About 3000 tickets have gone on sale this week for the latest stage musical production by Showbiz Queenstown - The Sound of Music - and cast and crew could not be more excited.
The cast of 28 adults and 12 children have rehearsed since the end of February under the tutelage of director Bryan Aitken, musical director Emma Wilson and pianist Cheryl Collie.
Production manager Hilary Finnie said yesterday costumes were due to arrive from New Plymouth this week for fitting and altering. The company enters the Queenstown Memorial Hall on April 26, after Anzac Day services, for final set-building and decorating.
Rehearsals move on to the stage in the first week of May.
"It's a show with a fantastic feel about it," Mrs Finnie said.
"There's a level of excitement. It's going to be universally popular, because it's such a well-known musical and it's loved by all age groups."
Remarkables Park Town Centre is sponsoring The Sound of Music season from May 17 to 26.
The cast features Lisa Moore as Maria Rainer, governess to the von Trapp children, and Chris Parvin, as Captain Georg von Trapp.
Alisa Williamson plays the romantic Liesl (16), Alfie Parvin and Felix Brabant as prankster Friedrich (14), Emily Roche and Poppy Brinsley as daydreamer Louisa (13), Hugh Taylor and Jonty Climo as outspoken Kurt (11), Charlotte Ramsey and Petra Simpson as sharp-witted Brigitta (10), Greta Balfour and Sofia Tarquet as personable Marta (7), and Amelia Wickstrom and Zoe Deering as shy Gretl (5).
Fiona Stephenson plays the elegant and monied Baroness Elsa Schraeder, Chris McKenzie is good friend Max Detweiler, Pol Nicholson is Liesl-infatuated Rolf Gruber, Jean Britton is housekeeper Frau Schmidt, Eamonn McNicholas is regional governor Hans Zekller, Paul Halstead is butler Franz and David Oakley is Admiral von Schreiber.
Kathleen Brentwood, Sue Gray, Helen Bird and Belinda Paradis form the nuns' chorus. Ellie Brinsley, Fiona Bracken, Isabella Reid, Jane Robertson, Jessica Greer, Kelly Blair, Sarah Deering and Tiffany Menzies perform, with support from Steve Wilde, Jack Swale, Jason Fullerton, Greg Thompson and Graham Williams.
• Ticket prices depend on the location of seats in the hall and range from $25 to $55 for adults and $15 to $45 for children, plus booking fees. Tickets are available from the Queenstown i-Site Visitor Centre, the Queenstown Events Centre and Ticketek.
