Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Sound of Music

Chaffey High School performed The Sound of Music as the spring musical this year. Kimm was a nun in it, so yay for seeing her on stage.

I don't want to front with y'all, I'm all about honesty, so here is the truth, I have never seen a production of The Sound of Music before this. No Julie Andrews movie. Additionally, I didn't know the von Trapp's were a real family and that the movie is based on Maria von Trapp's memoirs until very recently. Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest.

That being said, I can confess that this was the best performance I have ever seen of The Sound of Music. Chaffey High School drama is pretty great. I'm all about bragging, and the truth is that the department has won national recognition. They were the first to perform a musical version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, ever! Masterson had to get special permission from Roald Dahl's estate to make that happen. They also won USA Weekend's Showstoppers award, which brought them to the High School Musical 2 premiere. Additionally, Dreamworks asked them to be the first school to perform Shrek the Musical, but when that bombed on Broadway they decided against it. More recently however, Disney has asked Masterson (the drama director) if the school would do the first ever stage production of Camp Rock 2. Camp Rock 2 debuts late this summer on Disney Channel, and Disney would like Chaffey to put together a production this summer to promote the movie. And, there is talk of the JoBros and Demi Lovato stopping by. Whaaaaaaaaaa? True story, like I said I am all about honesty (and bragging).

So anyways, now that I've discussed all the non-TSOM stuff, let's get back to what this entry is really about. The show was great. The cast is comprised of a variety of people, non-students and students, but the cast as a whole was strong. Masterson is all about creating an experience for the audience, so before the show the German soldiers actually walk the corridor with stern disapproving looks. There is barbed wire set up out front the amazingly beautiful Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium* where the shows are, and a siren is set off. It is so fun. But, instead of me trying to explain how marvelous it was, you should watch the video below. It is the megamix the cast performed.

And here is a link to a trailer for the show.
Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium is so beautiful.

It is the auditorium on campus, so I have spent many hours there and it never ceases to amaze me. It is a big auditorium, and the shows can be pretty crowded at times, which is kind of insane. Also insane, this is the auditorium where the von Trapp's performed their first American concert way back in 1942.

Oh, and John Stamos was there Friday night
*gasp*
I missed Uncle Jesse!

Ok, enough already. Since the show is now over, my suggestion to you all is to make it down this summer for the Camp Rock 2 premiere!!!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow. I wasn't sure at first whether I liked the modern twist in the video--anachronisms, blah blah blah--but it was way too cool for me to hold that against them. Just, wow. So, who are the people in the musical who aren't high schoolers? Teachers? Parents? Alumni? Community members?

cinr said...

Maybe all of the above. Alumni, teachers, kids of teachers, students from other schools, parents, and community members.

A lot of teachers played German soldiers.