Classic musical to take the stage in Philly

The hills are alive again when “The Sound of Music,” the beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musical about the adventures of the von Trapp family, rolls into town March 15-20 at the Academy of Music.

Out actor Christopher Carl, who plays Admiral von Schreiber and occasionally Captain von Trapp in the productions, has performed in many Broadway classics — “Mamma Mia!” “Chicago,” “Les Misérables,” and “South Pacific,” to name a few — said that being in “The Sound of Music” is definitely a highlight of his career.

“It’s a treat when anyone in theater today gets to do one of the traditional Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals,” he said. “It’s nice to be involved with something that is a classic. There are a lot of things going on right now that will become classics later down the road. But to be able to have the experience of doing these wonderful modern takes on Rodgers & Hammerstein shows makes it really exciting.”

Carl said people attending live-theater shows are getting a more meaningful experience than if they just watched the movie, or witnessed the recent live-theater event on television.

“There’s an experience that you get with live theater that you don’t get with a piece of cinema,” he said. “Live theater is so unique. Just being in the same space with other people experiencing a live performance the same time that you are just takes it to another level.”

Carl added that the show occasionally attracts some fans who really get into the spirit by showing up in costume.

“We recently had a group of people show up: One man was dressed up in lederhosen and alpine boots and he was with a group dressed as nuns. It happens every once in a while. I have to applaud them for their chutzpah showing up dressed and ready to go.”

Fans of “The Sound of Music” know that local venues will sometimes host sing-along screenings of the film. Carl said that level of participation rarely happens during the live-theater shows, although there was one occasion where the audience was appropriately inspired to take over the vocal duties of the show.

“No one sings along in the theater that we’ve heard of except for one time and it was really a magical moment,” he said. “We were playing in L.A. and for some reason the electric grid that the theater was on went black. It was momentary, but we had to then go back and reboot the programming and the light board. It happened in the portion of the play where Maria is teaching the children ‘Do Re Mi.’ They had to take the actors off the stage to reboot the computer. When they brought the actors back on to the stage and told them where we were going to start, the entire audience started singing ‘Do Re Mi.’ Of course, everyone had a big laugh about it. There was lots of applause and it was a magical moment. That was one of the highlights of the tour so far.”

The Kimmel Center presents “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music” March 15-20 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-790-5800.

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