Ed Grisamore: Von Trapp doors have opened for special performance
Bob Hardeman sells doors for a living. He has been a project manager at Macon Door & Hardware on State Street for the past two decades.
The upcoming concert at his church, Christ Episcopal, is a personal story about how many Trapp doors have been opened.
Elisabeth Von Trapp is from one of the world's most famous singing families. The Von Trapps -- parents and their seven children -- were the inspiration for "The Sound of Music,'' one of the most beloved musicals of all time.
Elisabeth is the granddaughter of the legendary Maria and Baron Von Trapp. Her father, Werner Von Trapp, was the second-oldest son. (Maria was his stepmother.) Werner was known as "Kurt" in the movie and play.
Bob was a freshman at old Fort Valley High School when the movie was released in April 1965. He did some acting himself. His senior year, he had the lead role in the school play "Li'l Abner."
It would be another 44 years before he graced a stage again. His devout love for another musical, "Les Miserables," brought him back for a curtain call. He had always been a fan of "Les Mis" and had seen it on stages from Macon to Atlanta to New York.
"I was passionate about it. The lyrics elevated my spiritual journey, and the music at the end of the show was a big help to me in dealing with the death of my parents,'' he said.
His mother, Kathryn, died in 1990. His father, Wallis, died in 2010.
In February 2012, Bob scraped off the rust and was cast in "Some Enchanted Evening'' at the Macon Little Theatre. It was a medley of works by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, the famous composer and lyricist who worked together on "The Sound of Music.''
He also knew it would be wise to get his foot in the door at Theatre Macon, since artistic director Jim Crisp was in the planning stages of returning "Les Mis" to the downtown Macon stage.
"I decided to audition for 'The Sound of Music' at Theatre Macon,'' Bob said. "I got somebody to teach me to play the guitar, and I was going to accompany myself to 'Edelweiss.' ''
The audition didn't go so well.
"My hands froze on the guitar,'' he said, laughing. "Jim Pendorff (the show's music director) told me to just put down the guitar and sing it.''
He didn't fare any better later in the week when he tried to sing it at the wedding rehearsal dinner for his son, Claiborne.
That same night, he learned he had been cast as Herr Zeller, one of the Nazi soldiers in "The Sound of Music.''
The doors were opening.
The show was performed in December 2013 at the downtown community theater. Halfway through rehearsals, the plot took a twist. His sister, Kay Meyer, mentioned to him that she knew Elisabeth Von Trapp, who has carried on her family's musical legacy. Elisabeth has produced five albums, toured the U.S., Austria and Russia and has been featured on national television and radio programs.
Kay, who lives in Fort Valley, met her in 2006 while serving as national president of the Episcopal Church Women. Elisabeth agreed to do a benefit concert for the organization's Jericho Road Project to raise money to build a house in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Bob wondered out loud if Elisabeth might consider coming to Macon to perform and let children in the local cast of "The Sound of Music" perform with her. He prepared two pages of notes and planned to announce it at the cast party.
The night before the final performance on Dec. 15, Elisabeth e-mailed Kay with what Bob later described as "one of the most beautiful letters I've ever read.''
Kay surprised Bob by showing up with the letter before the Sunday matinee. When she read it to the entire cast, the tears flowed. Crisp later shared it with the audience during his opening remarks.
"I know how much work goes into putting on this show,'' Elisabeth wrote. "This is truly a labor of love. The essence of this musical is hope, courage and finding one's purpose in life. May you act your part brilliantly and may you delight your audiences with Rodgers and Hammerstein's melodious music. And may your performances bring, to you personally, moments of joy, wonder and awe.''
Booking Elisabeth to perform for the first time in Macon has been more than two years in the making. The event is Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m at Christ Episcopal, the oldest church in Macon. It is free and open to the public.
Hardeman and Meyer have something special to show Von Trapp at the performance. Their cousin was the late Duross Fitzpatrick, who was a U.S. District Court judge. Fitzpatrick's mother, Jean, was close friends with Maria Von Trapp, and the Von Trapp family took many trips to Middle Georgia, long before "The Sound of Music" made them a household name.
"When Duross had his seventh birthday in 1941, they showed up at the Fitzpatrick home in Tarversville" in Twiggs County, Bob said. "They came back periodically over the years, stayed with them and performed in the area.''
Fitzpatrick's widow, Beverly, also is a member of Christ Church. She has a photo of the Von Trapps, including Elisabeth's father, Werner, and a paper signed by the family members. It will be on display at the concert.
"A series of events had to occur for all of this to happen,'' Bob said. "And, if you take any one of those events out of it, it doesn't happen.''
Ed Grisamore teaches journalism and creative writing at Stratford Academy in Macon. He can be reached at edgrisamore@gmail.com.
This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Ed Grisamore: Von Trapp doors have opened for special performance ."