The stage will be alive with the music, dancing and the uplifting story of the Trapp family just as spring begins.
The 65th anniversary tour of the “The Sound of Music” stage show will return to the Academy of Music in Philadelphia from March 31to April 5. Tickets are available at www.ensembleartsphilly.org.
“As the region’s preeminent presenter of blockbuster, Tony Award-winning Broadway shows, Ensemble Arts is excited to bring ‘The Sound of Music’ back to Philadelphia for the first time in eight years,” said Frances Egler, vice president of Theatrical Programming and Presentations. “One of the most celebrated stage and movie musicals of all time, this production pays tribute to the long-running classic that continues to capture the hearts of fans of all ages.”
The spirited, romantic, and beloved story of Maria and the von Trapp family features an award-winning score, including legendary favorites “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and “The Sound of Music.”
The “Sound of Music features” music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp.
After fleeing Austria in 1938, the real Trapp family settled in Merion from 1939 to 1943.
Directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, the smash-hit musical classic will transport the next generation of theatergoers to the hills of Austria, captivating audiences with its universal themes of love, resilience and the power of music.
“A few years ago, I was part of a group of collaborative artists who, almost inadvertently, stumbled on original conceptions for the stage mounting of ‘The Sound of Music’ that had never found their way into production,” O’Brien said. “We felt as if we were awakening Sleeping Beauty herself, and the results exposed a version of this classic virtually unknown before, and yet more dramatic, more detailed, more rapturous and more touching than any we had experienced.
“It is with extreme enthusiasm and a keen sense of anticipation those same artists once more return to complete the work we began, and give this most beloved of all musicals the creative facelift it deserves. We truly believe the original authors would be thrilled.”
Tony Award nominee Christiane Noll as the Mother Abbess will join rising star Cayleigh Capaldi as Maria Rainer and Broadway veteran Kevin Earley as Captain Georg von Trapp.
“It’s a great privilege to bring a new tour of this landmark musical to theaters across North America,” said Producer Sean Patrick Flahaven, chief theatricals executive of Concord. “People of all ages will discover or rediscover their love of this classic story that remains so appropriate for our time. Thanks to our distinguished team, led by the master Jack O’Brien, audiences can expect a truly magnificent production of ‘The Sound of Music.’ ”