By Lauren Campbell, Staff Writer
Originally Published March 12, 2024
Did you know Saint Vincent College (SVC) is celebrating 40 years of being a coeducational college in 2024? In 1983, SVC officially allowed women to attend the college. Now, 40 years later, SVC’s own theater group, The Players, celebrates the anniversary by putting on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final play, The Sound of Music.
Greggory Brandt, director of Theater Operations, said he chose The Sound of Music for this year’s spring musical to honor the 40th anniversary because of the musical’s strong female characters. The Players performed four shows from Feb. 22 to 25, and Brandt had high praise for the performances and the outcome.
“The Sound of Music was my most attended production in my ten-year history directing the students at SVC!” Brandt said. “Was it the best? I'd say if not, it's pretty close. This was a very special senior class and cast of students, who performed their roles with strong conviction and grasped the passionate material very well.”
“The show peaked at exactly the right time,” Brandt said.“Once the students are comfortable and have memorized their lines and staging, a natural progression takes place. It also doesn't hurt to have large audiences in attendance to perform for. We experienced the largest crowds in 10 years over a four-show weekend since I started directing the Players in 2015. I'd say the performing arts are needed now more than ever in the development of today's students. The art of ‘doing’ is extremely powerful and its benefits are endless.”
Speaking of strong female characters, lead actress Anna Doelling, senior biology major, played Maria and has nothing but gratitude for the Players and her time performing here at SVC. She has always loved The Sound of Music, and “My Favorite Things” was the first song she ever performed on a stage. Because Doelling is a senior, The Sound of Music is her last performance with the Players.
“Getting this role and just being in The Sound of Music meant so, so much to me,” Doelling said. “And the final ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ idea of going forward to have your own life after college, after theater, after everything, was really, really emotional for me. Even when I stepped on the stage Sunday to sing the opening song the last time, I got a little choked up.”
Doelling wanted to thank everyone in the theater department, especially director Brandt and her fellow actors and actresses she shared the stage with.
“You can’t have the stage all to yourself. You’re sharing the stage with everyone from the leading man to ensemble, everyone makes a part of it and makes the experience so great. So I’d just say, the biggest thank you to everyone for just making my college theater experience go out on such an amazing thing,” Doelling said. “I’m really blessed for what I’m able to experience.”
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