‘The Sound of Music’ to open this weekend at BHS

BRAINERD — Brainerd High School is alive with the sound of music.

Or at least it will be this weekend.

Students will stage the classic musical “The Sound of Music” beginning Thursday, April 27.

“It was purely childhood sentimentality,” Theater Director Karla Shepherd-Johnson said of her show choice. “And I’m hoping that the community members will enjoy it. It’s a very lighthearted piece.”

Junior Hannah Junkert has the leading role as Maria, who is on track to become a nun before accepting her duties as a nanny to the seven von Trapp children.

“She kind of gets herself into a lot of trouble,” Junkert said. “She’s not always as prim and proper as all the other nuns. She’s very scatterbrained, very centered around being in nature and singing all the time.”

As those familiar with the musical know, Maria ends up falling in love with Georg von Trapp by the end of the show.

“I’ve loved getting to become the character in rehearsals — becoming her and singing all the songs that I grew up with,” Junkert said, noting “The Sound of Music” was one of her favorite movies as a kid.

Playing Maria will be Junkert’s theater debut, after just joining this year.

“It’s just been so exciting to figure out how the magic is made,” she said. “I’ve been going to musicals since I was a little kid, but I’ve never done theater.”

Learning all her lines and everything else that goes into creating a show has come as a welcome challenge.

“It’s been such a fun process, and the people I’m doing it with, it’s just been amazing,” she said.

She’ll be joined on stage by sophomore Broady Schultz, who landed exactly the role he wanted in Kurt von Trapp, the youngest of Maria’s charges. Schultz is enjoying singing the iconic “The Hills are Alive” and dancing the lively Ländler folk dance.

The musical’s choreography comes from junior Lydia Jendro.

“She has been phenomenal — so great to work with, she’s such a leader, a phenomenal dancer and choreographer,” Shepherd-Johnson said.

The show promises two hours of great music that nearly everyone knows, according to Junkert.

“It’s put on by some super amazing people. It’s not your typical high school show,” she said. “… It is well worth your time.”

There will not be a Friday performance of the show due to the state speech competition.

What: Brainerd High School theater students perform “The Sound of Music.”

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 27; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 28; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30.

Where: Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts.

How much: Tickets are $6 for students and $9 for adults.

Where to buy: Tickets are available at the door before each show or online at bit.ly/BHSSpringMusical .

THERESA BOURKE may be reached at theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa.