May 30, 31, June 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 , 20, 1999
For the first time, the Player’s tackled the much loved (but difficult to costume) Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. This musical, set in Austria in the 1930’s, tells the story of a young woman, Maria (Susie Cvengros), who is preparing to enter a convent. As the story unfolds, she finds herself governess for the seven motherless von Trapp children. Directed by Patrick Neils (Tevye in 1998) and choreographed by Craig Schieber and Lee Ann Hittenberger, the production enjoyed huge crowds, beautiful weather, and a front page article in the Families section of the Seattle Times that contributed to over 1800 audience members during the third weekend of the show.
This show will be long remembered for the infamous “rood screen” that despite hours of attention from Chris Stanley, never did understand its role, and for the applause-garnering gazebo made possible by the 6’ 3” butler, (Bjarne Steensgaard) and crew. A costume-heavy show, The Sound of Music required sewing skills of any and all who could thread a needle. Especially memorable was Captain von Trapp’s (Tom Randall) lederhosen (worn only in the first performance) that were transformed into “ledervesten” mintues before the second performance.
Choosing to remain true to the stage version (and not the movie), a highlight of the show was the singing and dancing performances of Gail Foster as Elsa Schraeder and Edwin Stone as Max Detweiler. The children, played by Sophie Turnberg, Jenny Estill, Evan Randall, Amelia Iraheta, Anna Lindvall, Nathaniel Jones and Jill Baskin became quite the quick-change artists!
5,209 people attended the 8 shows.
