FLEMING ISLAND – Clay County audiences can see the von Trapp family and “Do-Re-Mi” at The Island Theater when “The Sound of Music” is performed during a 10-day run.

The famed Rodgers and Hammerstein musical detailed the plight of a housekeeper and a large Austrian family escaping the rise of Nazi Germany in the late-1930s. The 1965 film adaptation, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Academy Awards. The cultural reach of the musical is wide-ranging from jazz icon John Coltrane to a live TV event with country music star Carrie Underwood.

For The Island Theater’s adaptation, director Caleb Wheeler spoke on a few of his favorite things about the show, which runs June 17-26.

“There are slight differences to both productions there,” he said. “We’re adding some movie songs into the stage show."

Auditions drew about 75 people, Wheeler said. The casting involved a variety of ages with a cast of 45 people. “The Sound of Music” is a longer musical, some runtimes of the musical total almost three hours. There’s a time crunch and a lot to learn, Wheeler said.

“Before I started, it seemed really daunting, but it came together because people have some familiarity with the story whether it’s on the stage or the movie,” Wheeler said. “It’s really been a joy to direct and put together.”

Wheeler emphasized the plight of the von Trapps is nonfiction, based on Maria von Trapp’s memoir. Their tense exit from Austria involved tenacity and courage, which is what Wheeler wanted audiences to take away.

“I told the cast before we began we need to remember it’s a true story. Though Broadway and Hollywood took a lot of liberties with the story, it’s a story from a time where we can’t fathom what it was like in Europe back then,” Wheeler said. “They relied on each other to guide them through a horrible time in history.”

About three weeks out, the cast is practicing the material, working out the kinks. They’ve finished blocking, or the finalization of the performers’ exact positions. The live audience on opening night is a different proposition from an audience a few shows in, though Wheeler coaches the performers to not get too comfortable.

I think of the show as a way to get better. When people come to opening night (performers) are still getting their feet wet and for some, it's their first time in front of an audience,” Wheeler said. “The show gets more refined, but we tell them not to let their guard down.”

Tickets are available at theislandtheater.com.