Bronxville HS Actors Visited by Kym Karath from The Sound of Music

Natalie Arenzon's blonde pigtails bounced and she trembled with excitement as actress Kym Karath signed her script. She shifted her weight from sneaker to sneaker, giggling and smiling. 

In just a month, Arenzon will take the stage as Gretl Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music." She could hardly believe the surreality of one Gretl meeting another.

Kym Karath, isn't just any actress from another "Sound of Music" revival. She was Gretl in the Academy Award Best Picture-winning, 1965 film version of "The Sound of Music," the version most people immediately recall and still watch on television.

At just 5 years old, Karath played the youngest member of the Von Trapp family in the film that featured Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

Just moments before, Karath's eyes welled with tears as she sat quietly in the back of the Bronxville High School auditorium rapt with fascination watching Natalie and the other young performers practice the song  "Climb Every Mountain" for their March production of "The Sound of Music."

"They're so good," said Karath. "That got me."

 Karath was in Bronxville because of enthusiastic parent, MSNBC anchor Alex Witt. When Witt heard that a "Sound of Music" production was in the works,  she  got in touch with her high school classmate Kym Karath. Karath was delighted and agreed to come.

Karath, who lives in Malibu and currently produces a show called "Bouncing Back" about overcoming adversity, answered questions about her experience making the iconic film and talking with students for a good portion of the afternoon.

Julie Andrews? "She is as nice and as lovely as she appears to be," said Karath.

The worst experience? "The boat tipping scene," said Karath. Julie Andrews promised to catch the terrified Karath, who could not swim. But after multiple takes, Karath said she was cold and miserable.

"If you look closely," she said, "you could see my expression of absolute terror."

Karath said she had vivid memories of her experiences making the movie and remains close friends with members of the cast.

"My favorite memories are just of the experience of being in Salzburg."  Karath and her mother spent three months in Austria filming exterior shots, and she recalled the elaborate sets and smelly pig farm where they shot many of the scenes.

BHS theater director Peter Royal said he chose "The Sound of Music" based on the current talent pool. Last year, the drama department graduated 10 senior boys. This year, Royal has 10 senior girls ready to take the spotlight.

"We have the voices for it," Royal said. The soaring melodies and grand scale harmonies are an excellent match for the cast's talents, he said.

When Royal realized this year was the 45th anniversary of the film, he was surprised that Bronxville was the only one of 65 area high school productions  that chose the show.

Originally produced for Broadway in 1959, the story of the real Von Trapp family was the last musical by the legendary Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  According to the website Wikipedia, their works collectively garnered 34 Tony awards, 15 Oscars, 2 Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

"My only advice to them will be to have fun and don't fall off the stage," said  Kym Karath.

PERFORMANCES:  

• Thursday, March 10 - 5 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12 - 7 p.m.  
  
• Sunday, March 13 -  2p.m.   

To inquire about tickets, call (914) 787-0317