Classic musical revives company
After over a year, Music Theatre West has been able to express their creative energy into one incredible production of “The Sound of Music.” A live orchestra and a team of talented individuals brought a musical classic to life on stage at the Ellen Eccles Theatre.
“‘The Sound of Music’ is the story of a young woman who finds love, while trying to do the will of God,” said Alex Lambert, who played Rolfe in the production.
Bailey Rigby Alex Lambert, a USU student, plays Rolfe Gruber in “The Sound of Music.”
While the musical does vary slightly from the classic movie we all grew to love, it still has all of the amazing songs and scenes that make us smile and laugh.
This musical is set in the time of World War II, following a young woman named Maria, who is studying to become a nun in Salzburg, Austria. Because of her enthusiasm and lack of discipline, Mother Abbess sends Maria away from the Abbey to be a governess for the very wealthy von Trapp family. Captain von Trapp’s way of parenting follows strict military rules.
Disagreeing with his unique way of parenting, Maria makes it her duty to bring some playfulness and joy into the lives of Captain von Trapp’s seven children. Most importantly, she teaches them the power of music and how it can bring people together in love and joy.
This musical has a powerful message of love and hope surpassing all other things in times of hardship and darkness. With Nazi Germany looming over Austria’s heads, tensions are high for this well-off family. However, they learn to overcome it all together.
“Through Maria’s spunk and her music, she’s able to help bring a family out of mourning,” said Rachel Grob, who plays Ursula, the maid and a nun. “They stand up for their country and their freedoms together.”
It’s a musical most of us grew up watching and loving, and seeing it up close and personal adds so much more to the experience. You can tell this cast really connects with the message of this musical, and that’s shown with the enthusiasm of their performance. This is all due to the passion the director and founder of Music Theatre West, Jay Richards, has with this musical in particular.
Richards has produced over 30 of the last productions his company has put on. This is the first time he has put on a production of “The Sound of Music.”
Jay Richards discusses his experiences with directing “The Sound of Music.”
“It’s the first musical I was ever really acquainted with as a child,” Richards said. “My mom died when I was young, and I wanted Maria to come and be my mom. I wanted her to come and finish the job.”
The theatre puts on many musical productions all year, many of which are in the Ellen Eccles Theatre. With every production, an army of individuals come together to donate and create fabulous sets and costumes, making sure it all looks authentic and real.
Within these groups of individuals are the performers who truly have a devotion for what they are doing. Performers of all ages and ethnicities with all kinds of backgrounds, coming together to put on a performance that they love.
“I love how theater intermixes acting and music to tell a beautiful story,” said Meredith Ashcraft, who plays Sister Margaretta.
Meredith Ashcraft is playing the role of one of the nuns in the production of “The Sound of Music.”
Music Theatre West also has great people working behind the scenes, making all the magic happen that you see on stage.
Connor Stevens, who works on sound for the productions, said, “Theater is what I love. I get to see people enjoying something that all of us have come together to put together.”
Bailey Rigby Connor Stevens, the sound producer for “The Sound of Music.”
Many of these producers, directors and performers alike are grateful to be back at it with the setback that happened in March 2020.
“COVID hit on March 10 and the world shut down,” Richards said. “We’ve been able to do little productions within the last year, with three or four people in the cast and a band. Now we’re back to our normal production sizing, and we try to be careful with distancing and masks during practices.”
“It’s hard to do something that’s typically up close and personal when you’re having to distance yourself,” Lambert said. “But we’ve adapted and done what we can do. We’ve done a good job.”
Despite the struggles the theatre and the company has had from COVID-19, there have also been some benefits.
“I graduated close to when things started to die down,” Stevens said, “which opened up a lot more opportunities for me to find a job here. And the local efforts of different companies have been keeping the Eccles afloat.”
Despite the new delta variant of COVID-19, the production has received a lot of much-deserved attention already.
“The sales are outstanding for this show,” Richards said. “Some of the best sales ever.”
With all the hard work and effort put into these productions, it’s no wonder the Ellen Eccles Theatre was packed on opening night. All of the performers, combined with a live orchestra, made for a wonderful night.
The chemistry between the cast members was incredible, you could tell they all cared about each other and were just up there having fun together. Not to mention, the different vocal talents and ranges that were presented were astounding. They even had trained opera singers as part of the nuns to sing these beautiful, old Latin pieces.
Music Theatre West puts so much into their productions, and they do their best to make everyone feel comfortable in the environment and try to work with everyone as best as they can.
“This is my first time working for Music Theatre West, and they were so professional,” Grob said. “This is a community theater. We don’t get paid for this. We do this for fun. With everyone donating their time and their talents, it was very well run. They were very respectful of our time, and everyone who has been working to make this production happen is just so kind. You can tell Jay, the director, just has so much love for the stage.”
This company is one to keep an eye out for future productions. With the pure talent and effort that was displayed in “The Sound of Music,” it’s clear this company knows how to put on a show.