KUALA LUMPUR: The upcoming Broadway production of The Sound Of Music set to be staged at Istana Budaya here from Dec 27 onwards will feature local children in the von Trapp family.
The young talents were selected from a pool of over 400 applicants to take on the roles of the six children in the much-beloved musical, presented by Base Entertainment Asia and produced by Broadway International Group.
Anthony C Daniel, James Gray and Nate Patten from the New York-based Broadway creative team travelled to Dominus Arts Venue in Wangsa Maju here for a series of auditions on June 28 and 29.
The young hopefuls who hailed from all over Malaysia were tested on their acting, singing and dancing skills for the parts of the small and cute Gretl, the brothers Friedrich and Kurt, as well as their sisters Marta, Brigitta and Louisa.
A group of 17 boys and girls aged 7 to 13 were finally revealed during the recent Malaysia season announcement event for the musical at the same location.
The children are set to perform in rotation throughout the musical's run with Gretl played by Kimaya Peiris, 8, Olivia Leong Yue Shuen, 9, and Nur Lily Armani Saiful Bahtiar, 7.
Marta will be portrayed by Allegra Hew Ai Ping, 9, Wan Emma Rose Wan Mohd Fyzaal, 9, and Olivia Wood, 9, while Louisa will be brought to life by Chloe Siaw, 14, Doreen Yip, 11 and Isabelle Ho, 12.
Sean Lee, 12, Lafayette Victor, 11, and Norman Ong, 9, will carry the role of Kurt, while En Huang, 10, Natasha Tan, 13, and Vern Faye Yeoh, 9, will take on Brigitta.
The eldest von Trapp boy Friedrich will be played by Izz Quedy Akhirudin, 13, and Christian Duvan Garry Malo, 12.
Datuk Jared Lim, the Chairman of Tremendous Entertainment which is the parent company of Base Entertainment Asia, said: "This is part of our plan to put together a Broadway academy in Malaysia and to be able to expose our local talent to performing in musicals not just in this part of the world. The sky is the limit, perhaps in Broadway or West End as well."
Base Entertainment Asia had previously brought the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom Of The Opera to Malaysia in 2019.
Group CEO of Tremendous Entertainment, Chantal Prudhomme added that their plans to bring more shows here was put on hold by the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic.
"We wanted something happy for the first musical post-pandemic. It's about family, about love, about getting over adversity and that's universal.
"And we knew we had the talent here. So, it was just a logical choice to bring The Sound Of Music to Malaysia," she said.
Commenting on the auditions, associate tour director Anthony C Daniel said: "I have to say that the talent that we saw in this city was phenomenal so it's been a wonderful two days."
The Sound Of Music tells the uplifting true story of Maria, the fun-loving governess who changes the lives of the widowed Captain von Trapp and his seven children by reintroducing them to music, culminating in the family's flight across the Austrian mountains as tensions rise prior to the outbreak of World War II.
With its unforgettable score, the musical touches hearts of all ages and contains some of the most memorable songs ever performed on the theatre stage, including My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Climb Ev'ry Mountain, Edelweiss, The Lonely Goatherd, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, and of course the glorious title song, The Sound of Music.
Arguably one of the world's best-loved musicals, the original 1959 Broadway production of The Sound Of Music won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and is Rodgers and Hammerstein's biggest success.
The 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews as Maria won five Oscars, including Best Picture, and remains one of the most popular movies of all time.
The Sound of Music International Tour is directed by three-time Tony Award-winner and Broadway veteran Jack O'Brien, choreographed by Danny Mefford, features music supervision by Andy Einhorn and also includes an all-Broadway creative, design and production team.
Tickets to the 155-minute musical (with a 20-minute intermission), priced from RM320 to RM2320 (excluding a processing fee), are currently available for purchase at https://premier.ticketcharge.com.my/shows/show.aspx?sh=tsmusic22.
Visit www.facebook.com/BASEentertainmentAsia/ for more details.