Melbourne’s von Trapp Children Announced

Producers Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian, John Frost and the Really Useful Group have announced the 18 children who have been cast in the Melbourne season of The Sound of Music. There will be three different casts alternating in the roles of the six youngest von Trapp children during the Melbourne season.

Playing Friedrich will be Alexander Glenk (15 years old, from Croydon Hills), Jackson Rudge (11, Sunbury) and Oliver Wellington (12, Glen Iris). Playing Louisa will be Emily Crockett (13, Ivanhoe), Darcy McGrath (11, Moonee Ponds) and Bronte Muir (13, Warrandyte). Playing Kurt will be Beaumont Farrell (11, Romsey), Tim Haskayne (12, Narre Warren) and Joshua Vass (12, Mt Martha). Playing Brigitta will be Amelia Szabo (11, Hampton), Karina Thompson (11, Mt. Waverley) and Chloe Vigilante (10, Wantirna). Playing Marta will be Rachel Kipnis (10, Camberwell), Ruby Moore (8, Armadale) and Kayla Muir (8, Warrandyte), and playing Gretl will be Portia Fragapane (8, Werribee), Annie Jones (8, Glenroy) and Heidi Sprague (8, Carrum Downs).

“We have assembled an extraordinary cast of young stars to play the von Trapp children,” said the producers. “We had over 1000 children audition in February and we were absolutely blown away by the talent. It’s exciting that Australian audiences will see a production of this quality.”   

The London Palladium production of The Sound of Music will commence in Melbourne at the Regent Theatre on 13 Ma, 2016. The Australian production will be led by Amy Lehpamer (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Once, The Rocky Horror Show) as Maria Rainer and Cameron Daddo (Legally Blonde, Big River) as Captain Georg von Trapp, starring alongside Marina Prior (Mary Poppins, The Secret Garden) as Baroness Schraeder, Jacqueline Dark (Opera Australia’s Aida, Don Giovanni) as Mother Abbess, Lorraine Bayly (Calendar Girls, The Sullivans) as Frau Schmidt and David James (Playschool, Avenue Q) as Max Detweiler.

This production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical premiered in 2006 at the home of West End musical theatre, the London Palladium, where it celebrated a record-breaking 954 performances seen by well over 2 million people.

Inspired by the lives of the actual von Trapp family, The Sound of Music tells the uplifting story of Maria, a fun-loving governess who changes the lives of the widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children by re-introducing them to music, culminating in the family’s escape from the Nazis across the mountains from Austria. It features a score that includes some of the most famous songs ever performed on stage, including My Favorite Things, Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi, Sixteen Going On Seventeen, The Lonely Goatherd, Climb Ev’ry Mountain and the title song, The Sound of Music.

The musical originally premiered on Broadway in 1959 to record-breaking advance ticket sales, where it won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show opened in London in 1961 and became the longest-running American musical of its generation. The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and quickly became the highest grossing film in history. Even today The Sound of Music remains the most successful movie musical of all time.

The original Australian production of The Sound of Music opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre in 1961 and ran for three years with a cast headed by the talented Australian soprano June Bronhill. Later Australian productions starred Julie Anthony and Lisa McCune as Maria.

MELBOURNE

Venue: Regent Theatre, Melbourne

Season: From 13 May 2016

Performance Times: Tues–Sat 7.30pm, Wed 1.00pm, Sat 2.00pm, Sun 12noon and 5.30pm

Price: Tickets from $79.90*

Bookings:  soundofmusictour.com.au or phone 1300 111 011
Groups 12+ 1300 889 278

*An additional transaction fee and/or a credit/debit payment processing fee may apply

Photographer: Jim Lee