We all know the story, the songs and even the names of every character in this beloved Rogers & Hammerstein musical. The Alhambra Theatre & Dining will be opening the show on August 12, running through September 26. Fleet Landing is the sponsor for this family-oriented show, which is already almost sold out. The longest running dinner theater in the United States, the Alhambra is located at 12000 Beach Blvd in Jacksonville, FL.

The Sound of Music story is based on Maria von Trapp's memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, published in 1949 to help promote her family's singing group following the death of her husband Georg in 1947 Hollywood producers expressed interest in purchasing the title only, but Maria refused, wanting her entire story to be told. In 1956, German producer Wolfgang Liebeneiner purchased the film rights for $9,000 (equivalent to $86,000 in 2020), hired George Hurdalek and Herbert Reinecker to write the screenplay, and Franz Grothe to supervise the soundtrack, which consisted of traditional Austrian folk songs. The Trapp Family was released in West Germany on October 9, 1956 and became a major success.

In 1956, Paramount Pictures purchased the United States film rights, intending to produce an English-language version with Audrey Hepburn as Maria. The Sound of Music stage musical opened on November 16, 1959 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City and ran on Broadway for 1,443 performances, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In June 1960, Twentieth Century Fox purchased the film adaptation rights to the stage musical for $1.25 million (equivalent to $10,900,000 in 2020) against ten percent of the gross. The film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, was nominated for 10 Oscars and walked away with five, including Best Picture. 

Said Alhambra Managing Partner Craig Smith, "This is the perfect time for The Sound of Music. It's show about love, about acceptance and about doing the right things. Mostly, though, it's great entertainment and we have a great cast to show it off. We're looking forward to the opening."

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