How many of you have experienced the Sing-A-Long version of the beloved Twentieth Century Fox Oscar®-winning film "The Sound of Music"? If you haven't yet - you've got to check out this fun-filled audience participation, family-favorite musical event the next time it's in town. I swear it's a whole lotta fun!
I know all about it because back in December of 2001 - when I was a writer for Miami Metro Magazine - I was asked to be the emcee of "Sing-A-Long Sound of Music" at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the release of the film.
Based on the 1959 Broadway show, with original songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the film in glorious, full-screen technicolor, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premiered on March 2, 1965, in New York City. Since then, generations of adults and children have enjoyed watching (and singing along with) this timeless story of the fun-loving governess Maria and the family von Trapp who sing memorable songs like “My Favorite Things”, “Do-Re-Mi”, and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain” while trying to escape from the Nazi threat in their beloved Austria.
My duties as the emcee of the Sing-A-Long version meant that I would have to do fun vocal warm-up exercises for the audience to do before the start of the film, as well as explain how and when they should use the props in their complimentary fun pack. For example, during the song “Maria,” which is sometimes called “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” I would tell the audience members to hold up a card with a question mark on it every time the word “how” is sung and a picture of Julie Andrews every time the word “Maria” appears. And then I’d explain to them how the film would feature subtitles for those a little rusty on the lyrics who wanted to sing along with the actors on screen.
To add to this unique experience, audiences were encouraged to come dressed in costume so that they could participate in the pre-show costume contest and fun costume parade we would do throughout the theater! For example, some attendees would go “all out” and create dresses from curtains like Maria did for the von Trapp children in the film, while others would dress as nuns, goat herders, or even as the mountain that Julie Andrews sings on top of at the beginning of the film. I'm not kidding. LOL Think of it as kind of like going to a midnight showing of the camp classic film ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ only a lot cleaner version.
Speaking of costumes, that IS me wearing Lederhosen in that photo above. Aren't they cute? Believe it or not, I was not required to wear it as the emcee of the show but since it was opening night and the choir of singers behind me on stage were dressed that way I figured I’d do the same. Oh and yes, that is actress Charmian Carr (who played Liesl von Trapp in the film) with me on stage. Having her there as a special guest was not only thrilling for our audience but for me as well.
When I got the gig, the producer of the show, Ellen Wedner, mentioned that I would have to sing on stage. I figured it would only be a few lines to help the audience understand what to do while watching the movie. Little did I know that she meant I’d have to sing one of the movie’s most famous songs “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” with our special guest Charmain Carr! You can imagine how nervous I was when I found that out!
To add to my growing concerns...Ms Carr and I didn't have time to rehearse singing that song before opening night because she was flying in that evening just to do the one show and flying out the following morning. So I was SUPER nervous about this entire situation. Luckily, my previous acting experience helped me during our performance and she and I got through our impromptu duet marvelously. By the way, she was absolutely lovely to me and everyone involved in the show that evening. I was SO sad when I heard that she passed away at the age of 73 in 2016. I will never forget her and how generous she was that night.
Aside from that hugely successful opening night, I did the show a dozen more times all that week at the Gusman Theater before heading up to Palm Beach to do another week of standing-room-only shows. Looking back, I can honestly say that being the emcee for Sing-a-Long was tons of fun and I would do it again if were ever asked.
So if you haven’t been to one yet, make sure you get your tickets the next time they have one in your city or town so that you and your entire family can experience this perfectly unique night out. I promise it’ll be one of your ‘favorite things’ to do for the holidays for years to come.
