The hills are alive: Homeland residents celebrate “Sound of Music” anniversary

Miniatures of bright copper kettles, white dresses with blue satin, warm woolen mittens, and wild geese flying with the moon on their wings hung from the chandeliers of Homeland’s Main Dining Room.

Edelweiss and Austrian flag centerpieces decorated the tables. Brown paper packages tied with string were stacked by the piano.

It wasn’t hard to guess the theme of the Board of Managers’ annual spring party.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the premiere of “The Sound of Music,” the Board of Managers turned the dining room into an Austrian dreamland of goatherd marionettes and mountain vistas.

The Board of Managers is the unique, all-women volunteer group devoted to maintaining Homeland’s renowned home-like feel. They lead redecorating projects, deck the halls for the holidays, support upkeep and maintenance, and host quarterly parties that residents eagerly anticipate.

The parties are always themed and festive. Past events have celebrated sock hops of the 1950s and brought casino nights directly to residents.

The “Sound of Music” party idea seemed like a natural fit, full of music, food, thematic décor, and memories. Crisp apple strudels and pretzels were on the menu, plus lemonade served in cups festooned with musical notes. Child-sized Bavarian dresses hung on the walls. One staff member wore genuine lederhosen. Another dressed as a nun.

BOM member Joyce Thomas often spearheads the décor choices, using her knack for design and a basement full of props collected over years of organizing high school proms.

“We all remember ‘Sound of Music,’” she said. “It’s 60 years old. All these things bring it back.”

This afternoon, the windows, normally draped in drapes that the Board of Managers had installed for the dining room’s most recent redecoration, were hung with an exact replica of the green and white damask curtains that Maria turned into play clothes for the Von Trapp children.

Sarah Pugh, who played Maria von Trapp in Allenberry Playhouse’s 2024 production of “The Sound of Music,” provided the entertainment. Rehearsing for the Homeland appearance reminded her how much she loves the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein songs.

“This is my favorite musical,” Pugh said. “My dream role was Maria, and I was lucky enough to get cast in it and play in it.”

Between songs, Pugh shared interesting factoids about the difference between the movie and the stage musical – for instance, that the onstage Maria doesn’t sing “My Favorite Things” with the children but with the Mother Abbess.

Singing for the Homeland residents, Pugh added, “is an honor. It’s a pleasure.”

When she stepped up to sing, residents mouthed the words along with her, singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” and “Do, a deer, a female deer.”

The theme’s popularity was evident in the standing-room-only crowd. Residents filled the seats, and staff members watched the fun from the doorway and hall.

Resident Margie Welby recalled that much of the movie was filmed on location in Austria.

“This is very nice,” she said of the party. “I loved Julie Andrews’ singing. I went to see it when the movie came out. I saw it in Europe because I lived in Germany.”

Margie’s tablemates included Steve and Sue Valoczki.

“I liked the Germanic part of it because it made me think of home,” said Steve, who immigrated to the U.S. from his birthplace in Germany at 5 years old. “The music is excellent. It’s a favorite.”

“We’re trying to figure out where Steve’s lederhosen is,” joked Sue.

As the son of a Hungarian soldier who rebelled against his conscription into the German army during World War II, Steve recognized that “The Sound of Music” has a dark side — one that the spirit of the von Trapps vanquishes in the end.

“It’s not a happy story,” he said.

“Back then, it was a matter of survival,” said Sue.

The party, she added, was a lovely effort by the Board of Managers.

“They did a fantastic job,” she said. “I love the curtains. Somebody really put it all together.”