This weekend, Charlottesville joins a growing number of American cities where fans of the movie The Sound of Music can indulge their passion by singing along.
The Paramount Theater was on the lookout for ways to use its new HD projector when it learned that a singalong version of the 1965 film Sound of Music could be theirs for a day. Marketing Director Katherine Davis recalls the moment.
“We saw this title that was available with the words on the screen -- the little bouncing dot, and we said, ‘We have to have this at the theater.’”
For five years after its original release, The Sound of Music was America’s highest grossing film, surpassing Gone with the Wind, and Davis is not surprised that public interest is still strong.
“We have pre-sold a ton of tickets, which for a movie of course is an indicator that there’s a lot of community interest," Davis says. " In fact I have a friend who shared with me that her family member is flying from Los Angeles just to come to this event with them.”
Props will be provided, along with a professional singer to help the crowd warm up. The show begins Saturday at 4, and Davis warns that with just over a thousand seats, the Paramount could sell out. The last time it did was for another Disney singalong – Frozen.