Rudder Auditorium was filled with song and laughter as “The Sound of Music” was brought to stage on Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Set in Salzburg, Austria in 1938, “The Sound of Music” follows young Maria Rainer (Jill-Christine Wiley) as she is sent from the Nonnberg Abbey to be a governess for the von Trapp family. As Maria teaches the von Trapp children to sing and falls in love with their father Captain Georg von Trapp (Mike McClean), World War II looms over the family.

The performance radiated talent and expertise, according to audience member Tama Rowson.

“It was wonderful and very professional,” Rowson said. “Their voices were all so harmonized and synchronized with the orchestra. The kids were my favorite part because they were so natural and could sing so well.”
Communication junior and OPAS director of event relations Christina Davies said seeing a show she has admired extensively and performed with a talented cast was incredible.

“I loved it; they did the show justice and as something which I grew up with seeing it done at such a high level and seeing it live was amazing,” Davies said. “It’s an inspiration to follow your passions, and it shows how you can use that passion to bring good into the world and to people around you.”

Though all the music in the play was noteworthy, Davies said her favorite was “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” a song which is sung by Mother Abbess (Lauren Kidwill) to Maria in order to advise her to face her problems.

“‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ was very powerful because that’s the turning point of the show and is the point at which Maria takes control of her own life and faces her problems instead of running from them,” Davies said.

English junior and OPAS usher Ashley Tampir said “The Sound of Music” is relevant to the Bryan-College Station community and A&M students due to the current political climate.

“It’s an amazing play and a classic, and it has a good message especially for right now,” Tampir said. “The times are starting to remind people of that time, and it’s refreshing to see good people standing up for what’s right.”

Davies said a message of the performance is to show the importance of music in a person’s life and how it can allow us to escape from reality.

“I think that it’s interesting that World War II was mentioned so subtly in the play and how music allows the characters to distance themselves both literally and figuratively from the world and the war for a little bit at least,” Davies said.