted to do for quite a few years,” said Rodhe. “It is such a great, family-friendly musical, that provides fun and memorable songs, excitement, romance... everything that you’d want in a musical.

“And the stage version is different enough from the movie version that it makes it so you don’t know exactly how everything evolves. Some of the songs are moved around and they actually added songs in the movie just to showcase Julie Andrews’ talent.”

In the West Holmes musical version, Ali Jaeb takes on the role of the effervescent Maria, while Nate Frank plays the stern but loving Captain von Trapp. The children include Liesl (Jessica Rohr), Friedrich (Chase Tennant), Brigitta (Gracie Shreve), Kurt (Colt Tennant), Louisa (Claire Benson), Marta (Carson Pritt) and Greta (Katie Hershberger), while Josh Spector will tackle the role of Max, who becomes the children’s promoter, Haley Meyer is Elsa the Baroness, who is vying for Georg’s hand in marriage and Ashley Keim plays The Mother Abbess, the kindly nun who mentors Maria.

Many will be able to hum along with the songs, they are so recognizable. The title song, Do-Re-Mi, My Favorite Things and Edelweiss have become classics over the years.

Rodhe said that The Sound of Music is so universally beloved that she hopes that parents will bring their children to see it, in hopes of igniting a passion in their hearts to someday be the one up on stage.

“I want kids to come and watch this and leave thinking that someday, they will be the ones starring in a musical on stage here at West Holmes,” said Rodhe. “It is fun, and exciting, and the kids have really worked hard. It is demanding on them because they have all seen the movie version and are used to that, instead of the stage version, but they have really worked at this diligently.”

Pre-sale tickets for The Sound of Music are $6 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under, and all tickets are $6 at the door. Pre-sale tickets may be ordered by calling West Holmes High School during school operating hours at 330-675-6085.