Kilrush Choral Society Presents Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music

Now, if you're looking for something uplifting and musical,

this month, the Killrush Coral Society

is bringing a true classic to the stage.

The sound of music will be performed

at Killrush Community School from the 7 to the 11th of April.

And I'm joined now by the director,

Gerrush, and member of the Society Geraldine Keating.

Good morning to both of you.

Thanks for coming in.

Good morning, thank you.

Appreciate it.

This is, you can't go wrong, I guess,

with the sound of music, Gerr.

It's such a beloved classic.

What is it about it that you think still resonates

with audiences today?

Oh, gosh.

Well, I mean, as you say, it is a very beloved musical.

I suppose we all watched it since we were children,

and we bring those memories forward with us.

Mind you, one thing that maybe that we

are concentrating on this year, that maybe hasn't

been explored that much by directors,

is maybe the darker themes that are underneath

the charming love story.

The charming love story is still there,

but there are a lot of darker themes, actually,

in the sound of music.

Oh, totally, I mean, let's face it.

There's Nazis in the film, so.

Yes, exactly.

And so with the state of the world today,

we kind of felt a bit incumbent on us to kind of...

It's an apt choice.

To kind of pose the questions, if you like, you know?

OK, yeah, that's a good...

Intriguing reason Geraldine for choosing it,

that it's kind of timeless.

If you know what, it's around since the mid-60s,

but it feels like one of those ones

that's just been around forever.

But history repeating itself and all of that,

it is time to be to be running it now.

Would you talk to me?

Yeah.

Yes, absolutely.

A bunch of Robert De Niro impression.

Yes, it is time.

It definitely time be with whatever it is going on in the world,

but there's also an uplifting part to the music

and the children and the songs which many people know.

I've been going to the musical sizes for years

and just decided this year, maybe,

that I should try to become a member, which I have.

And I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is very challenging, time-consuming,

but if you love it and you have an interest in the arts and music,

then there is no issue and you're able to give it the time,

but you have to be able to give it the time.

Great learning, experience, wonderful people,

wonderful staff crew, just really good.

And tell us a bit about who you are going to be playing, George.

I'm, first of all, in the nun's course,

and then I am the Baroness Elberfeld,

who is an Austrian aristocrat, which suits me, don't you?

The role you were born to play.

Absolutely.

I mean, George just plays me perfectly.

As soon as he saw Geraldine come through the door,

he said she has the air of an Austrian Baroness about her.

A casting director.

I mean, for something like this, how big is the cast?

I mean, even aside from the crew and people

creating backdrops and so on, it must be serious numbers involved.

Yeah, this is a very big community project, really.

I'm really delighted about that in Karot.

On the stage, we have about 40 to 45, 46 in the cast.

And they range in ages from, actually,

our youngest was four when she began.

She's now the great age of five.

And I don't know if I should really mention the upper age,

but it's...

You can mention the age.

You don't have to attach it to anyone in the video.

It's not.

Well, it's around the 87.

Oh, OK.

So from that, and actually, to see everybody,

just getting on so well together and playing off one another,

it's absolutely fantastic.

In fact, the five-year-old, she's vying for my job.

Yeah.

Turn you what to do?

Well, in the nicest possible way, actually.

She just knows.

She knows where everybody should be.

And where every line, she knows every line.

She's like a little sponge.

So I'll be lucky to have a job next year, I think.

Yeah.

Is it a hard-taken direction from a five-year-old early?

Tony, it was done with your lines.

I know it is harder taking direction from the five-year-old

plus to my left here.

The gruesome, too.

Well, you have to be, actually, you have to have a thick skin.

You really have to love what you're doing.

You want to want what you're doing.

But Jair is brilliant, and Jair has the overall vision.

So we have to understand that she has the overall vision,

because you say, move to the left, move to the right.

No, no, no, don't.

Don't there.

Come back here, move that chair, whatever.

And then when it's all done, the scene is perfect.

And you know that, but you go through the,

it's like having a baby.

