PEORIA — The stage version of "The Sound of Music" will be at the Peoria Civic Center Theater on Feb. 6 and 7 as part of the Ameren Illinois Broadway Series.
It is the well known and beloved musical story of Maria and the von Trapp Family escaping through the hills to freedom. Songs include “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and “Edelweiss.”
"The Sound of Music" features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp.
The first live television production of the musical in over 50 years, “The Sound of Music Live!” aired on NBC in December 2013 and was seen by more than 44 million people. The 50th anniversary of the film version was in 2015. It continues to be the most successful movie musical in history.
Ted Chapin, president of Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, said, "Special care has to be taken with things we know and love. When a musical has been introduced to the public in a very particular — and successful — way, it is assumed we will revisit very familiar territory in each subsequent production."
However, with "Sound of Music," most people are familiar with the film, not the stage version of the story.
"So the pleasure and thrill of mounting a brand new production of 'The Sound of Music' was to go back to the beginning, to see what started it all," said Chapin. "That’s exactly what director Jack O’Brien did when this production was conceived in 2015."
"This production includes the familiar, but it also abounds in discoveries. … This is indeed a brand new production of what has become the world’s most popular musical."
Both performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are: $40, $57 and $70 and available at Ticketmaster, the Civic Center box office or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.