Almost as soon as it started, the excitement of opening night was tamped out.
The cast and crew of Agape Theater Company were celebrating the first performance of “The Sound of Music” on March 13, 2020. The show went off flawlessly, as the months of hard work came together in the beloved musical. Plans were in place for seven more shows over the coming two weekends.
Then everything went dark.
“It was a terrible shock. We had worked so hard, as we looked forward to doing that particular show,” said Kathy Phipps, executive director of Agape Theater Company.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closing of theaters, meaning Agape had no place to perform. Officials and cast members were crestfallen that their hard work would result in such a short time in the spotlight.
But with some creative adjustments, and tweaks to the cast list, “The Sound of Music” will go on. Agape will be finishing the show’s run June 3 to 6 at the Basile Theater at the Historic Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis, allowing closure to more than a year of uncertainty.
“It really seemed worth the effort, because the production staff and the cast and crew put so much into telling this beautiful story. We still wanted to tell this beautiful story,” Phipps said. “We love the story and respect the story so much, it was worth the sacrifices to put it on the back burner and tell it again.”
Agape Theater Company, based in Greenwood, was created to meet the educational needs of performers who want a rigorous training in a welcoming, faith-based atmosphere. The troupe has tackled everything from Shakespeare to Gilbert and Sullivan to Stephen Sondheim, with past shows including “Les Miserables” and “Newsies.”
Performers of all experience levels are welcome to audition. The idea is to provide more opportunities for young actors on the southside.
“The Sound of Music” is a musical that Phipps and other leaders at Agape had set their sights on for years.
“I had wanted to direct it for years. I had tried to get the rights for it in three different seasons, but I had always been declined because it was on national tour,” Phipps said. “When I finally got the contract for the show, I was thrilled that we could do it.”
In the weeks following the pandemic shutdown, Agape leaders and representatives with the Athenaeum had thought it would be possible to finish the run of the show in late summer, when it was assumed the virus would be more under control and theaters had opened back up.
But the pandemic kept its grip on central Indiana, nixing that plan.
“I remember thinking at that time, ‘Does this mean it’s all over?’ It seemed like, at that point, it was all or nothing. Either we finished the show in August, or we said goodbye to it,” Phipps said.
So much has gone into the show, though, that they didn’t want to abandon the remaining performances unless they had to. They brainstormed possible ways they could still stage it, considering different venues and options to safely do the show.
One idea bubbled up: they could wait a little bit longer.
“We prayed about it, and felt that it was a good thing to go forward at a safer time,” Phipps said.
The decision to push the production back to June had consequences. Some of the original cast members were unable to be part of the delayed show, so their roles had to be recast.
Still, new performers auditioned, and those roles were filled. In January, the revamped cast was picking back up with rehearsals, in person, though distanced and masked.
“As things progressed and people felt safer, and it got warmer outside, people felt more comfortable standing closer to each other when we sing,” Phipps said. “We’re following all of the CDC guidelines, and all of the requirements that Indianapolis has. But it’s been so nice just being in person.”
Seeing the production come together, and allowing those who have been involved with it since early 2020 to get closure again, has been a special experience.
As the cast was preparing “The Sound of Music” before the pandemic shut everything down, Phipps would take time during rehearsals to read from the memoir of the von Trapp family, helping the young actors understand the sacrifices and challenges the family faced that inspired the musical’s story.
Though those lessons came before anyone realized what the pandemic would entail, the impact perhaps resonates more today than back then, Phipps said.
“This story of hope needs to be told even more now than it did in March of 2020,” she said. “Each of us has faced such challenges. People have lost jobs, they’ve lost friends and relatives, they’ve lost the ability to gather as a community. This is a story that will really speak to people.”
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“The Sound of Music”
Who: Agape Theater Company, a Greenwood-based theater troupe
When: 7:30 p.m. June 3 through 6; 2:30 p.m. June 5 and 6.
Where: Basile Theatre at the Historic Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis
Tickets: Advance general admission, $10 for adults, $5 for children 11 and under; $12 adults and $7 children at the door. VIP table seating $15, or $17 at the door.
Information: thelittleboxoffice.com/agape
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