The Sound of Music Live!

On Thursday night, NBC attempted to do a challenging task by putting one of the most beloved musicals of all time and adapting it into a stage production. For the most part, NBC did it well and it turned into a very entertaining adaptation of the classic Rodger's and Hammerstein's musical, The Sound of Music.

The production, done completely like a Broadway play with stage sets, worked well, keeping the mood of the scenes just good enough and displaying the settings nicely. The songs: Yeah, they were all there, and a few others that were not in the classic Julie Andrews movie, but rather are in the original Broadway production. Those songs would be "How Can Love Survive" and "No Way To Stop It", and they were a welcome addition indeed.

Besides putting on a Broadway television type show, NBC also decided to take another chance by giving the lead role of the musical of Maria to none other than country superstar Carrie Underwood. Underwood, who won American Idol many years ago has made herself into a big name and had a chance to do something that she rarely has ever done, and that's act. Did it work? Well... a little bit. Her singing was solid. I was wondering if her country sound might come into her voice, and it didn't. Her acting though, was just average. Now, we knew coming into watching this that she would not be a great actress. After all, as I said, she did not have much experience, but for that I do appreciate her stepping into a different medium. As a singer though, she did a good enough job, and for a musical, what else do you really want?

The other lead of the movie, Captain Von Trapp, was played by Stephen Moyer. Moyer, like Underwood was solid in the role, but did not impress me the way I had hoped with his singing. What did impress me however was the supporting cast of this adaptation. The Von Trapp children all were good and as sweet as ever. The Baroness, played by Laura Benanti and Max Detweiler, played by Christian Borle were both excellent and had wonderful chemistry together whenever they were put on stage at the same time. And the Mother Abbess, played by Audra McDonald was tremendous, nailing her big song, Climb Every Mountain with every note and was a performance that would have brought a house to his feet.

Now, was it as good as the original movie? No. But, all in all, despite its flaws and perhaps somewhat poor casting choices, this NBC adaptation was a good watch, and I applaud NBC for putting it on for all of us to see for an evening. It was interesting to not only see some of the differences from the movie that I had grown up watching, but to also see a Broadway stage production of a musical that I rarely see period.

Rating: 7/10

First, kudos for creating a live television presentation.

Please please please... more. I and I know many would flock to this kind of live performance.

Next, too easy to do the comparison thing. But unavoidable... so must qualify this by declaring the obvious intimacy of film versus the live TV/stage adaptation. And there it is... intimacy of film. One is hard pressed to not draw those comparisons in spite of this.

So let's... first Ms Underwood. Most excellent to give this a go. She is also not an actress. It was obvious. There is no substitute for having worked on stage, as an actress. There was a distinct lack of depth to the character. And the vocal performance that is markedly different from people with great voices as Ms Underwood has, and seasoned stage actors and actresses as for instance Ms MacDonald has. Ms Underwood hit her marks. And her voice is superb. But the performance lacked that *it* thing. If she would commit to doing more stage work, her depth would grow. As it was, it was a thin performance.

All the other performances were serviceable, and some good. Or as in Ms Audra McDonald, she was superb. Ms McDonald of course is a trained stage actress, and it screams so.

The production quality not the least of which was the musical production was top shelf. And choreography. Well done here.

There was one huge mistake that overtook the entire production however. It must be pointed out. The lack of a live audience was a huge misstep. The 1965 version had the huge advantage of the intimacy of film. In choosing to do a live TV version, what would have bridged that difference would have been to honor what live stage productions have... and that is a living breathing audience. The energy, the ambiance, everything would have been greatly influenced by this. Not having it in my opinion crippled the experience. If there is a future attempt at a live TV production of anything.... do not make this same mistake. You must must must have the energy that a live audience brings to a production. This would have without question made a significant difference in this current production. Am not sure why there was a choice NOT to have a live audience....

Still, that this happened at all is big. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeze take on another one, and another one. As the ratings would show, this art, this craft, is alive and quite well. I give mega props for taking this on and hopefully the learning experience will go into future productions...

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.

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.

I have to be honest here, I originally had no intention of watching this special, but when I found out it would be performed live, as they used to do in decades past, it piqued my curiosity. I also happened to turn on the TV just about the time it started, so decided to check it out.

In no way was I expecting it to compare to the 1965 film. This was obviously supposed to be more akin to the stage production. Having said that, I was far more impressed than I anticipated. The music was fantastic and I loved the live acting quality to it. I only have a couple criticisms.

I understand that Carrie Underwood was probably selected because they wanted to get a name to draw in viewers. Her singing was actually quite good, but her acting was sub-par, especially to the rest of the cast. I understand she is not an actress, so I give her kudos for putting herself on the line.

As for the rest of the cast, I was happy that they decided to use mostly unknown actors, who appeared to be trained for stage productions. It definitely added to the credibility of the show. I thought the kids were all great, except Gretel, who was definitely a star in the film version. This one did not seem especially gifted in acting or singing and even lacked charisma. I wondered if she might be the daughter of a producer or something. That was a shame because its another stand out role that suffered.

I was pretty pleased with everything else. The sets were gorgeous! The transitions were seamless. The music overall was very fun and enjoyable, hearing those great Rogers & Hammerstein songs never gets old! Was also nice that they included some songs that were not in the film version. I definitely don't feel I wasted my evening when there is so much other rubbish on TV. I hope people were open-minded and supportive, so perhaps we'll see another live musical special next year!