The Sound of Music Audition
Nuns:
REVEREND MOTHER
SISTER BERNICE
SISTER BERTH
SISTER MARGARETTA
SISTER CATHERINE
SISTER AGATHA
SISTER SOPHIA
SCENE 2
AT THE ABBEY
SISTER BERNICE: Reverend Mother.
REVEREND MOTHER: Sister Bernice.
SISTER BERNICE: I simply cannot find her.
REVEREND MOTHER: Maria?
SISTER BERNICE: She's missing again.
SISTER BERTH: We should've put a cowbell around her neck.
SISTER MARGARETTA: Have you tried the barn? You know how much she adores the animals.
SISTER BERNICE: I have looked everywhere. In all of the usual places.
REVEREND MOTHER: Sister, considering it's Maria, I suggest you look in someplace unusual.
SISTER BERTH: Well, Reverend Mother. . . I hope this new infraction ends whatever doubts you may still have about Maria's future here.
REVEREND MOTHER: I always try to keep faith in my doubts, Sister Berthe.
SISTER MARGARETTA: After all, the wool of a black sheep is just as warm.
SISTER BERTH: We are not talking about sheep, black or white, Sister Margaretta. Of all the candidates for the novitiate, Maria is the least...
REVEREND MOTHER: Children, children. We were speculating about the qualifications of our postulants.
Tell me, Sister Catherine, what do you think of Maria?
SISTER CATHERINE: She's a wonderful girl, some of the time.
REVEREND MOTHER: Sister Agatha?
SISTER AGATHA: It's very easy to like Maria. . . except when it's difficult.
-REVEREND MOTHER: And you, Sister Sophia?
SISTER SOPHIA: Oh, I love her very dearly. But she always seems to be in trouble, doesn't she?
SISTER BERTH: Exactly what I say.
(SONG)
She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee
Her dress has got a tear
She waltzes on her way to Mass And whistles on the stair
And underneath her wimple She has curlers in her hair
I've even heard her singing ln the abbey
She's always late for chapel
But her penitence is real
She's always late for everything
Except for every meal
I hate to have to say it But I very firmly feel
Maria 's not an asset to the abbey
I'd like to say a word in her behalf
Say it, Sister Margaretta.
Maria makes me laugh
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud And pin it down?
How do you find a word That means Maria?
A flibbertigibbet
-A will-o '-the-wisp -A clown
Many a thing you know You'd like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay And listen to all you say?
How do you keep a wave upon the sand?
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam...
...in your hand?
When I'm with her I'm confused Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
-Unpredictable as weather -She's as flighty as a feather
-She's a darling -She's a demon
She's a lamb
She'll out pester any pest Drive a hornet from its nest
She can throw a whirling dervish Out of whirl
-She is gentle, she is wild -She's a riddle, she's a child
-She's a headache -She's an angel
She's a girl
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud And pin it down?
How do you find a word That means Maria?
-A flibbertigibbet -A will-o '-the-wisp
A clown
Many a thing you know You'd like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
-But how do you make her stay -And listen to all you say?
How do you keep a wave upon the sand?
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam...
...in your hand?
Maria:
SCENE 3
SISTER MARGARETTA: You may go in now, Maria.
REVEREND MOTHER: Come here, my child. Now sit down.
MARIA: Reverend Mother, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. The hills were beckoning and before—
REVEREND MOTHER: Dear, I haven't summoned you for apologies.
MARIA; Please let me ask for forgiveness.
REVEREND MOTHER: If you'll feel better.
MARIA: Yes, you see, the sky was so blue today. . . and everything was so green and fragrant, I had to be a part of it.
REVEREND MOTHER: Suppose darkness had come and you were lost?
MARIA: Mother, I could never be lost up there. That's my mountain. I was brought up on it. I love singing in the mountains.
When I was a child, I would come down and climb a tree and look in your garden.
I'd see the sisters at work and hear them sing.
Which brings me to another transgression, Reverend Mother.
I was singing out there today.
REVEREND MOTHER: Maria, when you saw us over the wall and longed to be with us that didn't mean you were prepared for the way we live here.
MARIA: I know it Mother, but I pray and I try. And I am learning. I really am.
REVEREND MOTHER: What is the most important lesson you have learned here?
MARIA: To find out what is the will of God and do it with all my heart.
REVEREN MOTHER: Maria, it seems to be God's will that you leave us.
MARIA: Leave?
REVEREND MOTHER: Only for a while.
MARIA: No, Mother! Please don't send me away! This is where I belong. It's my home, my family. It's my life.
REVEREND MOTHER: If you go out into the world for a time, knowing what we expect of you, you will find out if you can expect it of yourself.
MARIA: I know what you expect, Mother, and I can do it! I promise I can!
Yes, Mother.
If it is God's will.
