This year, BPHS’s Music Department is staging “The Sound of Music” as their spring musical March 12-15.

The iconic musical is best known for its 1965 film version starring Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp. The film was an instant success, so much so it held the title as the highest grossing film for five consecutive years. The movie made $159.3 million, which roughly equates to $1.283 billion today when adjusted for inflation.

The movie takes place in 1938 Austria and follows Maria, a woman who accepts a job as a governess to a large family of children. Maria falls in love with both the children, and their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. The story follows the family as they learn to sing and gain notoriety as a group.

The movie, however, is not all fiction. It is based on a book written by the real Maria von Trapp titled “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers,” published in 1949. While the book encompasses the lighthearted story of the singing family, it also illustrates the more devastating aspects of the family’s journey.

In real life, Georg (Captain) von Trapp was a national hero to Austria due to his heroic feats during World War I. He married Agathe Whitehead and had seven children with her before she tragically passed away from scarlet fever in 1922. Heartbroken by her death, the family moved to Salzburg, Austria, a town about 200 miles west of Vienna.

Maria Kutschera was a girl who was raised an atheist but turned to religion after attending a Palm Sunday service during college. Because of her spiritual awakening, she then entered the Benedictine Abbey of Nonnberg in Salzburg after she graduated from college. Maria, however, was accustomed to exercise and fresh air that she was no longer receiving, so her health began to falter.

When Georg approached the Reverend Mother of the Abbey seeking a tutor for his sick daughter, he was introduced to Maria due to her knowledge in teaching she gained in college and because she was sick, so this opportunity would provide her a break. Maria was set to stay with the Trapp Family for only ten months, and she would return to the Abbey once her time was up.

After months of caring for the children, Maria formed an incredibly strong bond with the family. She even began to spend a lot of time singing with the family. Soon enough, Georg found himself in love with Maria and asked her to stay with him meaning she would not go back to the Abbey. She agreed and they were wed in 1927, and the pair later had three more children together.

Although the family was relatively wealthy, they lost most of their wealth in the worldwide depression that took place in the 1930s. Since one of the family’s hobbies was singing, Maria figured the passion could be turned into a profession. Although Georg was hesitant to put his family on stage, they all gave in and performed at the Salzburg Music Festival in 1936, where their act was a success.

The Family now had another form of income, but their plight was not yet over. The Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, and the Trapps loathed their reign. One of Georg’s acts of defiance was refusing to fly a Nazi flag and denying the request to sing at Hitler’s birthday party. The Nazis were also extremely anti-religious, which went against the beliefs of the Trapps. If the family chose to stay in Austria, the Nazis promised them more fame as a singing group and a new naval opportunity for Georg. Against these promising opportunities, the family fled Austria.

They traveled between Europe and America for a few years before they finally bought a farm in Vermont during the 1940s. Although they were frequently on tour, during their downtime, the family ran a music camp on their property. After George passed away in 1947, Maria spent the rest of her life tending to the family lodge, before she also passed away in 1987.

The Trapp family’s legacy lives on today through “The Sound of Music,” as it is still one of the most popular musicals of all time. Additionally, the Trapp Family Lodge is open for not only rooming but also for Trapp family history tours.

Come and see “The Sound of Music’s” iconic history acted out on stage in the BPHS Auditorium from March 12-15 at 7 p.m.