Anyone looking forward to Thursday's live The Sound of Music?

Parent Cafe
201

<p>

</p>

<p>The von Trapps shouldn’t complain, Julie Andrews, Carrie Underwood and Anne Hathaway are all a lot better than the real thing.</p>

202

<p>

I also saw Marie Osmond in it and she was worse than Carrie Underwood. We still talk about the worst acting performance in musical theater we’ve ever seen.</p>

<p>I tried to like last night’s performance. I really did. I don’t mind different version of things. That’s why we see them over and over in different theaters. I even like remakes of classics although in most cases the original is the best. I still greatly dislike the second version of Miracle on 34th street.</p>

<p>But SOM last night was not good. Not terrible, but not something I’d want to see over and over. Would much prefer to go see it on stage with good acting.</p>

203

<p>

[/quote]
After it was over, my D said, “Could have been worse, could have been Taylor Swift.” Word.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Taylor Swift is going to be playing Joni Mitchell. I don’t know if that’s better or worse than Maria Von Trapp.</p>

<p>I really thought Carrie Underwood’s acting was a distraction, but I enjoyed other parts. The kids were great.</p>

204

<p>Speaking about new generations, here is my take. Like others, watching SOM as a kid was nice, and perhaps magical. Not only for the singing, but for the scenery. It all came together when I had the chance to see Salzburg and the mountains IRL. </p>

<p>So, that is the past. In my view, SOM only works as a movie. Yesterday displayed all the limitations of the stage representation. I saw absolutely NOTHING magical about it and would never want to see it again. But then, I would NEVER want to see it on a stage either. The genre -being MT- simply does not appeal to me in any of its facets. I love movies, theatre, and operas, but have no place in my heart for musicals or operettas. </p>

<p>For the record, if Carrie was not great, I could not imagine Anne Hathaway playing the role of an ingenue about to start a life in a convent. But then, some casting genius thought that a Mere Superieure in Austria could be black! And where did this Captain come from? If that is the best they could find, it speaks volumes about the field of actors who can sing!</p>

<p>Thank God, this was free and that a remote control was the perfect antidote to this boring piece. I would have hated to have to sit through this live and …pay for the ordeal.</p>

205

<p>The music in the film was also transposed UP a few keys to suit Julie Andrews voice. Mary Martin was NOT a lyric soprano.</p>

206

<p>Loving the discussion about the great Mary Martin. </p>

<p>I think Underwood sang beautifully, and her acting improved somewhat as she went along. I don’t think the staging of her first song helped her at all. The leaping around worked in the movie version, which had the benefit of the actual Alps and Julie Andrews’ unique talent. I have seen this show done with Maria singing the song seated under a tree while playing her guitar. Does anyone know how Martin did it? Underwood seemed very aware of the cameras in this sequence, I imagine because she wanted to know where they were so she wouldn’t be caught looking into them. But then she was, a number of times.</p>

<p>I wished they had put Maria in a truly ugly dress when she came to the Von Trapp home for the first time. The dress might have been little meh but it wasn’t ugly, which spoiled some of the humorous lines in the show (some of the few humorous lines in this show). Here’s a picture of Martin’s truly ugly dress: [The</a> Sound of Music <em>The Sound of Music, October 7, 1961</em> - Mary Martin - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

<p>Audra MacDonald - glorious! God, that woman has a voice.</p>

207

<p>Here is a great take (in my opinion) of the film in Time:</p>

<p>[NBC’s</a> The Sound of Music Live: What Went Wrong and What Went Right | TIME.com](<a href=“Rosemary’s Baby | TIME.com”>NBC's The Sound of Music Live: What Went Wrong and What Went Right | TIME.com)</p>

<p>It is funny, but all true in my opinion. The only thing that I don’t agree with is the comparisons to the film (such as song placement) as this is the stage version of this musical.


&lt;p&gt;
[quote]
But then, some casting genius thought that a Mere Superieure in Austria could be black!

[/quote]
&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Xiggi, I understand that a Black woman as the Mother Abess may not be historically accurate, but they used color-blind casting and frankly, Audra McDonald (who played the role in this production) is one of the most amazingly talented and accomplished musical theater actresses of this generation and has won four Tony awards.  She was one of the highlights of this telecast, in my view.  In fact, her scenes where it was just her and Carrie Underwood were such a contrast in singing and acting talent, that it was almost hard to watch because it diminished Carrie's performance.&lt;/p&gt;
208

