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“Sound of Music” Sing-a-Long lets fans play Julie Andrews

This photo provided by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment shows, from left, Julie Andrews, as Maria, Kym Karath, as Gretl, Duane Chase, as Kurt, and Chairmian Carr, as Liesl, in a scene during “Do-Re-Mi” from “The Sound of Music.” Audiences can sing along with the von Trapps this weekend at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene. ((AP Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment) / AP)
By Azaria Podplesky azariap@spokesman.com(509) 459-5024

As the movie begins, the camera pans across a landscape, with fog giving way to snowy mountaintops, forests and vast bodies of water. Eventually we see a village and lush green hills.

The camera slowly zooms in on a lone figure standing in a field. After a twirl, Julie Andrews breaks into the movie’s title song.

It’s been more than 50 years since the release of “The Sound of Music,” the Academy Award-winning film version of the 1959 Broadway musical of the same name, itself inspired by the 1949 memoir “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers” by Maria von Trapp, governess and stepmother to the seven singing von Trapp children.

Since then, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein-penned songs like “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “My Favorite Things,” “So Long, Farewell,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Do-Re-Mi” and, yes, “The Sound of Music” have become classic tunes both in and out of the musical theater world.

Though we can’t all have Andrews’ vocal range, Laura Little Theatrical Productions and the Salvation Army Kroc Center is giving “The Sound of Music” fans the chance to pretend during its “The Sound of Music” Sing-a-Long on Sunday.

The INB Performing Arts Center has presented “The Sound of Music” Sing-a-Longs in the past, most recently in 2014, but as far as executive director Laura Little, who worked on a “Grease” singalong in the past, knows, this marks the first “Sound of Music” Sing-a-Long in North Idaho.

Before the show, emcee Daniel Connelly will explain how and when the audience should use the props in their fun pack, which is included in the ticket price.

During “Maria,” which is sometimes called “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?,” for example, audience members will hold up a card with a question mark on it every time the word “how” is sung and a picture of Julie Andrews every time the word “Maria” appears.

“There’s fun little prop-type things that go along with the story,” Little said. “Kind of like ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ but a cleaner version.”

For those a little rusty on the lyrics, the singalong will also feature subtitles.

Costumes are encouraged, and Little said some women go all out and create a dress from curtains like Maria did for the von Trapp children in the film.

“They’re so excited that there is something new to do in the community,” Little said.

Due in part to that feedback, Laura Little Theatrical Productions and the Salvation Army Kroc Center already have another “The Sound of Music” singalong scheduled for Sept. 9.

Little said “The Sound of Music” Sing-a-Long is so popular because it allows everyone – from those costume-making groups of women to parents sharing the “Sound of Music” with their children – the chance to have fun.

“It’s also something families can do together where you share a memory of your childhood with your children but in a more interactive way, which is what this generation is used to,” Little said. “There’s some great opportunities for bonding to occur in this and there’s a lot of laughter, of course.”