by Jan Bonds Jl.i~ .!li!ff writer ..The~~ a!jye with mustc.11 lrthe longestrunningliiU$1 ~cy. "The Sound of Music.' will be~rformed tomlbi at 8:15 and fBrilorrowmght at 7:30. Set in the mountains of Austria in the 1930's, and prior to the Nazi occupation, this year's homecoming musical portrays theex– ploits of tile Trapp family. Some ·of the students involved in the musical were asked about their experiences thus far. a Conle a -soverp'tM gf seyen chi1drpp. Indescribing ber characte~ Conley sai9, "Maria tries to figure out what siiewanl:s inlife. She thinks shewants tobe a nun, but she's sent to the von Trapp family to help make a decision about her life. In the mean– time, she teaches the children to sing and falls in love with the Captain." Conley saiQ, "It was a role I'd wanted to play smce I was a little kid." Asked about how it's been to work on the musical over such a short period of time, Conley aid, "It's been very stressful. We've had to work through Pledge Week and Lec– tureship Week., plus we've had two weeks less to practice than we normally have." In 1989 Conley llad a leading role in "B.rigadoon ' and was one of last year's Spring Sing hostesses. Pl~ylng the .role of the Captain is Chris Nuthak, a junior elementary education ma– jor from Duluth Minn. Chris is married to Beth Anne Nuthak, and bad a rol~ in last year's musical, "My Fair Lady." Indescribing his character, Nuthak said, "The Captainis a former Navy commander and is very strict. He doesn't know how to run a household. The governess, with her inging and music, softens him up a bit and allows him to see a side of the children he's never seen. He evolves into a more bendable, sentimental father.'' Nuthak said the best thing about the musical is the songs; theyaremorerealistic and make sense. '"'I love themusic asfar as musicals go." Nuthak also said he especial– ly enjoys getting to sing ' Edelweiss." Asked about the worst part about the musical Nuthak -simply said, "It's been very time-co,nsuming. It's taken a Jot of energy and h.as not exactly been the besL way to start off the semester." As tar as future plans are concerned, N,uthak ~id, 'The life olan actor isn't for me, but later in life I'd like to try directing a play.'' Christine Creasy, a sophomore art educa– ti'>n major from Jackson, Tenn., plays the role of "Elsa." Creasysaid of her charactet; "Elsa is not like the character in the movie. She's not mean like the movie shows her to be. In the movie, the Captain has to choose between a 'witch' and a 'nice person,' and in the play, it's not like thaL" Creasy said, "Working on the musical over such a short amount of time has made itharder for me to develop my character, but 1t'~ easier to remember and tostay focused." Creasy, who also bas a part in the upcom– ing student-produced "Christmas Wishes," bopes toget involved in community theater someday. The role of Max is being played b: ' David Rubio, a sophomore ma~s com1 lunica– tions/radio-television maj01 from Memphis, Tenn. Rubio described · (j cter, ~m "someone who like m . too much. He seems to live off of ~ •p le. best thing about the mu' 'ical ba~ been y reL - tionships with the tlther ac ors,'' Rubioalsoperfon ed in 'My Fair I.ariy" and has a role in " :hristmas Wishes:" Playing an important par t in t .is yf:ar's musical are several "non-college' ' stud,~nts. One of them is Cortney Fisher, r.; nine·year· old fourth grader from West Sid• Elementary. Fisher plays the role of Ma :·ta, one: of th~ seven children involved in the mlllsii.!al. Fisher, in describing her character said, "She's quiet, very understanding and very fun.'' Fisher said the best thing about bcJing in the musical was, "I get to be with lotf, ol' friends. We also get to play in the background.'' Justin Lawson, a ninth-grader f..om Searcy Junior High, plays the role of Friedrich. Lawson said, "It was a spur-of– the-moment decision for me to try out. r was really shocked when I got the part.'· Lawson was also in Harding 's per· formance of "The King and I" when he was in the fifth grade. When asked what it was like to perform ona Uiriversity level, Lawson said, ''Everythlng is more detailed T ha to be perfect with no flaws." Playing Lhe role of Brigitta i Leigl, Br.adley, a 12--year-old seventh grad~r fro Southwest Middle School. When asked about the tryouts Cor ti musical, Bradley said, 'I learned abo 1t tryouts on the last day. My cousin gave n e the music and that night I learned it an tried out." Bradley also commented about being in a college production. '<Everytlling has to h) just right, not just partly right. h's been very time-consuming." One of the directors for the musical, Robin Miller was concerned about the short amount of time allotted to work on this year's musical. 'We've had to try to bec>me very task-oriented. It's been quick wor 'ng on tbe show, and it's especially been bard tryin~ to work around campus aetivitit!S." Miller alSo said, "One of -the best thlugs about doing a musical is we've been able to coordinate the music and theater depart– ments. We've been able to work together .m both departments. We have got so many talented people atHarding that singing wa not the issue ; rather, choosing tb~ characters was the hardest task.' Also directing is Dr. Morris Ellis. Asked why "The Sound of Muslc" was chosen fot' this year's musical, Ellis said, "We I adn't done the musical in a long time, not .tince 1979. It seemed to fit the people we had available." The musical director for "The Soun<.l of Music" is Dr. Arthur Shearin. Shearin as been in charge of auditions, selecting t~ e cast, orchestra performances, teaching the music and vocal coaching. Asked about the difficulty of the music as compared to other musicals, Shearin said, "This musical has been the easiest, as far as music is concerned, for furee reasons. First of all, everyone is: familiar with the tunes. Secondly, the notes are easier and simple; and thirdly, we've had better per– formers this year.' Shearin concluded by saying, "It's been a luxury having so many people and so much talent to choose from." )
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