The Sound of Music new tour highlights the true story of the von Trapp family with modern adaptations

*This interview was edited by CityScene Media Group staff for clarity and readability.*

As the beloved musical The Sound of Music returns to Columbus with its new tour (showing at Ohio Theatre, Feb. 24-March 1), editor Jane Dimel spoke with Cayleigh Capaldi and Kevin Earley, who play Maria and Captain Georg von Trapp, respectively, about their background with the show and what audiences can look forward to.

Q: What is your first memory of the iconic movie/music of The Sound of Music?

Capaldi: I grew up with that music. I come from a show business family, so a long line of performers on my father’s side and my mother’s (side), so we always had a bunch of different genres of music floating around the house, but especially musical theater, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music was no exception to that.

Earley: When I was 11 years old, I auditioned for The Sound of Music in the northern suburbs of Chicago at Marriott Theater. It came down to like, two little boys, and I ended up getting it. That was my first real connection to not only Rodgers and Hammerstein, but The Sound of Music itself.

Q: What has influenced your portrayal of your character? What additional research did you do to inform your character?

Capaldi: I definitely had everyone’s interpretation in my awareness and my consciousness, but when I was approaching trying to figure out what my version of Maria was, I wanted to go back to the source, the real woman, Maria von Trapp. So, I read her memoir, and it was, and is, such an important text that I draw from still, because it has her inner thoughts, it has her reflections and a peek into her talk and her psyche as she was going through these events in her life. So I wanted to try to portray her in the most truthful and realistic way possible to the historical figure, but also recognizing that this is 2025. This is not 1938, it’s not 1969 and it’s not 1964, so I had to kind of think, ‘What is it that I want to take from our current world, from my personal experience as a modern woman? How do I want that to inform my interpretation of this historical character?’

Earley: One of the writings (that inspired me) was a back and forth between Maria von Trapp and the first draft of the book. Maria came back and said, ‘Hey, could you not make the captain so staunch?’ It wasn’t mean necessarily, but (his character) was strict and staunch and things that she was like, ‘That's not my husband. My husband was kind and loving and an amazing singer and he loved his family, and he wasn't like this at all.’ … That was one of the writings (where) I was like, ‘Okay, I have to make sure that the original Maria von Trapp's wishes are conveyed by the end of the play, that he is an absolute, well-rounded, loving human being of his family and of life and of his country.’

Jeremy Daniel

Q: Were there any learning curves in the rehearsal process?

Capaldi: I don’t use a guitar to play and to teach the kids “Do-Re-Mi.” My Maria uses a visual representation, by way of the Kerwin hand signal, to teach the kids, so that they have a sort of visual reference, and so she can visually conduct them so they can create different melodies and she can show them how songs are created. So that was really fun to learn. One silly little thing is that I am right-handed, but because of our blocking and the staging of that number, I had to learn all the hand signals on my left hand. So, it definitely took some extra time for my brain to wrap around that, but I’m pretty solid on it now.

Earley: I don’t know if they got lucky or I got lucky that I knew how to play the guitar before I even auditioned. They had me sing (Edelweiss) for the audition, but not actually play it. But then, after getting cast, I was definitely on a mission to actually play the song, not only for playing it in the show, but if I ever want to play it at any PR events or any sort of outings while I’m on this tour, I thought, ‘I’d better learn this.’

Q: What is a moment that you think truly represents your character?

Capaldi: I would have to say the title of “The Sound of Music.” It’s the first time that the audience meets Maria. I think it’s actually pretty great that the first words that we hear out of Maria’s mouth are not spoken, they’re sung, and boy, that is so truthful to who she is as a character. I think everything sort of emanates from her passion for music, and she expresses herself best through songs.

Q: Why does this story continue to resonate with audiences?

Earley: The (story) has lasted as long as it has in everybody’s hearts, and it’s done so often. It’s still a great, amazing show even when you know you’re doing a production that doesn’t necessarily have all of the bells and whistles or staircases or Abbey’s, or it’s just simply telling this story. It really works because it has that hope that you want, it has the love you want and it has the courage that you want. It has all three of those elements: that courage, not only for your family but for your country; the love of children, the love of family; and a hope that life can be better after grief, and hope that life can be better after your country is invaded.

Jeremy Daniel

Q: What do you hope audiences take away from your performances?

Capaldi: I hope that my Maria can inspire kids to be who they are already. Maria doesn’t arrive at the first number convinced that that’s what she should do. She has to go through some life experience, and she has to discover herself and find self-love and self-acceptance in order to arrive there. And that’s a journey that we all have to go on, if we are so lucky to take ourselves on that journey, but that’s something I hope kids and adults will like to take away.

Earley: I hope that the children of the audience see that there is vulnerability in adult males, that they have a full spectrum of emotions… I’m hoping that (when) people walk away, they see that there is strength and there is humanity in making hard choices for your family and your family will stand by you if it's right.

Q: What do you hope audiences take away from the show?

Capaldi: I hope people can watch the true story of real people and find the courage within their own life to stand by their values and to do what is right. That is one of the hardest things we can do in life, up against insurmountable odds up against the face of oppression, authoritarianism, discrimination, it is extremely hard to stand up for those things and to sacrifice the comfort of home, the comfort of life, for your values, for your norm, so that you can sleep at night knowing that the next generation can look to you for inspiration, hopefully. So, I think that’s what the story stands for. It inspires us to love fearlessly and to act fearlessly in the face of fear.