If you go:
Where: Monroe High School Performing Arts Center, 1600 26th St., Monroe
When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for students, available at the ticket office at the high school
MONROE - Monroe High School Musical Director Jennifer Moehn admits part of the reason MHS is putting on the "The Sound of Music" is because the movie came out the same year she was born.
"It's the 50th anniversary of the movie, so that tells you how old I am," Moehn said. "It also shows a little bit of our Swiss heritage as far as our costume choices."
Not to mention MHS is hosting a foreign exchange student this year, Manuel Jindra - known as Monti to his classmates - from Austria where the 1965 film "Sound of Music" is set.
With a 15-piece pit orchestra and a cast of kids from grade school to high school, the production is ready to hit the stage with its Friday debut at the Performing Arts Center.
Jindra is a bouncy, energetic 15-year-old with an excellent command of the English language. He's been in the U.S. for six months; he said he first started in New Glarus but switched to Monroe in November, and only a month later found himself in front of Moehn auditioning for a part in "Sound of Music."
"I was super excited," Jindra said. "I had never heard of the play or seen the movie."
The movie, starring Julie Andrews, follows the von Trapp family as they flee from a Nazi invasion during the 1940s and includes iconic songs like "Edelweiss," "My Favorite Things," and "Do-Re-Mi." Jindra said although he had never seen the movie, he didn't balk at the chance to stretch his English and perform for a crowd.
"It used to be like, "I know this word, I know this word,'" Jindra said snapping his fingers.
But, he said, rehearsing lines, as well as immersion in the school has helped him to fully grasp the English language, which he's been learning since his youth.
Moehn said the performance will also be reviewed by Madison's Overture Center for the Arts critics who will each bring their own expertise to analyze the show. She said each critic is an expert in his or her field of singing, performing and dancing, and the performance could be in the running for a Tommy Award, an Overture Center program to honor and encourage excellence in high school musical theater. Moehn said this is the sixth or seventh time Overture of Madison has critiqued MHS performances. Although they have yet to take home an award, she said the kids are having a great time.
"Especially the young kids. I think the high-schoolers like having the young kids around too," Moehn said.
A first-grader, third-grader, sixth-grader and seventh-grader are included in the show and play some of the seven different members of the von Trapp family.
For the whole production, including design, lights, music, costumes and set pieces, Moehn estimated about 70 to 75 kids helped produce the musical.
"It's an exciting show for the kids, and I hope it is a good show for families too," Moehn said.
"It's the 50th anniversary of the movie, so that tells you how old I am," Moehn said. "It also shows a little bit of our Swiss heritage as far as our costume choices."
Not to mention MHS is hosting a foreign exchange student this year, Manuel Jindra - known as Monti to his classmates - from Austria where the 1965 film "Sound of Music" is set.
With a 15-piece pit orchestra and a cast of kids from grade school to high school, the production is ready to hit the stage with its Friday debut at the Performing Arts Center.
Jindra is a bouncy, energetic 15-year-old with an excellent command of the English language. He's been in the U.S. for six months; he said he first started in New Glarus but switched to Monroe in November, and only a month later found himself in front of Moehn auditioning for a part in "Sound of Music."
"I was super excited," Jindra said. "I had never heard of the play or seen the movie."
The movie, starring Julie Andrews, follows the von Trapp family as they flee from a Nazi invasion during the 1940s and includes iconic songs like "Edelweiss," "My Favorite Things," and "Do-Re-Mi." Jindra said although he had never seen the movie, he didn't balk at the chance to stretch his English and perform for a crowd.
"It used to be like, "I know this word, I know this word,'" Jindra said snapping his fingers.
But, he said, rehearsing lines, as well as immersion in the school has helped him to fully grasp the English language, which he's been learning since his youth.
Moehn said the performance will also be reviewed by Madison's Overture Center for the Arts critics who will each bring their own expertise to analyze the show. She said each critic is an expert in his or her field of singing, performing and dancing, and the performance could be in the running for a Tommy Award, an Overture Center program to honor and encourage excellence in high school musical theater. Moehn said this is the sixth or seventh time Overture of Madison has critiqued MHS performances. Although they have yet to take home an award, she said the kids are having a great time.
"Especially the young kids. I think the high-schoolers like having the young kids around too," Moehn said.
A first-grader, third-grader, sixth-grader and seventh-grader are included in the show and play some of the seven different members of the von Trapp family.
For the whole production, including design, lights, music, costumes and set pieces, Moehn estimated about 70 to 75 kids helped produce the musical.
"It's an exciting show for the kids, and I hope it is a good show for families too," Moehn said.