Updated: Jan 15
So.... this year I'm one of the few females who doesn't have to be a nun.... yippee...... I'm playing The Baroness who is the Captain's fiance... 'till he dumps me for the nun.... This is a very special part to me... It's not the first time I've played it. I played it at 14 In Rosehill Youth Theatres production in 1993. You can do the math.... it was one of the first main parts i've ever played and her songs are fantastic... and challenging. Once again I'm choreographer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids in the Von Trapp family. They are an amazing and talented bunch and it's been a joy to watch them grow and bond as a real family. Our chorus have not had anywhere near the amount of choreography that they did last year in sister act. But they took to learning the Laendler with gusto and have done an amazing job. However they do have a lot of challenging singing to do and have taken this on with the same gusto they did the choreography last year. These people surprise me year after year. On a personal note... I may get dumped but I know for a fact that 1 of the kids would prefer me to Maria... my little girl Lily who is playing Gretl. She's made me very proud this year.
And talk about proud... we've just found out that I've been nominated for a NODA award for "best supporting actress in a musical" for my portrayal of Sister Mary Roberts in Sister Act last year. This of course would not have been possible without the fantastic audiences we had. I hope you come and support us again this year.
Updated: Jan 15
Yareet me ol' marras and lasses. How's th' deeyan? So as yaz c'n tell frea that thur title, az Stuart, 'n' in't sound uh music this yeer, al be playun . . . (*someone whispers in my ear*) . . . You what? . . . (*whispers again*) . . . Cumbrian people can't understand phonetic Cumbrian? (*whispers*) and they need me to type in "proper" English? Alright then, fine. Let's start again . . .
Hello everyone, I'm Stuart and in this years production of The Sound of Music, I'll be playing the part of Franz, the commited orderly and butler to Captain Von-Trapp who *spoiler alert* eventual reveals himself to be a Nazi sympathiser, egads!!! After taking on some of the larger roles in the past few productions (notably Fagin in 'Oliver!' and Eddie in last years Sister Act), it's been nice to take a step back and settle into a smaller role this year, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I was unsuccessful in my audition for Max Detweiler. But with that being said, I've enjoyed watching everyone else performing at rehearsals, especially Laura McCarten who's playing our Maria. To the best of my knowledge, she is still fairly new to the group, but she absolutely blew me away at her audition and I wasn't surprised when she was cast as our leading lady. But it's been great to watch her showing off what she can do alongside Alistair (who's playing Captain Von-Trapp) and the two work very well together along with all the kids, a believable family unit, so it's a performance not to be missed! To close off this blog entry, the cast have all worked especially hard and very well together and I feel the show is coming along nicely, so I can't wait until we get into the Civic in a month's time to get it all set up and ready for your viewing pleasure. I hope to see you there.
