GCC Prof. Ashley Anglin and her Germanna 'family' play big part in 'The Sound of Music'

Left to right, GCC's Matthew McKinney, Prof. Ashley Anglin and Hannah Martino play key roles in a community production of "The Sound of Music" that runs July 28-31.

Germanna Community College Prof. Ashley Anglin jokes that she's looking forward to adding singing soprano in Latin to her resume when she performs with students Hannah Martino and Matt McKinney Thursday through Sunday in a community theater production of "The Sound of Music" at Spotsylvania High School. Anglin is a professor of Spanish and Italian and the GCC Department of Modern Foreign Languages chair.
"And she sings it beautifully," says Marilyn Scott, who is the director of the show and of the local Christian Community Theater, a branch of the Christian Youth Theater.
This will be the first Fredericksburg CCT show. CCT is all ages. The cutoff age for CYT is 18.
Martino, 20, will play the lead role of Maria, McKinney will play Rolf, and Anglin will play Sister Sophia. Austin Fitzhugh, another former student of Anglin's, plays Max. Anna Godfrey, the show's stage manager, is a GCC student who has applied to the nursing program.
Anglin earns a 4.9 out 5.0 on RateMyProfessors.com for making learning fun. "We have a competition to see who can be rated the meanest teacher," she says with a laugh.
"She is so creative and so funny that she makes learning very easy," Martino says of Anglin.
Anglin, who earned degrees at Catholic University and William & Mary, taught at Northern Virginia Community College before coming to Germanna four years ago.
The 17-year-old McKinney, who has been a Dual Enrollment student at Germanna, won a GCC award for academic excellence in math. Martino, who has a semester to go, has been a member of the student government.
McKinney's character, Rolf, is a teenage boy who becomes a Nazi. The sweet-natured McKinney says playing the role is difficult. "I kind of turn into a jerk," he says with a smile. "It's hard for me to be mean. Hopefully, I can pull it off. I also have to be a flirt, which I really don't know how to do."
For Martino, playing Maria comes naturally. "I love being with the children," she says. She has worked as a full-time, live-in nanny and as a tutor." Singing harmony with so many young children is a bit difficult, though, she said.
"I grew up with Julie Andrews," she says. She says "The Sound of Music" is her parents' favorite movie. "My dad cries when [Andrews] sings 'Edelweiss.' " she says.
Pointing out that Martino's first role was Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Anglin says with a laugh, "My first part was 'dancer No. 14.' "
Martino has been involved in CYT Fredericksburg since she was 16 in 2007. With CYT, she's also been in "Seussical the Musical" (Mrs. Mayor), "Les Miserables" (Fantine), "The Music Man" (Marian), and "Guys and Dolls" (Sarah Brown). She hopes to help disadvantaged children through the performing arts.


What: "The Sound of Music"
Where: Spotsylvania High School, 6975 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania
When: July 28-31, 7 p.m.; 2 p.m. performances also on July 30-31 Cost: $13 online, $15 at the door, $11 group discount (10-ticket minimum)

For more:

The Free Lance-Star