The Hills Are Alive: 9 Ideas for a 'Sound of Music'-Theme Party
Following the Lyric Opera of Chicago's example, here are clever ideas for hosting an event inspired by a classic musical.
May 22, 2014
The Sound of Music is the current production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. To celebrate the classic musical, the opera's women's board hosted a thematic gala surrounding the performance on May 2. With cocktails, a dinner, and a reception during intermission, the event was full of tongue-in-cheek nods to the production. Here's a look inside the function, which had everything from edelweiss flowers to nuns' habits.
In the Graham Room, where guests had dinner before the show, tables were named after songs from The Sound of Music. They were also decked with blue linens and edelweiss flowers in patches of faux grass. HMR Designs handled the decor.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
During the cocktail reception, guests could pose in a photo booth with thematic props that included nuns' habits and signs with phrases from the musical. When the photos printed out, they had a backdrop of mountains and blue skies.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
Before dinner, guests gathered on the opera's mezzanine for a cocktail reception. Tables had bright blue linens and small vases of wildflowers that could have been plucked from a mountainside.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
Entertainment during the reception included live music from a local oompah band.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
Calihan Catering provided Bavarian-style snacks. On the menu: pretzel twists with violet mustard, bacon-wrapped veal bratwurst, and sweet potato cakes with braised quail and fresh rosemary.
Photo: Bob Kusel
There were also miniature steins of craft beer.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
Riffing off a part of The Sound of Music when the children wear clothes made out of curtains, co-chairs Alison McNally and Eileen Murphy and their kids wore clothing made from the Graham Room's former curtains. Inspired by a phrase in the song "My Favorite Things," decor included brown paper packages tied up with string.
Photo: Jaclyn Simpson
During intermission, guests gathered in the Graham Room again for cocktails, fondue, and sweets from Julius Meinl, an Austrian coffee shop with locations in Chicago.
Photo: Bridget A. Monahan/Lyric Opera of Chicago
Light blue cocktail napkins were customized with the silhouette of a twirling nun and the caption: "Keep calm and sing on mountains."
Photo: Bridget A. Monahan/Lyric Opera of Chicago
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