REVEREND MOTHER: There is a family near Salzburg that needs a governess until September.
MARIA: September?
REVEREND MOTHER: For seven children.
MARIA: Seven children?!
REVEREND MOTHER: Do you like children?
MARIA: Well, yes, but seven!
REVEREND MOTHER: I will tell Captain von Trapp to expect you tomorrow.
MARIA: Captain?
REVEREND MOTHER: A retired officer of the lmperial Navy. A fine man and a brave one.
His wife died, and he is alone with the children.
I understand he has had a difficult time keeping a governess there.
MARIA: Why difficult, Reverend Mother?
REVEREND MOTHER: The Lord will show you in His own good time.
When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.
(SONG BY MARIA)
The hills are alive
With the sound of music
With songs they have sung
For a thousand years
The hills fill my heart
With the sound of music
My heart wants to sing Every song it hears
My heart wants to beat like the wings Of the birds that rise
From the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh Like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook When it trips and falls
Over stones on its way
To sing through the night
Like a lark who is learning to pray
I go to the hills
When my heart is lonely
I know I will hear
What I've heard before
My heart will be blessed
With the sound of music
And I'll sing...
...once more
Franz, the butler:
(AT VON TRAPP´S FAMILY´S HOUSE)
MARIA: Hello. Here I am. I'm from the convent. I'm the new governess, captain.
BUTLER: And I'm the old butler, fräulein.
MARIA: Well, how do you do?
BUTLER: You'll wait here, please.
The Baroness
UNCLE MAX: Bravo! -Bravo!
CAPTAIN: Very good!
BARONESS: Wonderful!
CAPTAIN: Well done, fräulein.
I am really impressed.
MARIA: They're your children, captain.
BARONESS: My dear, is there anything you can't do?
MARIA: Well, I'm not sure I'll make a good nun.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BARONESS: [to Captain Von Trapp] Fond as I am of you... I really don't think you're the right man for me. You're, um... You're much too independent. And I - I need someone who needs me desperately... or at least needs my money desperately.
Captain and Maria:
CAPTAIN: In future, remember certain rooms in this house are not to be disturbed.
MARIA: Yes, captain, sir.
CAPTAIN: Why do you stare at me that way?
MARIA: You don't look like a sea captain.
CAPTAIN: I'm afraid you don't look very much like a governess. Turn around.
MARIA: What?
CAPTAIN: Turn....Hat off... Put on another dress before meeting the children.
MARIA: But I don't have another. When we enter the abbey, our clothes go to the poor.
CAPTAIN: What about this one?
MARIA: The poor didn't want it.
CAPTAIN: Now, fräulein
MARIA: Maria.
CAPTAIN: I don't know how much the abbess told you.
MARIA: Not much...
CAPTAIN: You are the twelfth governess to look after my children since their mother died.
MARIA: What's wrong with the children, sir?
CAPTAIN: Nothing is wrong with the children, only the governesses.
They could not maintain discipline, without which the house cannot be run.
Drill them in their studies.
I will not permit them to dream away their summer holidays.
Each afternoon, they march, breathing deeply.
Bedtime is to be strictly observed.
MARIA: When do they play?
CAPTAIN: I am placing you in command.
MARIA: Yes, sir.
(CAPTAIN WHISTLES AND CALLS HIS CHILDREN)
CAPTAIN: Now, this is your new governess, Fräulein Maria.
Give your name at your signal.
Fräulein, listen carefully. Learn their signals so you can call them.
Liesl.
Friedrich.
Louisa.
Kurt.
Brigitta.
Marta.
Gretl.
CAPTAIN: Now, let's see how well you listened.
MARIA: I won't need to whistle for them, Reverend Captain.
I mean, I'll use their names. Such lovely names.
CAPTAIN: Fräulein, this is a large house. The grounds are extensive.
And I will not have anyone shouting.
You will take this, please. Learn to use it.
The children will help you.
Now, when I want you, this is what you will hear.
MARIA: Oh, no, sir. I'm sorry, sir!
I could never answer to a whistle.
Whistles are for animals, not for children.
And definitely not for me.
CAPTAIN: Fräulein, were you this much trouble at the abbey?
MARIA: Oh, much more, sir. (MARIA WHISTLES)
I don't know your signal, Sir.
CAPTAIN: You may call me "captain. " (HE LEAVES)
(SONG- CAPTAIN AND LIESL)
Edelweiss
Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white
Clean and bright
You look happy...
... to meet me
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss
Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
-Edelweiss -Edelweiss
-Edelweiss -Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
-Small and white -Small and white
-Clean and bright -Clean and bright
You look happy...
... to meet me
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss
Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
The children :
MARIA: Now that there's just us, would you please tell me all your names again and how old you are.
LIESL: I'm Liesl. I'm 16 years old, and I don't need a governess.