You have the pains.

But afterwards, they tell me you don't remember a thing,

and you enjoy the show.

So that's the truth.

There's a comparison.

That's the truth.

But no, she has the vision.

And someone has the, she has the total encompassed vision.

And that's what makes it.

So you have to go through those growing pains

to get to that vision.

And our musical director, Catherine Leighi,

a Tobin, is out of this world with the piano.

Great patience, but she knows exactly what's wrong.

If someone doesn't sing or someone even

takes a breath out of the place, she knows she can hear.

So she's spot on, and it's a pleasure

to listen to it with the piano.

And then our wonderful musical director

from Canada, Tony, a gorgeous person as well.

Who I think has been in Machu,

previously, Gerr, involved in previous productions.

That's exactly right.

We sat here last year of both of us, yes.

But she has the band called Today, The Orchestra,

in a 12 o'clock.

So there's dedication and fairness.

Yeah, yeah, we were, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, it's great to have her in Catherine, of course.

I mean, put in all the months of work.

There's actually, it's a very rare thing.

So I really would like to say it and pay her tribute

because there are two six-part female choruses, six-part.

It is astonishing.

Female usually sing an SSA, three parts.

This is really an absolutely incredible sound.

Gerr is part of that.

So, yeah, it is, yeah.

I can rush, I suppose.

I'm originally a Le Hinch woman.

So I can say it without kind of people saying,

well, you're boasting about your own.

They're incredibly musical.

There is a musical talent in West Claire

that is, I've found, when I came to work there

years and years ago, and have enjoyed ever since.

And, yeah, it's an extraordinary talent that they have.

They have a voice.

Yeah, it's beautiful.

So, well worth listening to and coming out to here, honestly.

I'd say plenty of people are going to be heading that way

from the 70 to the 11th.

And, you know, Gerr, as Gerr mentioned,

is elements of the story of the sound of music

that will resonate with what we're experiencing today.

But what for you, you know, when you think of the sound

of music, I mean, the story of Marie and the Von Trapp family

so iconic, what do you love most about the sound of music?

Is it the fact that he's musical?

Is it the narrative?

Is it the relationship between the characters?

I love the relationship and the love story

and the way it ended.

And especially the music, music, because I actually

heard that at the very beginning, we're back in the 60s

when I was in secondary school.

And we got bust down.

I was a boarder in Kylarsch.

We got bust down to Kylke to see it.

And I remember the theater and everything

and the darkness of it and the non-swatching

us to make sure we weren't doing anything bad in the back

role, which two of us were.

But that's for another story, another story.

Yeah, absolutely.

But that's what I remember about it.

And just the sound of smooching.

Exactly, exactly.

And it did go on.

The film or the smooching?

The smooching.

The smooching, of course.

The smooching.

But we got through it and then ever knew.

And we got through it.

So so romantic, right?

Well, we'll nip that one of the boat

before it gets any bigger, more controversial.

Check out Kylarsch Coral Society,

bring me the sound of music to the Kylarsch

Community School stage from the seventh to the 11th

of April.

Gerset paid the door.

Can people get tickets beforehand?

How does it work?

Yeah.

Well, we have booking through geek tickets and data IE,

I think it is.

And also no problem, I'd say, on the door.

Although it is booking, you know,

our bookings are pretty good.

But there are still plenty of tickets

to be had for each night.

All right, get moving, folks.

Get moving as right, yeah.

OK, brilliant.

And is it on each night from the 7th to the 11th?

It is, it's on at 8 o'clock, because 8 o'clock,

pretty well sharp.

And yeah, it's, I won't say it's a long show,

but it's a big show, the sound of music.

By comparison to last year's, it is twice the production

really in a way.

OK, people are going to get their money's worth

by the same service.

We wish you the very best.

With it, as they say, break a leg and all that,

but not literally.

Gerrus, the director and cast member, Geraldine Keating,

the Austrian Baroness.

Thank you very much to both of you for joining us

on the show and hope it goes really, really well.