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(Photo: Courtesy of The Von Trapp Children) |
Melanie Von Trapp may be 15 going on 16, but the great-granddaughter of the Baron and Maria—whose family history was adapted for The Sound of Music—admits that her tastes run more to Nickel Creek than to “Edelweiss.” Still, that won’t stop the soprano, her two sisters, and their brother from taking to the New York stage for the first time and yodeling forth a hefty playlist from the ageless Rodgers-and-Hammerstein musical. Actually, say the homeschooled Montana siblings, they’re honored to don the family lederhosen and dirndls and croon the songs taught to them by Grandpa Werner (Kurt in the film) and the rest of the family. To set the record straight, the kids will, between songs, tell stories about what really happened to the Von Trapps during World War II. “They didn’t climb the Alps to escape Austria,” says Sofia, 17, the oldest of the four. “There was a train station in the backyard, and they escaped by neighbors’ thinking they were going on a picnic to Italy. Then they got on a boat to America.” (The Von Trapps’ extended family has mostly settled in the mountainous regions of Vermont and Montana.) After only four years in the business, the kids have made three CDs and perform some 100 concerts per year. Sofia picks out all the songs for each show, which at the Lamb’s Theatre will include bluegrass tunes (11-year-old Justin’s preference) and country (14-year-old Amanda’s favorite), as well as folk songs in other languages. “All of us just love to do this,” says Melanie. “To hear everyone singing along is very cool.”
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