"Sound of Music" Sing Along Very Entertaining

It's an interesting experience. When watching a classic film such as "The Sound of Music", have you ever found yourself thinking about somebody else in another part of the world doing the same thing at the same time? Or have you ever thought that telling somebody of a film like this one will elicit a confused response, as if they have no clue what you're talking about? Not only are there people out there who enjoy this film as I do, but there are people who have gone to lengths to put on events such as this one.

When I arrived with my family and friends to the Fifth Avenue theater in downtown Seattle, I had no idea what to expect. Once we showed our tickets at the door, we were given a plastic bag with various items in it, including, a swatch of fabric, two double-sided cards, a small noisemaker, and a twig of Edelweiss. Now I was really scared, intrigued, excited...there were some mixed emotions going through me. But once we were in the theater, everything was made clear. We began our night with a costume contest. This being our first sing along experience, we went dressed as ourselves. But once there, one almost felt like dropping to their knees in prayer in the presense of so many nuns. Those who dressed up came in everything from the obvious nun or lederhosen, to the more obscure marinettes. Two ladies even came as "the solution to the problem that is Maria" (remember the song "How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria"?)After the costume contest had finished and the winner crowned (a man dressed as a goat herder), our emcee, clad in lederhosen, took the stage to prepare us for the ensuing insanity. We were taken through the meaning of the various items in our bag. We were also told that we were encouraged to comment during the movie. How cool is that? How many times have you gone to a movie, and had to bite your tongue out of fear that you'd be asked to leave? Well, comment we did. We booed. We cheered. We even barked (Rolf...Rolf...grrr...Rolf, Rolf). We sang along to "Do-Re-Mi" complete with hand gestures. It was as if we were in the audience at a taping of "The Jerry Springer" show, except what we were watching was decidedly less trashy.

Finally, in that scene where Maria and Captain Von Trapp profess their love for one another, the fireworks began...literally. The noisemakers that were given to us were to use at the first moment that they kissed on screen, perhaps to represent the electricity of such a moment. However, they were somewhat abused. Everytime something was merely suggested, a look exchanged, or even so much as a romantic subtext mentioned, a "POP" could be heard in one corner of the theater.

When we left the theater, we left with a feeling of accomplishment. We had just helped the Von Trapp family escape the Nazis. Any doubt of young children not being able to sit still through the nearly three hour film was put to rest. This was one of the best times I've had seeing a movie in recent years. No doubt, a very memorable experience, and one that I would do again.