The Sound of Music, Pinewood Derby, and Viva Italia

 

I was introduced to movie musicals at a very early age. In my parents’ record collection I remember the soundtracks of Oklahoma (1955), The King and I (1956), South Pacific (1958), and West Side Story (1961). I have a clear picture in my mind of all those album covers. I suppose my parents, probably mostly my mother, used to play those records and I would listen. Later, when I figured out how to work our record player, I played them myself. I don’t know if I qualify as some sort of savant, but my mother wrote in my baby book that at the age of five I could sing along to those records. That same year that I was five, on Tuesday, November 19, 1963, my parents and my Grandma Rathfon took me to my very first concert. It was a performance by the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. The first half of the program was Dvorak’s Symphony No. 5 in B Minor, The New World – one of my favorite symphonies to this day. The second half was orchestral arrangements of music from three musicals – West Side Story, Camelot, and The Music Man. I already knew West Side Story, and I’d seen The Music Man on TV, but I didn’t know Camelot yet. That would change after the film version was released in 1967. [Later in my life, the first date I went on with Stacey was to see Camelot at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles in 1981. The actor playing King Arthur became sick and they actually flew Richard Harris in to play the role.]

Album covers from my first musicals.

The program from my first concert (my mother saves everything).

In 1965, a new musical premiered, The Sound of Music. Knowing how much I loved musicals, my parents took me to see it. I was seven years old then. This was no ordinary Saturday matinee at the theater down the street. We went to an evening showing at a big theater in Harrisburg, I think it was the State Theater, but my memory isn’t that precise. In those days going to a movie like that was different. It was a dress-up sort of event, more like going to a stage production. I had to be on my best behavior, which wasn’t hard for me as I was in awe of the whole event. The theater had a big lobby and was impressively decorated throughout. The movie, like a stage production, had an overture and an intermission. I fell entirely in love with that movie. Soon after seeing it, my parents bought the soundtrack album and it moved to the top of my movie musical love list. I was already in love with Julie Andrews, having seen Mary Poppins the year before. After The Sound of Music, my adoration of her was fixed forever.

The album I've listened to at least a hundred times.

Later, when I was older and married and technology had advanced, we bought a VHS tape of The Sound of Music. We still have it in a box somewhere, although we no longer have a VHS player to watch it on. Technology advanced again and later we switched to a DVD recording. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the movie, maybe fifty or sixty. We watched it many times as our children were growing up. They inherited my love for it and now are passing it on to their children. I still watch it once or twice a year. I never grow tired of it.

Now we have a new chapter to add to our Sound of Music experience. After appearing in two stage productions in 2023, Mary Poppins and Fiddler on the Roof, Hazel was recruited by Saint Vincent College earlier this year to be in their production of The Sound of Music, to play the part of Marta Von Trapp. Rehearsals began back on January 15th and they rehearsed three times a week, every week since then. Their performances ran last week from the 22nd to the 25th. We drove down on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend and attend the Friday evening performance. It was great. It was fun to see Hazel on stage. The actors were all so good. We had family members attending every performance. Tabor’s mother and his brother’s daughter Wren flew in from Idaho and they attended several of the performances. Sarah was with us for the Friday night performance. All in all, we saw a lot of The Sound of Music over the weekend.

Hazel as Marta von Trapp.

A scene from the play.

Another scene.

The von Trapp children in their play clothes.

The finale.

This weekend was also our Annual Italian Weekend. Every year we commemorate our trip to Italy in 2019 by gathering to eat Italian food. It is all about food, of course. The menu planning goes on for weeks in advance. The celebration includes a visit to DeLallo’s Market, a fabulous Italian market not far from the Thayn’s house. We went there on Saturday morning. They have so much food there – so many kinds of pasta and cheese and olive oil and pastries and bread. We go a little crazy when we go there. We bought what we needed for our meals and a few extra treats – cannoli, biscotti, sfogliatella. This year our meals included tortellini salad, Caprese salad, pasta with pesto, bruschetta, lasagna, and vanilla bean panna cotta with berry sauce. It was all so delicious.

At DeLallo's Market.

The bread at DeLallo's/

So many different kinds of pasta.

Florence at the pastry counter.

Mabel and Sarah making Caprese salad.

Our main meal.

Vanilla bean panna cotta with berry sauce.

The second big event of the weekend was the Pinewood Derby. The Greensburg Ward, where the Thayn’s attend, holds a Pinewood Derby every year for the children in Activity Days. June ran a car in the race for the second year in a row. They had a great track with an electronic timer. June took third place. It was a fun event.

The Pinewood Derby track.

June, the third place winner.

Florence and Sarah playing Jenga.

Working on a jigsaw puzzle with Nana (Tabor's mother).

Florence doing tricks on the trampoline for me.

Watching big trucks with Russell.

Yesterday we went to church and then some went to see Hazel’s final performance and the rest of us went back to the house for lunch. After lunch we headed home again. We arrived home last night. We had a great weekend at the Thayn’s house – good food, good fun, and great family. The next time we will be together is at Easter, which isn’t too far away, and everyone is coming here to our house. I can hardly wait.