<p>Wow this is a tough crowd. So critical! I don’t expect there was any expectation for this to be just like the Andrews version or fully comparative - it was meant to be an event not often seen on tv - as someone said, much more refreshing than a good bit of other programming found on any night of tv watching. And I STILL say, if you were watching through the eyes of a young child - the young child that many of us were seeing SOM for the first time decades ago, they and YOU might have really delighted in hearing those familiar songs evoking warm memories from your first “watch” years ago - I had goosebumps having those thoughts and memories last night. Kudos to the production for the effort.</p>

209

<p>I thought it was awful. Carrie Underwood’s hairstyle at the beginning was enough to set the mood. It wasn’t a matter of her not being Julie Andrews, it was a matter of the whole production looking so amateurish that it was a surprise every time someone sounded good or looked unembarrassed. (Moyer does have a lovely singing voice, but he seemed rather slight somehow for the part other than that. And I didn’t think this was one of Audra MacDonald’s finer moments, wonderful as she is.) I know it isn’t 1965 anymore, but the movie version is so far superior I cannot imagine why there was even a whisper of a need for this live TV version.</p>

210

<p>Time’s review simply compared it to the Julie Andrews movie version and said it was therefore lacking. Not a fair comparison, IMO.</p>

<p>All you MT folks have different standards than I do. I’m not an MT person so maybe I’m more typical of the “audience.” I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots to pick at, including Maria’s wedding dress, and the lighting and sound was off in several spots, but hey – that’s live TV!</p>

211

<p>I actually thought Underwood might be able to act a little. She has been in a couple of things, right? I was surprised that they let it go forward after seeing the complete lack of acting skills. Her voice is adequate and I enjoyed the musical numbers, but there was zero emotional involvement for me because of Underwood’s acting. Audra McDonald, on the other hand, brought a tear to my eye when she sang to Maria. Steven Moyer started his career in the theater but I thought he went overboard with the harshness and the moments of vulnerability looked contrived. I give part blame to the director for that. I loved Christopher Plummer in that role though, so that is my standard. Near the end, it started looking more like a comedy. When the Captain said, with a straight face, “I’ll admit that it would be nice to have a ship under me again,” I lost it.</p>

212

<p>To me, no matter the critiques of the performances, the best part is this:</p>

<p>[The</a> Sound of Music Live! Is Ratings Smash for NBC - Playbill.com](<a href=“http://www.playbill.com/news/article/185189-The-Sound-of-Music-Live-Is-Ratings-Smash-for-NBC]The”>http://www.playbill.com/news/article/185189-The-Sound-of-Music-Live-Is-Ratings-Smash-for-NBC)</p>

<p>There will be more in the future.</p>

213

<br>

<br>

<p>I appreciate the comments regarding colorblind casting, and I now understand it is used on Broadway. I still find it awkward. Just as awkward as I would find a white actor saying the words “Bess, you is my women.” Something about being believable. </p>

<p>By the way I think Audra McDonald is a fabulous actress.</p>

214

<p>I enjoyed it. Started slow–seems like their timing was off but it picked up. Carrie won’t be winning any acting awards but I liked her singing.
Leisel was great.
The sound guys should be fired–for a 9 million dollar production it seems like they would have that figured out.
I do think it would have been better if the actors had gotten audience feedback of some kind. It feels like they were operating in a vacuum.</p>

215

<p>^ I’ve watched some of the clips on Hulu, and they don’t have the sound problem. So it is hard to say where the problem was.</p>

216

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t see that as a great analogy. I agree that in certain shows, race is integral to the story…such as in Porgy and Bess, Showboat, and Ragtime. In such situations, I would not be apt to go with color blind casting. But in the case of the nuns in SOM, I don’t think their race is integral to the storyline.</p>

217

<p>Good point, soozie. They could make a start by bringing back Smash. (I have so far refrained from suggesting that Katharine McPhee would have been a great choice as Maria…:smiley: )</p>

<p>So, what show should they do next? South Pacific springs to mind. Hayden Panatierre could play Nellie Forbush.</p>

218

<p>Notrich, that’s interesting. I guess once it’s recorded, a lot can be done to help that in post-production?</p>

219

<br>

<br>

<p>It all depends on your POV. For some, nothing will be integral to the story. The setting might in the South of France or in Florida. Would you cast the little Hitler Youth with black characters? After all, why would it matter? If the story has to have a semblance of historical truth, casting an Austrian nun in the 1900’s with black person makes no sense. Even she can sing good.</p>

<p>It is a detail, but just one that shows that artistic liberties are the domain of morons, and especially morons with an agenda.</p>

220

<p>So, I caught the end last night and just watched some clips this morning. Having watched an enormous amount of educational theater and enjoyed scads of amateur performances, CU was not okay when speaking. Ever. </p>

<p>Christian Borle is amazing.</p>