It was standing room only at the this weekend's performances of The Sound of Music. Hundreds of parents with children in tow came to William Annin Middle School to enjoy the students' re-creation of this well known musical.
Songs from the The Sound of Music resonate in our hearts. Many of us remember the first time we saw the musical, whether a stage or film version. For me, it was at Radio City Musical Hall with my grandmother and sister. We were captivated.
And The Sound of Music is no less captivating today, especially when performed by such earnest and talented youth. The story is about the Von Trapp family and their escape from Austria during World War II. It is also about the enduring themes of family, love, and patriotism.
The show requires a large cast and many scene changes. It is a traditional musical with many of the songs reprised several times throughout the show, e.g.. "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," and "The Sound of Music."
William Annin Middle School has some exceptionally talented children. The Sound of Music gave them every opportunity to showcase that talent. Many of the songs are challenging and demand strong vocal skills. Director Larry Migliore clearly knew what his students were capable of and they did not disappoint.
One of the show's most daunting songs, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," was sung by Morgan Hernandez in the part of the Mother Abbess. Coming at the end of the first act, the Mother Abbess sings this to Maria encouraging her to persevere in her governess role with the Baron's children.
As the song progressed I found my self sitting straighter in my chair. Hernandez made the difficult transition from the lower to higher voice registers and then in a clear, unbelievable first soprano, concluded the song. I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and noticed my neighbor doing the same. We turned to each other - "Was that amazing or what?"
The entire show was like that. Many of the songs, starting with the opening, "Preludium," (the nuns) were sung acapella (without accompaniment) requiring careful pitch. Others, such as "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd" required clever staging and dance movements.
With its rather large cast of 23 characters, many students had principal roles and acting parts giving them the chance to sing solo. The ensemble cast included another 37 members.
The leads characters of Maria and The Captain were played by Samantha Coradasco and A.J. Ambrosio. Coradasco had a clear, sweet voice and handled the large part easily. Ambrosio carried off the role of the stern Captain, turned affectionate father, with believability.
Carmine Burdi, as Max Detweiler, the wily talent scout, and Gabby Shnell, as the Baroness Shrader, provided comic relief in their more exaggerated character roles.
It was obvious that a lot of work went into the weekend's productions. The many scene changes required some extensive sets that were all professionally done. The costumes, too, were convincing, especially as they had middle schoolers playing the parts of adult Austrian high society.
As one mother exclaimed,"this is like a high school performance, and these are just little kids." Well, maybe not so little, but with this level of talent, the high school will look forward to having them.
