Student actors fill the air with sounds of music

For anyone who has seen the movie or a touring production of “The Sound of Music,” it is almost an unforgettable experience.
The story of the Von Trapp Family Singers resonates with people of all ages and has become one of the half dozen most popular and successful movies and stage productions.
The movie starring Julie Andrews was released in 1965, following the stage play’s first appearance in 1959. The film became popular immediately and held the box office record for highest grossing film for five years. It won five Academy awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and broke box office records in 29 countries.
The movie tells the story of the Von Trapp family in Austria, as they struggle to keep their independence during the early stages of the war, when Germany was making everyone a citizen of the Third Reich and a follower of Hitler. Captain Von Trapp is a widower, retired naval officer and living his retirement in a beautiful mansion outside of Salzburg, Germany. He travels frequently and needs a governess for his seven children.
Marie, a naïve postulant from a nearby abbey, is heard, and her free spirit makes the family an instant cheerful and entertaining group, who spends much of their time learning to sing.  This displeases the captain, until he is also turned into a singer.  Later, he is very displeased by Maria’s relationship with the children, and she is immediately sent back to the abbey. The captain’s engagement to a rich baroness falls through, and circumstances bring Maria back to the Von Trapps, where she falls in love with the captain.
They marry and then decide they cannot live under German doctrine. Eventually, they escape after a music contest in Salzburg, which they win, and are helped in fleeing by hiding in the Abbey cemetery. They find freedom in the Swiss Alps until the war ends.
For every aspiring female singer, the role of Maria is a coveted one, and Maria in this year’s BPHS production is aptly filled by Cortney Espe. As she commented recently, “I love my role. It is extremely demanding, but I’m doing fine portraying Maria the best I can. I am super excited about dong the role. Practice is going well, and you can tell that everyone is getting into it more.  I think it is really coming together.”
Of course, the action is all held together by the captain himself, and Jacob McHenry has that responsibility. He doesn’t allow singing in the house until Maria shows him how he and his children sang before his wife died. “It is a great role,” remarked McHenry, “and it is good one to show how a character develops.”
McHenry said, “Practice is going really well, and I am earning my lines and developing my character and it is a real help to me.” 
The story of the play is interesting for everyone, and there are many moments of both drama and humor, but it is the songs and the music that lingers with everyone long after the play is done. “Climb Every Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” “Edelweiss,” and ‘The Sound of Music” are just some of the songs that have made the play so successful.  
This will be the fourth time for the local school to stage this play, and it is almost assured that it will be another rousing success. Make plans to attend now.