Heading the cast as Maria von Trapp, the role immortalized on film by Julie Andrews, is Amanda Watkins. Watkins' Broadway credits include Urinetown, Cabaret, Grease!, Cats and Beauty and the Beast, and she also appeared in the national tours of South Pacific (opposite Robert Goulet), Cabaret and Oklahoma! Watkins will be joined onstage by Robert Cuccioli (Captain Georg von Trapp), Ed Dixon (Uncle Max), Donna English (Baroness Elsa Schraeder) and Meg Bussert (Mother Abbess).
The remainder of the cast comprises Allison Brustofski (Brigitta), Joy Franz (Frau Schmidt), Tiffany Giardina (Marta), Nicholas Jonas (Kurt), Caroline London (Gretl), Elizabeth Lundberg (Liesl), Daniel Plimpton (Friedrich), Krista Pioppi (Louisa), Jacquelyn Baker, Christy Boardman, Carey Brown, Scott Duquette, Gina Ferrall (Sister Berthe), Osborn Focht, Michael Hayward Jones, Ereni Hrousis, Sarah Jebian, Patrick Kane, Cecily Kate, Peter Kidd, Alison Mahoney, Jean Marie, Jessica Mary Murphy (Sr. Margaretta), Michael O'Day, William Solo (Franz), John Stillwagon, Bob Stoeckle, Mark Willett (Rolf), Kristen Beth Williams and Rachel Olivia Wortham.
Directed and choreographed by James Brennan, The Sound of Music will officially open Oct. 31 at 8 PM. The production will run through Dec. 14.
The Sound of Music originally opened at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in Nov. 1959. Mary Martin headed a cast that also included Theodore Bikel and Patricia Neway; the most recent Broadway revival featured Rebecca Luker as the beloved Maria von Trapp. The classic score boasts such tunes as "Do Re Mi," "My Favorite Things," "The Sound of Music" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain."
The Sound of Music will play Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM, Sundays at 7:30 PM, Thursday and Sundays at 2 PM and Saturdays at 2:30 PM. Tickets, priced $30-$67, are available by calling (973) 376-4343. The Paper Mill: The State Theatre of New Jersey is located in Millburn, N.J., on Brookside Drive. Visit www.papermill.org for more information.
