CONNIE FISHER TO STAR AS ‘MARIA’
ALONGSIDE MICHAEL PRAED AS ‘CAPTAIN VON TRAPP’ IN
 “THE SOUND OF MUSIC”
AT
HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE, ABERDEEN

Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian and The Really Useful Group are delighted to announce that Connie Fisher is to star as Maria in the smash-hit production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen in March 2010.
 
She was due to bow out of the role when the show finishes its Edinburgh run, but has extended her contract to include the four-week run at the city theatre, starring opposite Michael Praed as Captain Von Trapp.
 
“We are absolutely thrilled that Connie Fisher has agreed to come to His Majesty’s as Maria in the Sound of Music” said Aberdeen Performing Arts chief executive Duncan Hendry.
 
“This is an exceptional show and with Connie in the lead role it will be a very special event indeed. We expect this to be a very hot ticket and one of the biggest shows ever to come to His Majesty’s – it is a real coup for Aberdeen Performing Arts.”
 
Connie Fisher won BBC 1’s How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and played the role at the London Palladium for 15 months, to critical acclaim.
 
Before reprising the role for the UK tour, she starred in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of They’re Playing Our Song and the ITV drama Caught in a Trap last Christmas.
 
Always a popular star at HMT, Michael Praed appeared at the city theatre twice last year in the whodunit mystery Sleuth and Oscar Wild’s An Ideal Husband and his musical theatre credits include leading roles in the West End productions of Aspects of Love, Copacabana, Susan Stroman’s Contact and Beautiful and Damned.
 
Connie and Michael will be joined by Marilyn Hill Smith as Mother Abbess, Jacinta Mulcahy as Baroness Schraeder, Martin Callaghan as Max, Claire Fishenden as Liesl and Jeremy Taylor as Rolf. Kirsty Malpass will play Maria at certain performances.
 
This lavish production tells the story of the Von Trapp family’s flight across the mountains with its unforgettable score that includes some of the most memorable songs ever performed on the musical stage including My Favourite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, The Lonely Goatherd and the title song The Sound of Music.
 
The Sound of Music has music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp.
 
It is directed by Jeremy Sams, with choreography by Arlene Phillips, design by Robert Jones, sound by Mick Potter and lighting by Mark Henderson.
 
This production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opened to rave reviews and sell-out business at the Wales Millennium Centre in July 2009 following a record-breaking 954 performances at the London Palladium.
 
The Sound of Music originally premiered on Broadway in 1959, when it won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show first opened in London in 1961 with a revival in 1981, both productions having record-breaking runs. The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Oscars, including Best Picture.
 
Tickets for The Sound of Music, at HMT from Wednesday, March 24 to Saturday, April 17 are available online at www.boxofficeaberdeen.com, by phone at 01224 641122 and at Aberdeen Box Office at the Music Hall, His Majesty’s Theatre and The Lemon Tree.