The Sound of Music, a beloved Thanksgiving weekend sing-along event, will return to The Tull Family Theater on Friday, Nov. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 26, both at 10:30 a.m. Those attending in costume will receive complimentary popcorn.
Screenings of the 3-hour film will have a 20-minute intermission. Tickets are at the special event price of $15 each.
Leading the audience as they follow the bouncing ball on screen will be Pittsburgh celebrity Phat Man Dee, a prolific performer consistently chosen as the Best Jazz Act by Pittsburgh City Paper readers. A cabaret vocalist, bandleader, videographer, poet and occasional cellist, she is also a music educator, teaching voice to youth. Phat Man Dee performs about 100 events a year in theaters, educational facilities, private events, nightclubs and festivals. When not teaching or performing, the artist serves as social media manager for the Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit.
A lifelong fan of the film, like multiple generations enamored with the The Sound of Music, Phat Man Dee offers her perspective: “As a Jewish child, I always appreciated how the characters refused to go with the Nazis, and fled their mansion and their entire life rather than bend to the will of fascism.”
The 1965 classic “underlines how the strength of togetherness, love and sense of community could prevail over the horrors of war,” says Salzburgerland.com, a website dedicated to the region where the movie, based on a true story, was filmed.
With her portrayal of Maria, governess to the seven von Trapp children, Julie Andrews won millions of hearts worldwide. Her dashing co-star, Christopher Plummer, also rose to fame, becoming the only Canadian to win Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards. Unfortunately, he passed in 2021, before a reunion of the film’s cast for Andrews’ Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
Andrews shared her surprise at the strength and persistence of audience response to the film released nearly six decades ago. “It stayed in people’s consciousness all this time,” she shared with CNN. “It made a big, big dent in people’s psyche.”
Phat Man Dee agrees: “As a musician, these songs have inspired generations of artists to interpret them across multiple genres but the originals still hold their magic. On Thanksgiving weekend, we’re going to ‘climb every mountain!’ ”
Space for the sing-alongs is limited; tickets are on sale now and expected to sell out, so please act quickly to avoid disappointment. https://www.thetullfamilytheater.org/films/sing-along-the-sound-of-music/