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Rockville High School's auditorium was alive with the sound of music as students of various ages rehearsed Monday afternoon for the school's annual spring production, just days before it opens.

For the first time in more than a decade, students from the feeder schools in Rockville and Aspen Hill will appear as the von Trapp children in "The Sound of Music," which will premiere Friday at 7 p.m.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical is based on the true story of Maria, a wayward nun-in-training who leaves an Austrian convent to live with the von Trapp family. Capt. von Trapp, a widower, runs his household of seven children like the Naval ship he once commanded, but Maria returns music to the household and falls in love with the captain.

Andrew Baughman, director of the show, said he invited elementary and middle school students to audition in an effort to strengthen ties with the community.

"We haven't had kids in one of our shows over the past 10 years, but we decided to reach out to the younger students to involve the community and increase our visibility," he said.

More than 100 children tried out for the show in January and nine students from Lucy V. Barnsley, Rock Creek Valley and Flower Valley elementary schools as well as Parkland and Earle B. Wood middle schools were chosen, he said.

Eight students were double-cast to play the four youngest von Trapp children and one student was chosen to understudy a role played by a high school student. Of the double-cast characters, one student will perform in the Saturday night show while the other will appear in the Friday and Sunday shows.

Lined up in identical costumes consisting of white shirts, green handkerchiefs circling their necks and khaki shorts or skirts, the nine children waited to take the stage. Gabriela Sanchez, who will play Gretl in two shows, bounced up and down in anticipation.

"I am so excited," the second-grader at Rock Creek Valley Elementary School in Aspen Hill said. "This is my first time in a play and I can't wait to play my character."

Sanchez stood next to her tiny double, 6-year-old Eliana Geddes. Besides playing the youngest von Trapp child, Geddes is also the youngest in the cast.

"I really like to sing and I want to be in more plays after this," the first-grader at Flower Valley Elementary School in Rockville said.

Lorena Geddes said Eliana and her two other children are also in the show. Jonathan Cothran, Geddes' 17-year-old son and a junior at Rockville High, will play clarinet in the pit orchestra and 10-year-old Brandon Geddes, a fifth grade student at Flower Valley, understudies Friedrich von Trapp.

"We got excited when Eliana and Brandon got cast in the show because it's not too often that we all end up together in one place," Lorena Geddes said. "There's been a lot of family bonding."

Laura Weiss, who plays Maria, said she was excited when she heard children were going to be cast in the show.

"They're so adorable and they just give you so much energy," the 17-year-old Rockville High senior said. "It's really fun to have them in the cast."

Dani Hirsch, who serves as student director, said the younger students also proved they were hard-working actors and actresses.

"It's been an awesome experience," the 16-year-old junior said. "They're really talented, too — they learned their lines months before the high school kids and they're really good singers."

Rockville High School Theater will present "The Sound of Music" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $6 for students and $10 for adults and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the door. Rockville High School is located at 2100 Baltimore Road in Rockville. For more information, visit http://www.freewebs.com/rhs_theater.