Sing-A-Long Sound of Music, a smash hit in Europe and the U.S. since 1999, is hitting Phoenix. The lyrics are on the screen in case you're one of the four people in America who don't know the words, but it's not just about singing along with Mother Superior — it's about being the film.
As the classic film plays in glorious Technicolor, you hiss the Nazis, boo the Baroness and add lines where you feel a booger joke might be appropriate. A handy bag of "magical moments" props helps to act out the film, and dressing up makes it even more of an interactive experience.
Don't think you're limited to dressing as a character. At one show, a man dressed in white polyester fiber-fill, with knitting needles on his shoulders and a rope around his waist, claimed to be "How do you catch a cloud and pin it down." The imprisoned cloud is one of the reigning winners for stumping the legendary Charmian Carr.
Carr played the naive Liesl Von Trapp in the film, and will host the Sing-A-Long. Carr remembers the costumes that have stumped her, as well as the more risqué lines inserted into the movie. "They're a little R-rated," she giggles, still sounding 16 going on 17.
The almost cult status of the 37-year-old film delights Carr. "This film spans generations. There are not many films that do that," she says. According to Carr, even the younger audience knows the film by heart. "Even though the words are on the screen, they know the lyrics," says Carr. "Some don't even know they're watching an old movie."
After growing up in a show-business family, Carr easily won the role of Liesl when she was 21, but almost lost it because of the color of her eyes. "They were afraid they were too blue." The studio gave her a temporary contract until it could screen test her. "It didn't matter if I could sing or dance if I didn't look good on the screen," Carr recalls. "That's Hollywood."
Carr will be judging the costume contest and awarding prizes for her favorites. But don't expect her to know the movie as well as you do. "I've probably only seen it all the way through 14 times," Carr claims. But does she have her own lines to add to the movie? "There's no way I could compete," she exclaims. "The audience is so much better!"
