Sound of Music play

The Samo theater program is currently performing their spring musical: “The Sound of Music,” in Barnum Hall. With five shows, each performance is accompanied by a pit orchestra of Samo students who have been working for months to execute the music, and a devoted cast who’s volunteered hours of rehearsal. The musical is centered around the life of a former nun, Maria, who leaves the convent to become a governess for a wealthy, Austrian family who have become disciplined after the loss of the mother. Soon after, Maria opens up the children to the wonders of life and the joy of music, even winning the heart of their father. Samo’s theater program has a reputation of putting on crowd-pleasing performances, selling out shows and wowing crowds with the students’ talent. With months of hard work and dedication, the cast has produced yet another hit. “Our production of ‘The Sound of Music’ is unique because it is a combination of the traditional stage version and the movie. We added two songs that were written specially for the movie, and in the stage version, songs take place at different moments compared to the movie and there are small plot differences,” Alyssa Jaffe (’17), who plays Maria, said. “In addition, everyone brought something unique to their character and made them their own.” Although in the past, musicals have been produced in the Humanities Center, but this year the spring musical got the opportunity to perform in Barnum Hall and have a live pit orchestra conducted by Terry Sakow. The pit orchestra is a small group of volunteer musicians from the band and orchestra program who have been rehearsing the music since the beginning of the second semester. Because of the program’s high standards, the students wanted a challenge for this spring and “The Sound of Music” provided just that. Although songs like  “My Favorite Things” and “Do-Re-Mi” are difficult to perform for cast and musicians alike, it was clear that this cast and its musicians put in hard work and produced a great show.According to Sakow, he understands the pressure of performing such a well-known and iconic musical. He has told his the orchestra students and cast of the pressure that comes from this musical, but with that, they showed no sign of shying away. “The musical and the movie set a standard. It's hard to follow and compare ourselves to someone so talented like Julie Andrews,” Sakow said. “The pressure is in the back of your mind, but it's not that big of deal. You instead focus on the problems at hand.”Like many of the cast members, Dilay Akcora (’19)-- who plays the oldest daughter Liesl Von Trapp-- believes the pressure is not a huge worry for the cast. “I’m so happy to bring this character that people have grown with to life,” Akcora said.  Despite the pressure, the student's’ performed their hearts out and proved their first two shows a success. This following weekend, March 3 and 4, the curtains will rise once again, hoping for an even bigger success in their second round of performances.