The hills are alive with the sound of the BHS drama club as they prepare for their springtime rendition of the classic, The Sound of Music.

“I honestly didn’t believe it. There were always rumored that the show would be The Sound of Music,” said Maggie Orlando, sophomore and second-year drama club member. Orlando will be playing the role of Elsa Schraeder, a part she was pleasantly shocked to receive.

Orlando is most excited for the scene in the show where she gets to sing “No Way to Stop It.”

“The Sound of Music is better [than most musicals] because it has a lot of different facets in the plot—it’s not just a love story,” said David Palmer, junior and seven-year drama club member. Palmer is “psyched” to be playing Captain Von Trapp. Raini Callahan, sophomore and six-year drama club veteran, will be playing the role of Liesl Von Trapp.

Callahan was “ecstatic” when she read her name on the cast list. “Every girl dreams of singing Sixteen going on Seventeen,” she said.  From her involvement in this production, Callahan hopes to gain experience.

Alicia Pierozzi, senior and 10-year member of the drama club, is cast as the part of Louisa. “I think it is the part that most suits me,” said Pierozzi. While Pierozzi is excitedly anticipating the friendships she will make during the show, “being on stage one last time will be a bittersweet joy,” she said.

On the other end of the spectrum, this is the first production for many seniors who discovered a desire to be more involved as their time at BHS comes to a close. “This is our last chance to do something funky,” said Colby Burbank, a senior who will play Admiral Von Schreimer. When Burbank was first informed of his role, he was “hashtag fired up,” for his first drama club performance.

While this is also vocal and chorus director Marcia Wytrwal’s first time being involved in a drama club production, it is not her first time directing The Sound of Music. Wytrwal said that over the summer she had to step in at the Barnstable Comedy Club when the original director realized she was pregnant. “It really is a great show,” said Wytrwal.

This will be the first time that the drama club and music department are coming together for a performance. Wytrwal’s students will be playing live music from the pit of the Performing Arts Center. “With recorded music, you lose the excitement and the intimacy,” said Wytrwal.

English teacher and Drama Club Advisor, Edward O’Toole,  has been directing shows since 1999. “I never realized just how many people love The Sound of Music,” said O’Toole.

He said he is most excited for the Edelweiss scene toward the end of the show where the Captain sings a patriotic Austrian song in defiance of the Nazis. He called it “quite powerful and emotional.” “People tend to think that this play is sweet and sugary, but underneath it all is the real threat of the Nazis in Europe in 1938,” said O’Toole.

He said that he hopes that each person involved feels that their contribution is valuable and important.“Where there was nothing, in three months there is something great,” said O’Toole.

BHS’s production of The Sound of Music will be in the Performing Arts Center March 20-22 and 27-29. Each day there will be a show at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, March 22and 29there will be additional shows at 12 p.m.