The Sound of Music!

After months of hard work and lots of practice, the high school production of The Sound of Music got underway.  It had a four performance run and Jackson attended every single one - as well as the final dress rehearsal.  :)  I attended 3 out of the 4 performances, myself, and I have to say that every single one was fantastic!

The Sound of Music has always been one of my all time favorite movies, from the time I was very little.  I wondered how our smaller high school would be able to pull off such a grand production, but WOW, did they ever do a phenomenal job!  (They are blessed with 2 wonderful teacher/mentors for drama and music!)  Every single person was cast so perfectly for each role and they all meshed together well.  The pit band that accompanied the performers was such a nice addition; as were the new (this year) headset microphones which truly allowed the audience to not miss a word.

Of course, we were excited to see Brianna play Maria and she simply outdid herself.  She (as well as the rest of the cast) was magnificent!  And I have to tell you… I cried every single performance.  Partly because everyone did such a good job, partly because the ending of the story just moves me, and a lot because the verse at the end of play is historically my Mama's verse.  It goes back to when she was a child homesteading in Wyoming and her mother would recite that verse often as she gazed at the Big Horn Mountains that surrounded their little homestead.  Anna and Matthew even chose a hymn for their wedding based upon that verse.  So, it would hit me every performance and there I would go, sobbing. :)

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence cometh my help."  Psalm 121:1.

Below are several photos that Jackson took the night of the final dress rehearsal.  You can see an entire album of almost 250 by clicking here.

And here is a (rather long - 37 minutes) video with snippets from just about every song in the play.  If you have time, sit back and enjoy.  If not, you can skip through to get a feel for the incredible performance.  :)

Brianna and Shonda after the opening night performance

Brianna, Terry, Gloria, Aaron, and Shannon

Brianna and Jackson

Brianna and Rachel

Brianna after the Saturday performance

Bryan, Aaron and Deb

Deb, Victor and Bryan

Victor and Cassie

Jackson waited until Sunday (closing performance) to get flowers for Brianna

Marvin and Brianna

Jonathan, Adrian and Melina

Megan, Brenda, Matt and Jonathan

Jackson and Brianna

Mama and Brianna

Brianna, Mama and Jackson