SRJC and SSU team up to present 'The Sound of Music'

The stage at the Evert Person Theatre on the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park will come alive with “The Sound of Music” this weekend, and the production itself promises to be an interesting duet of sorts.

Originally scheduled to open in the Burbank Auditorium at the Santa Rosa Junior College, where a major renovation has taken longer than anticipated, the show now has become a historic collaboration between the two schools.

“We didn’t know then where it would lead,” said Kerry Loewen, dean of Arts and Humanities at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he’s been in that role for the past three years. “I just thought, let’s get people together.”

The new production of “The Sound of Music” marks the first time the two schools have joined forces on the same project.

At least one student is already on that track. Michael Coury Murdock, who plays the leading male role of Capt. von Trapp, is completing his A.A. in theater at SRJC (Santa Rosa Junior College) and plans to transfer to SSU (Sonoma State University) in January to study music, said the show’s director, Laura Downing-Lee at SRJC.

The show’s technical crew, mostly made up of SRJC students, also includes two SSU students, she added. The cast features 33 student actors, including four children age 13 and younger.

The Person Theatre makes an inviting home for the show.

“We’re so grateful to be at SSU,” Downing-Lee said. “We hope it will give our students who are considering a transfer later a chance to get to know the university.”

“The Sound of Music” runs through Dec. 8 at Evert B. Person Theatre, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.