The Exciting Return of a Parker Spring Musical: The Sound of Music

This past weekend Parker School put on the musical: The Sound of Music. This moment was particularly special and exciting for two reasons:

1. It's The Sound of Music (duh)

2. It's the first in-person musical that Parker has put on since COVID

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on singing and large gatherings, Parker School’s theater program has been unable to perform their annual spring musical live for the past three years. The entire Parker Ohana loves these performances and looks forward to them every year, so when we all heard the announcement that there was going to be LIVE AND UNMASKED in our very own theater, we all knew that we had to be there.

There was an added layer of anticipation because this musical got pushed back two weeks due to an outbreak of COVID that took out half of the cast. With not enough actors to perform on April 28th, the originally schedule date, Ms. Lilley and Ms. Candie were forced to postpone the musical until the 12th of May, the official opening night.

I watched the musical opening night on Thursday. After I paid for my ticket I was given an admit one ticket which I thought was a great touch to the whole experience. There were so many people there who were just as excited as I was to watch my fellow classmates and family members perform, that despite coming fifteen minutes early, I was unable to get prime seating. Regardless, when Maria (played by Violet Freeney, a senior) appeared on stage singing The Sound of Music, I forgot about all of my seating troubles.

I was blown away by the set which consisted of a beautifully painted backdrop of rolling hills and huge snow capped mountains. They also made a set of walls, stairs, and a balcony all on wheels that could be reconfigured to create sets for different scenes throughout the play, which was very innovative and quite impressive.

The costumes also really brought the musical and story together. Between the cohesive outfits of the seven Von Trapp children and nun costumes, the costuming really further brought the play to life. My personal favorites were the children’s play clothes, Liesl’s (played by Gibson Mcintosh, a freshman) dress in her scene with Rolf Gruber (played by BJ Daoust, an 8th grader), and Maria's honeymoon dress.

I was genuinely taken aback by the singing talents of my peers, some of whom I have never heard sing in my entire life, but was pleasantly surprised when they burst out into song. I could tell that the actors really had fun putting on this musical and had really worked hard to convey each line and portray each scene as desired, despite the curveballs that were thrown at them. The actors radiated a fantastic energy making it even more enjoyable to watch.

Incredible job Ms. Lilley and Ms. Candie for leading this group of truly talented actors, singers, set crew, backstage hands, lights and sound technicians, and everyone else who made this year's Spring Musical so entertaining to watch. To view the program and see who was a part of this musical, check out this digital play bill.