MARIA: I'm glad you told me, Liesl. We'll just be good friends.
FRIEDRICH: I'm Friedrich. I'm 14. I'm impossible.
MARIA: Really? Who told you that, Friedrich?
FRIEDRICH: Fräulein Josephine. Four governesses ago.
LOUISA: I'm Brigitta.
MARIA: You didn't tell me how old you are, Louisa.
BRIGITTA: I'm Brigitta. She's Louisa. She's 12 years old, and you're smart. I'm 10 and I think your dress is the ugliest one I ever saw.
KURT: I'm Kurt. I'm 8. I'm incorrigible.
MARIA: Congratulations.
KURT: What's "incorrigible"?
MARIA: I think it means you want to be treated like a boy.
MARTA: I'm Marta, and I'm going to be seven on Tuesday.
I'd like a pink parasol.
MARIA: Pink's my favorite color, too.
GRETL: (WALKS FORWARD AND SHOWS HER HAND, MEANING SHE´S FIVE)
MARIA: Yes, you're Gretl. And you're five years old?
You're practically a lady!
I have to tell you a secret. I've never been a governess.
LOUISA: You don't know anything about being a governess?
MARIA: Nothing. I'll need lots of advice.
FRIEDRICH: The best way to start is to tell Father to mind his own business.
BRIGITTA: Never come to dinner on time.
KURT: Never eat your soup quietly.
LIESL: During dessert, always blow your nose.
GRETL: Don't you believe a word they say, Fräulein Maria.
MARIA: Oh, why not?
GRETL: Because I like you.
SONG:
Raindrops on roses And whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells And schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver-white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don't feel so bad
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don't feel so bad
Frau Schmidt, the housekeeper :
FRAU SCHMIDT: Children, outside for your walk.
Father's orders. Hurry up.
Quick, quick, quick. (CHILDREN LEAVE)
Fräulein Maria, I'm Frau Schmidt, the housekeeper.
MARIA: How do you do?
FRAU SCHMIDT: I'll show you to your room. Follow me.
Rolf and Liesl:
SCENE 6
IN THE GARDEN
LIESL: Rolf! Oh, Rolf!
ROLF: No, Liesl. We mustn't!
LIESL: Why not, silly?
ROLF: I don't know—
LIESL: Isn't this why you're waiting?
ROLF: Yes, of course. I've missed you, Liesl.
LIESL: Have you? How much?
ROLF: I even thought of sending a telegram, so I'd be able to deliver it here.
LIESL: Oh, that's a lovely thought!
If only we didn't have to wait for someone to send Father a telegram.
ROLF: Oh, Liesl, you're so...
LIESL: What?
ROLF: You're such a baby!
LIESL: I'm 16. What's such a baby about that?
ROLF: (SONG) You wait, little girl On an empty stage
For fate to turn the light on
Your life, little girl ls an empty page
That men will want to write on
To write on
You are 16 going on 17
Baby, it's time to think
Better beware Be canny and careful
Baby, you're on the brink
You are 16 going on 17
Fellows will fall in line
Eager young lads And roués and cads
Will offer you food and wine
Totally unprepared are you
To face a world of men
Timid and shy and scared are you
Of things beyond your ken
You need someone older and wiser
Telling you what to do
I am 17 going on 18
I'll take care of you
LIESL (SONG)
I am 16 going on 17
I know that I'm naive
Fellows I meet May tell me I'm sweet
And willingly I believe
I am 16 going on 17
Innocent as a rose
Bachelor dandies Drinkers of brandies
What do I know of those?
Totally unprepared am I
To face a world of men
Timid and shy and scared am I
Of things beyond my ken
I need someone older and wiser
Telling me what to do
You are 17 going on 18
I'll depend on you
(THEY LEAVE)
Uncle Max:
UNCLE MAX: Attention, everyone! I have an announcement to make. Surprise! Surprise!
Today, after a long and desperate search, I have found a most exciting entry for the Salzburg Folk Festival.
BARONESS: Congratulations, Max.
CAPTAIN: And who will you be exploiting this time?
BARONESS: The Saint lgnatius Choir?
UNCLE MAX: Guess again.
CAPTAIN: Well, let me see now. The Klopmann Choir?
UNCLE MAX: No, no, no, no!
CAPTAIN: Tell us at once.
UNCLE MAX: A singing group all in one family. You'll never guess, Georg.
CAPTAIN: What a charming idea! Whose family?
UNCLE MAX: Yours. They'll be the talk of the festival. Well, now, what's so funny?
CAPTAIN: You are, Max. You're expensive, but very funny.
UNCLE MAX: They'll be a sensation!
CAPTAIN: No, Max.
UNCLE MAX: It's a wonderful idea. Fresh, original.
CAPTAIN: Max! My children do not sing in public.
UNCLE MAX: You can't blame me for trying.
