A THEATRE group has announced the cast of its latest musical production which opens at Darlington Civic Theatre in April.

Darlington Operatic Society, which is bringing The Sound of Music to the stage, has cast Beth Stobbart as Maria, the young nun sent to act as governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp, played by Julian Cound.

Newcomer, Natasha Spence, will play Baroness Schraeder, while fellow new face, Rebecca Pedlow, is  cast as Mother Abbess.

After two audition sessions, two sets of seven youngsters are now cast as the von Trapp children.

Zoe Birkbeck and Chloe Dargue share the role of the oldest child, Liesl, with the others played by Ethan Hurworth, Jasper Bruce Wright, Anna Dias, Abbie Dodsworth, Toby Shellard, Mackenzie Williamson, Abigail Hand, Sophie Ruddick, Alice Harwood, Eleanor Grainger, Elise Wilcock and Madison Freya Parkinson.

Society spokesman, Mr Cound, said: “A very strong cast has been put together and we have two sets of fantastic kids who are all so excited about performing on the Civic stage to sellout audiences.”

The Sound of Music runs from Wednesday, April 24 to Saturday, May 4 and tickets range from £10 to £19.

A one-off sing-a-long performance will be staged on Friday, May 3, where the audience is encouraged to dress up in The Sound of Music fancy dress and join in all their favourite tunes.

For tickets call 01325-244659 or visit darlingtonos.org.uk

The full adult cast is: Beth Stobbart, Rebecca Pedelow, Heather McNulty, Rebecca Feary, Mary Anne Wood, Julian Cound, Ben Connor, Joe Connor, Natasha Spence, Neil Harland, Lee Morris, Deborah Duncan, Dougie Clayton, Leighton Taylor, Naomi Potts, Johnathan Sewell, Hazel Richmond, Angela Chapman, Stefan Curtis, Neil Gooding, Ian Robinson, Paul Mason, Hamish Sams, Georgina Cornelius, Lily Grundy, Fran Hague, Suzie Harvey, Hannah lambell, Sue Laycock, Zoe Mather, Hazel Richmond, Megan Robson.