The Hills Fill My Heart With the Sound of Group Yodeling
Have the Hollywood Hills ever been quite this alive with the sound of music? On a June Saturday evening, 15,000 guests packed the Hollywood Bowl for the “Sing-a-Long Sound of Music.” Revelers came dressed to trill in costume, many toting picnic baskets packed with wine, strudel and, yes, Bavarian pretzels. As the 1965 film was projected onto the stage-wide big screen, hundreds of nuns and alpine-outfitted Volk shamelessly belted out classics such as “Do-Re-Mi” and “So Long, Farewell.” Party poppers burst as Maria and Capt. Von Trapp embraced, and plastic sprigs of edelweiss from goodie bags waved like lighters at a rock concert. We spoke with a few devotees.
*
Vicki Davis, Laguna Beach, 41
How many times have you seen “SOM”?
25 to 30.
Favorite song?
“Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”
Which character are you most like?
Maria, because I’ve always wanted to be a nun.
Take away any life lessons from “SOM”?
Sing to make you happy.
What are lederhosen? How do you spell it?
It’s like a little shorts outfit.
L-i-e-d-e-r-h-o-s-e-n.
*
Greg Thorneycroft, Los Angeles, 49
How’d you get those snowflakes to stay on your eyelashes?
Patience, and lots of eyelash glue.
How many times have you seen “SOM”?
About 10.
Favorite song?
“My Favorite Things.” Which character are you most like?
I don’t think I’m much like any of them.
Take away any life lessons from “SOM”?
That you can get through anything.
What are lederhosen? How do you spell it?
Suspendered little outfits.
L-i-e-d-e-r-h-o-s-e-n.
*
Gina Velez, Whittier, 10
How many times have you seen “SOM”?
Over 100. A lot.
Favorite song?
“So Long, Farewell” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”
Know all the words to every song?
Yes.
Which character are you most like?
Liesl, because I met her and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I’m in her “Letters to Liesl” book.
Take away any life lessons
from “SOM”?
It showed me to care. And it taught me about World War II.
What are lederhosen? How do you spell it?
Those little overall things that the boys wore. L-e-e-d-e-r-h-o-z-e-n.
*
Jennifer Basile, Lake Elizabeth, 35-ish
What are you supposed to be?
I am a few of my favorite things.
How many times have you seen “SOM”?
At least a dozen.
Favorite song?
The one with the marionettes, the yodeling one.
Which character are you most like?
Maria, because she had a wicked and wild past and now she’s a good girl.
Take away any life lessons from “SOM”?
Sing. I love to sing. What are lederhosen?
How do you spell it?
Straps that hold up the boys’ shorts. Or some type of food?
L-e-d-e-r-h-o-s-e-n.