The Sound of Music Live!

I've read most of the reviews coming out and am surprised: why, and how, do you compare a live performance on television to a carefully filmed and edited movie? I don't think you can, nor do I think it's fair. Be closer to compare this to the live Broadway production of The Sound of Music with Mary Martin, but that ran for many performances, allowing ample time to work out the rough edges.

I thought it was fantastic. I haven't seen a live production on TV like this in decades. Kudos to everyone who produced it, I thought Carrie Underwood was fantastic, if slightly out of breath early in the movie from the hectic costume changes and dance/singing routines. Mother Superior was fabulous in both acting and singing. I love the sets. I'd like to see a WHOLE lot more TV like this.

I have been reading the other postings with great interest and what I have taken from the collective comments is the lack of understanding that this admirable (Yes, Ms. Underwood needs more acting lessons, though her singing was a pure enjoyable Broadway belt) television broadcast is closely based on the original 1959 stage version written by Lindsey and Crouse (book) and Rodgers and Hammerstein (score) for Mary Martin, with Theodore Bikel co-starring as the Captain, a fact that all of the publicity for this TV version has stated.

One poster on this thread stated he was sorry the TV got the scenes out of order; I beg to differ. The film got the scenes out of order. It was the film version that substituted "My Favorite Things" for "The Lonely Goatherd" in the storm scene, regulating the latter song to some strange interpolated puppet sequence and depriving the Mother Abbess of her part in a duet with Maria.

This version didn't add the two songs for the Elsa and Max. It was the film version that deleted them from the score while adding "Confidence in Me", a 'travelling' song that was justified in a cinematic sense but not needed in the stage version, as the TV broadcast clearly vindicated.

In fact, speaking of the songs, I was sorry to see that one mediocre song ("Something Good") was substituted for another mediocre song ("An Ordinary Couple"). At least that deleted song had a lyric by Hammerstein; Rodgers himself wrote the lyric to "Something Good".

"The Sound of Music" isn't a great show, but it is an audience favorite. It shared the Tony Award for Best Musical with "Fiorello!" and Ms. Martin beat out the likes of Ethel Merman for Best Actress in a Musical. The TV version was an honorable attempt (and broadcast live was a great idea--anyone else notice how the train in the Baroness's dress was stepped on by another actor?). I hope network television experiments further with this idea (though keeping the commercials down might be a good idea--a bunch at the beginning, a clump in the middle, and another cluster at the end would keep the audiences involved.). So, congrats to all involved. Keep singing.

If you're going to broadcast a live production of a much-loved, iconic classic (whether it's the stage or film version of ANYTHING), you had better prepare to hit the ball out of the park… NBC didn't even buy us a ticket to the game… And, that's sad, because kids today who've never before even seen such an animal (live production broadcast), now have their bar set so very low, it's a wonder they'll ever again even bother to reinvest the grueling, 2 ½ hours it took to get-through this challenging rendition.

Here's why… Since NBC's live version of "The Sound of Music" was a rendition of the Broadway PLAY, one really cannot compare 'apples to apples', since the play has never been broadcast live before, and today's TV viewers have only seen the movie version (which one cannot compare to the play). So, to be fair, let's compare live TV of a play to live TV of a play. If you use Roger's and Hammerstein's TV production of Cinderella as a comparison (broadcast by CBS in 1965), you'll see why NBC's Sound of Music, blew-it.

You see, the TV 'suits' of the 1960's realized that, if you're going to present an iconic story, and you're going to broadcast the show live, in prime time, during the holidays, you have to bring big names with big talent. That's why "Cinderella", for instance, showcased Lesley Ann Warren, Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm and Pat Carroll, to name a few. Those actors could not only sing, but they could act, too (and the '65 Cinderella required a lot of both). Having the ability and talent to do both, makes a huge difference when vying for the highly critical, ever bored, TV audience of today. So, when NBC of today hired a country singer who cannot act (even slightly), and cast the rest of the production with names who aren't generally known, a flop was not expected, it was guaranteed (The exception here, of course, was the amazingly talented, Audra McDonald as the mother superior (Superior's an understatement) – what NBC SHOULD have done was broadcast 2 ½ hours of HER singing whatever she wanted).

So, to 'review' NBC'S 'Sound of Music', I can only suggest that they start over (It was THAT bad). Instead, I say, think big, as those in Hollywood should. Cast Hugh Jackman (who can sing AND act) as the Captain. Pull one of the well-known witches who played "Wicked" on Broadway as Maria (singers, dancers, actors). Throw in someone a' la Timberlake as Rolf (and make him blond, for God's sake—it's a Nazi play), and you've got yourself a show. Otherwise, you're stuck for nearly 2 ½ hours with a big-named singer who not only can't act, but can't save the cast she's burdened with carrying...Shame on NBC.

When I first saw the promos for this show, I thought sarcastically 'oh great, a country version of a classic. Just what we need.' I never particularly like the singing of Ms. Underwood, finding her voice rather harsh at times. But, as I flicked through the channels and noticed it was on (I had no intention of watching it), curiosity got the best of me and I tuned in. Well, I stayed until the end. While all of the performances were excellent, I want to give special recognition to Ms. Underwood. This was an extraordinarily brave undertaking in the face of preconceived notions, and she basically said 'in your face' people. Whatever voice training she went through worked, and the harshness and twang that accompanies some of her country stuff was virtually gone. So, congrats to all involved, and especially to Carrie Underwood. Many would never have attempted what she accomplished.

So viewers are aware, this is not a remake of the 1965 movie. This is a television production of the Broadway show.

This was old-fashioned TV. In the 1950s, much television was broadcast live, and performances of musicals were frequent. This was essentially a televised stage performance, with simple sets and no special effects. The company performed the 1959 Broadway version of "The Sound of Music," with one exception: the song "An Ordinary Couple" from the original production was removed and replaced with "Something Good," which was written for the 1965 film version.

Viewers unfamiliar with the stage version might not recognize two other songs from the Broadway show not included in the 1965 film (but included in this production), "No Way to Stop It" and "How Can Love Survive." The latter song is one of the most well-crafted lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II.

The cast did a very good job, but there is no question that it could have been better with a prerecorded format instead of performing live for the sake of novelty.

If television broadcast more musicals in this format, it would be most welcome.