"The Sound of Music" Spring 2017 Musical

on The Sound of Music Director’s Notes

The Sound of Music, the final collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, is arguably themost belovedmusical of all time. It has a certain intangible magic that makes it unique…that makesmany of us watch the filmversion over and over again, singing along to the beautiful score. Themusical is ultimately powerful because of the amount of love that is present in it: the love of music, of family, of God, and the love between two people. We may fondly remember this musical for the adorable kids with their outfits made from curtains, but the rise of Hitler, and the complicity that enabled that rise, remains at the core of this cautionary tale. It is an opportune time to explore the need for resistance in the face of hatred, bigotry, and inequality. This is one of the main reasons I selected this musical for Wildwood at this moment in time. The historical event around which the musical revolves is the Anschluss of 1938, in which Nazi Germany swallowed Austria whole. Rather than falling in line with the Nazis, theVonTrappsabandontheirbelovedhomeland, becomingrefugees runningfrom everything they know. That final image of a family on the run, desperately hoping for the promise of a new land, is what gives this musical such powerful echoes (much like the ending of our 2013 production of Fiddler on the Roof ). I pondered long and hard about whether to include swastikas and the Nazi flag in our production. In the original production on Broadway, swastikas and the Nazi flag were not used. In fact, for most of the musical, the Nazis’ presence is offstage: mentioned but not seen.While the filmversion and subsequent professional productions included these Nazi symbols, I have decided against having swastikas on our stage. I could not in good conscience purchase armbands with swastikas, nor could I bear to search online to buy a Nazi flag. I did not want this imagery to be a set fixture in our belovedWildwood Theatre. Instead, as you will see when Captain von Trapp sings “Edelweiss”while under the watchful eye of the Nazis, I have opted to show historical images of the Anschluss. As many characters in the musical make clear, most Austrians fell into line with the Nazis without protest. 65,000 Austrian Jews were murdered under Hitler and 130,000 were forced into exile, including Sigmund Freud, painter Oskar Kokoschka, and several Nobel Prize winners and scientists. This production is dedicated to the six million we lost, to the bravery of the resistors, and to our own children who will, I hope, make this world a better place. Stephanie the director