<p>Seiclan, they are the SNL cast members who did the skit last night.</p>
<p>I think those are new SNL cast members that plates Maria and the captain</p>
<p>They were both on SNL before this year. Trivia: He’s married to Colbie Smulders of How I Met Your Mother.</p>
<p>Ahhhhh! Did not compute! SNL skit was cute. Though I don’t like that creepy character with the doll hands at all.</p>
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<p>I wasn’t serious, but they were more pleasant to watch than the two who were chosen. It’s very apparent that NBC knows that millions will choose celebrity over talent.</p>
<p>I think CU did a good job. There wasn’t enough time in the play for Maria and the Captain to look lovingly at each other but the kiss was hot and CU sure was smiling afterwards. I was disappointed in the sound more than anything. The nun’s habits made them look like angels.</p>
<p>emilybee, I realize you go to musicals for the singing, not the acting. But I think without realizing it, what makes it so enjoyable for you IS the acting combined with the singing. In a concert, it may be enough that the performer sings really well. But what makes a song really come off well in a musical is great singing that is acted and where the song is being interpreted. The singing is being done by a character, not just a person. It is all in character and the singer must interpret the lyrics which are written to move the story along. It just is NOT the same as regular concert singing. So, perhaps without realizing it, when you enjoy a great musical theater performance, it is because you are watching someone with a great voice who is acting out the song lyrics. Then, of course, a significant part of most musicals includes dialogue/script too. </p>
<p>My D is currently performing in an Off Broadway musical. This particular musical is ENTIRELY sung…there is NO dialogue. Therefore the story must be told through the music and the actors who are cast must not only sing really well, but be able to ACT THE SONGS. In fact, the lead female in the show is a Juilliard grad who majored in ACTING. