<p>I didn’t realize the Peter Pan one with Mary Martin was live…I own that one. Love it.</p>
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<p>Yes, it was on the right hand. Did not know that about some European countries. I’ll bet I could google that!</p>
<p>OK… from Yahoo answers:
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<p>Doesn’t say what hand non-Catholics wear it on, though.</p>
<p>I thought that Carrie’s acting was about on the level of high school acting. I get that they wanted a “name” to be the lead, but couldn’t a better choice have been made? Audra McDonald-wow! I’m glad my Northwestern theatre major son wasn’t watching this. Enjoyed the kids. The two littlest are from the NYC suburbs and both trained at a playhouse started almost 20 years ago by a 16 year old girl who wanted to put on shows. :)</p>
<p>OK, I know why they cast Carrie Underwood. But why on earth did they pick that guy to play the Captain?</p>
<p>After it was over, my D said, “Could have been worse, could have been Taylor Swift.” Word.</p>
<p>cartera45 - best laugh of the night for me (and I’ve seen some good ones on FB)! Thanks!</p>
<p>cartera, you made me LOL too.</p>
<p>Me three. 10 char</p>
<p>I loved it. Carrie was best in scenes with Audra. Sure, Carrie is not an actress but she did great job and rest of cast was stellar. Triple loved the music. Lighting design was odd and sound had some problems. But I watched with my sister and niece–all three if us broadway fanatics and we had the best time. Would watch it again right now.</p>
<p>I don’t know what it was with the sound, it sounded like it was coming through a pipe or something, the lighting and sound guys should be shot for their missteps…</p>
<p>As far as the production goes, I think people need to cut it a little slack. I already knew the MT snobs would be crying, with the knives all read, that they could get great broadway actors to do it, that they didn’t need stunt casting, how deserving MT actors should have gotten it. I kind of like Carrie Underwood, no, she wasn’t the greatest actor in the world, and her singing cannot match that of trained singers like Audra (now it would have been fun to see Kristen Chenoweth doing it, would have been a hoot). I found she had some stage presence and there was charm there, if not perfect. I actually thought the captain in this was better than Christopher Plummer in the movie, as much as I love him as an actor, he was miscast, I always thought he would have been better off playing one the Nazis in the movie…</p>
<p>I think what you have to keep in mind is that stunt casting is nothing new. When they cast Rex Harrison in “My Fair lady” to a certain extent it was, since Harrison couldn’t sing, he talked his way through it…but he was still a pretty good Higgins. The other aspect is that the stunt casting is what got this produced, if it weren’t for carrie underwood or someone like that, this wouldn’t have happened. I could put together a team of fantastic singers from broadway, and the guys at NBC would say “you have to be kidding, think middle america will want to watch them?”. My take on it is by having Carrie Underwood in it, maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a lot of people who have never really seen a live performance of musical theater, or even seen live tv, will see this and if not fall in love, get curious about it. You have to admit that if this was cast to please MT lovers, it wouldn’t do as well, and maybe, just maybe, the morons who run network tv will decide, if this is successful enough, to try other live events. TV shows have done it occasionally, but wouldn’t it be great if maybe, just maybe, we would see things not seen for 50 years or more, live dramas, etc? Not talking “Law and Order, SVU” done live…yeah, I know, my optimism gene must have gotten triggered by all the good food I have eaten, but maybe once in a blue moon we’ll see something above the level of reality tv…</p>
<p>It is funny, I heard much the same thing when Google sponsored the You Tube symphony and the critics and the classical musical snobs were dumping on it…and they totally missed the point, that Michael Tilson Thomas made, that it wasn’t about crowd sourcing the New York Phil, it was about creating something new to try and bring music and musicians into it who had never experienced it. This is much like that, it was designed for something different than those who routinely experience musical theater (which yes, I have, more than a few over the years, though these days, well, I’ll be kind and say it isn’t my cup of tea). </p>
<p>I also have to admit a soft spot for the sound of music, primarily because of what I have read of Oscar Hammerstein II. Almost everyone who worked with him described him as an incredible person (unlike his partner, who let’s just say was a screwed up mess), and when he was writing the lyrics for it he was dying of cancer, I cannot hear the song “edelweiss” without choking up a bit, because I believe it was the last thing he wrote before dying, that he could write something so uplifting when he was dying amazes me…so even if it is a bad high school production (which I played pit band in at least 2 of them), doesn’t matter:)</p>
<p>Lots of good points, there, musicprnt. I think many have been too harsh on the production and on Carrie U in particular. Yes, she is not of the caliber of acting of the rest of the cast, but she is doing a credible job for the most part. I think her less polished demeanor and slightly awkward stage presence actually fits the innocent character of Maria. </p>
<p>The kids are amazing; very accomplished performances for a live production. I like all the leads, but agree Rolf looks too old, even if he is actually the correct age. (Especially since Captain von Trapp looks a little young for his role.)</p>
<p>I am enjoying it a lot. (Still watching here on west coast.)</p>
<p>Carrie Underwood does not have as strong a voice as Julie Andrews, but I thought she got stronger as the play progressed. I don’t understand why some were disappointed that they chose a country western singer…have you heard Carrie’s songs or are you all thinking about the female versions of Johnny Cash or Conway Twitty??? It was really no different than putting Anne Hathaway as Fantine in the Les Miserables movie…no comparison to the depth of voice on Broadway or the London theater productions.</p>
<p>That wedding dress and the coming home skirt/blouse from the honeymoon outfit were awful, awful, awful. Whoever was in charge of Carrie’s clothing missed their mark.</p>
<p>Also, more than once I caught myself thinking how much she looked like Reese Witherspoon.</p>
<p>I’m glad I watched…but the movie will always be the best!</p>
<p>Well, the truth is that NBC committed to this project before Underwood was cast so the idea that this would not have been made without Underwood is inaccurate. </p>
<p>Funny that you should mention Hathaway. One of the Von Trapps said before the show was broadcast that the family was upset by the casting of Underwoord because she was unproven as an actress–and guess who he suggested would have been a good choice? Yep, Anne Hathaway…precisely because Hathaway can act AND sing. I can’t see her in the role, but if Underwood could act as well as Hathaway can sing, I’d have no complaint.</p>
<p>Personally, I’m not a MT snob. I know very little about music. I do like theate. Maybe because acting is more important to me…I’d rather watch a musical with a good actor who is a poor singer than a good singer who is a poor actor. Rex Harrison, Yul Brenner (sp?) in the King and I, Russell Crowe in Les Mis (movie), even Brooke Shields in the revival of Grease were all people who aren’t great singers but can act. I enjoyed all of their performances much more than Underwood’s.I don’t care in the least that she’s a country singer. I DO care that she is a horrible actor. YMMV. </p>
<p>I do love The Sound of Music—and I don’t hold with the “don’t dare touch the great movie” idea. Have any of you seen the TV movie version of the London revival of Oklahoma!? It’s AMAZING and shows how good this stuff can be.</p>
<p>I think Anne Hathaway was wonderful in Les Mis and would have been great in this.</p>
<p>I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I loved all the cast except the leads, and they kind of grew on me as the show went on. I’d watch it again.</p>
<p>If you want to hear the real thing:</p>
<p>[THE</a> SOUND OF MUSIC (1965 MOVIE SOUNDTRACK MIX) HD - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>This all prompted me to listen to Mary Martin in the role of Maria on Youtube. Her voice struck me as quite mature, so I took a look at her bio and saw that she originated the role on Broadway at age 46! In the photos she does appear somewhat younger (she sports a very short haircut, like Julie Andrews), but still hardly looks the part of a young postulant–rather she seems like a woman who has come to the convent after some extensive life experience! I’d love to know more about that particular casting decision. Martin was a already a Broadway star, having played the lead in South Pacific, so she may have been a producers’ choice to guarantee ticket sales, just as Carrie Underwood was cast to guarantee viewers. But you have to wonder if there was any pushback from the creative side. The real Maria, btw, was 22 when she married Georg (and that was in 1927; the musical veers far from the true story).</p>
<p>I would not have minded that Carrie Underwood is not a true MT performer, but she just could not ACT at all and the contrast with the rest of the level of acting in the production was quite stark. So, even had they gone with stunt casting the lead, I just would have preferred someone who could pull off the acting. It just is not enough to be a good singer in order to be in a musical. </p>
<p>I didn’t mind that they remade another version of Sound of Music and I do think that a new generation got exposure to this and overall, everything was good.</p>
<p>Carrie would have been much better on stage – camera close ups of her expressionless face did her no favors. I’m still a fan, though. Not of her acting, but of her singing. Has she been in a musical theatre production before? if this is her first time out, she is not bad. Experience does make a difference. I only saw a few min., the Walmart commercial interruption right away when I tuned in to a few minutes for the baroness scene (right before the baroness and Max realized it wasn’t goint to work out) kind of didn’t help. I will say that I really liked the baroness, though!</p>