.

"The Sound of Music" will be presented by Ross Music Theatre and M&M Productions July 30. 31. August 1, 6, 7 & 8 at Reinhart Auditorium in Merrillville High School. This production marks the 40th anniversary of "The Sound of Music." Although Ross Music Theatre does bring back some of it's musicals from time to time, the last time, and only time they produced the Sound of Music was 31 years ago. The children that played the Von Trap family back then are almost all now in their 40s.

The RMT/M&M mission is to give everyone that wants a chance to be part of a professional quality show an opportunity to do so. As Melinda Reinhart choreographer says, "We try to find something for everyone. While at the same time, we want to offer the community a show on par with something they may see in Chicago without the hefty price tag."

Technical director Mike Reinhart says he feels the success and the high quality of these shows is due to the enormous amount of talent they have in their cast and crew. Mike continued, "To start with, we have everyone's mentor--Jerauld J. Reinhart. He is a graduate of the I.U. School of Music where, along with music, he learned set design, stage direction, and lighting from some of the biggest names in opera at that time. He has been putting on musicals in this area for over 30 years. He is the heart and soul of all these productions." Mike went on to say, "We have so many people involved that have music degrees from some of the best music schools in the country. Add that to the people we have with theatre degrees and you have a tremendous base of talent to start from. We also have some adults with a lot of stage experience and some very very talented high school students from all over the area. Anyone that wants to learn about stage and music couldn't pay for a better education.