‘Sound of Music: Youth Edition’ Opens Friday at Nathan Hale

NORWALK, Conn. — Beginning this Friday, the hills—or, more accurately, the halls—of Nathan Hale Middle School will be alive with “The Sound of Music: Youth Edition.”

Performances will take place Friday, April 4, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, April 5, at 1 and 7 p.m. 

The show tells the tale of young nun Maria, who becomes the governess to the seven children of widower George von Trapp, an Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine captain, in 1938 Austria. 

While it’s the classic tale with classic songs folks know and love, Bryan Kirby, the show’s director, was quick to stress, “This isn’t your grandmother’s ‘Sound of Music.’”

“When you look at ‘The Sound of Music,’ you see the white house with the double staircase—you see it all the time,” he said of the set design. “The first thing was that we were blowing that up.”

Nathan Hale’s set concept takes a different approach with “an abbey in that dark old wood mahogany, and it’s all about the overshadowing of forces on Maria,” explained Kirby. 

“We have a stained-glass window that changes throughout the show, and it’s like, there is always this eye watching her—whether it’s Mother Abbess in religion, whether it’s Captain von Trapp, whether it’s just the idea of the Nazis in general—there is always something kind of pushing on Maria. So, we use different elements of the set to open up things for her,” Kirby continued. “And then we also added a lot of choreography, which is something different.”

Norwalk High School junior Anessa Morris is the show’s choreographer. 

“She has all these different brilliant ideas, like, ‘Can I add tap to this number? It’s not usually in this number, but I feel like it needs it,’” said Kirby. 

A total of 24 students are in the cast with 29 in the crew. Auditions were held in January with rehearsals also starting that month. 

“It’s surprising, but a lot of kids actually know and love the movie,” which was released in 1965, said Kirby. “And they know exactly what we are talking about when we mention it— ‘Oh, yeah, my dad showed me that movie.’ One of the crew members wrote in her application that she is joining the show because the movie means so much to her. For 6th, 7th and 8th graders, you wouldn’t expect it.”

Asked what keeps him involved in stage productions at Nathan Hale, Kirby, an English teacher at Norwalk High School, responded, “I just love the community of it.”

He also cited a quote by famed actor/director Laurence Olivier: “I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theater is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture.”

Kirby added, “Even on the worst days, going to rehearsal is the best part of the day—working with the kids, seeing the creativity they put out—it’s a super collaborative environment. We are working on choreography, and a kid will say, ‘Hey, I have a suggestion: can we do this instead?’ And I am like, ‘That’s the moment we are missing; that’s what makes the show.’ Our kids are professional—it looks good and sounds great.”

This year, Kirby explained that Nathan Hale has partnered with the Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation, which recently presented the theater program with a $1,000 check. 

“They are a nonprofit organization out of Orange that helps fund arts programs around the state, specifically in New Haven and Fairfield County,” said Kirby. 

Carrie Maiya is in her third year (sixth show) as a “drama mama” with the NHMS Theatre Department.

Maiya’s sons, Vir, an 8th grader, and Max, a 6th grader, are members of “The Sound of Music’s” tech crew and cast, respectively. 

“The students truly run every technical part of the show, from stage management to sound board to lighting design to AV special effects,” said Maiya. “It is amazing to watch what these middle schoolers can do! In addition, the performers bring an incredible amount of poise, confidence, and talent to their roles. It is positively an extraordinary production!”

When it comes to what she enjoys most about working on these shows, Maiya said her favorite part is watching the kids form strong bonds through theater. 

“I love seeing them find a sort of ‘second family’ with their theater friends. They can be silly one moment and work really hard on a tech issue or choreography piece the next,” she explained. 

“However, the real gut-wrenching part is watching them after the final curtain call of the final show. All these months of rehearsing together, all the preparation, all the excitement … and then it’s just gone … replaced by streaming tears of sadness,” she added. “It can be a real roller coaster of emotions, and it’s remarkable to watch a group of middle schoolers share that common experience and the growth that comes from it.”

Maiya also had high praise for Kirby and the NHMS Theatre Department. 

“Nathan Hale is truly lucky to have such a strong theater department. We have a huge amount of support from the school’s administration and staff, as well as support from NHMS families and the larger Norwalk community,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have Bryan Kirby as our director and visionary, building the program with each successive year!”

Tickets, which are $10 for students and $13 for adults, may be purchased by visiting here.