Saxony Lutheran's production of "The Sound of Music" is a family affair

You could forgive Jacquelyn Kiefner for having a bit of an identity crisis.

The 14-year-old freshman at Saxony Lutheran High School plays both Liesl and Louisa von Trapp alternately in the high school drama club's production of "The Sound of Music."

"It did get confusing for a while; the names are so similar," Jacquelyn said. "I learned to keep them straight after a while."

You think that's confusing? Jacquelyn's sister plays a sister -- uh, make that a mother -- in the Saxony production this weekend at Perry Park Center in Perryville, Mo. Paige Kiefner, a Saxony senior and seasoned actress at 18, is Mother Abbess, who sends Maria, the play's heroine, from her convent into the lives of the von Trapp children and their Nazi-defying father, Capt. Georg von Trapp.

"I'm definitely not typecast," Paige said. "It's a very difficult part, especially the singing. Balancing the vocal techniques and wanting to sound 50 years older is pretty hard to do."

Paige and Jacquelyn are among three sets of siblings in the cast of nearly 30, fitting for a musical about family, especially brothers and sisters.

Paige says it feels natural performing in a musical with her sister -- it "just seems like she belongs there."

And this family act features little sibling rivalry, said director Tammy Petzoldt. Her daughter, Alicia, a Saxony senior, plays Maria, while son Landon is cast as Rolf, Liesl's love interest and Nazi-seduced messenger. Their little sister, Tabitha, 10, plays the youngest von Trapp, Gretl.

"It brings us really close together," Alicia said of the musical. "There are so many family members in it, but we all kind of include everybody as a family."

Ben Spiecker, a Saxony sophomore, plays Friedrich, second-oldest of the von Trapp children. He got his older brother, Billy Spiecker, a Saxony senior, involved in theater last year. Billy has a small role in this production, but he likes the fact that he gets to walk into a room yelling. Ben, like his character, isn't overly impressed about being in a musical with his brother.

"It's not really any different than being in a play without a sibling," he said. "It's just another cast member with whom I happen to be in a play."

For Jacquelyn, the performance is one more chance to hang out with her sister before Paige heads East to college in August.

"We're spending a lot more time together," Jacquelyn said. "We are learning to get along within that time."

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

If you go

What: "The Sound of Music," performed by the Saxony Lutheran drama club

When: 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Perry Park Center in Perryville, Mo.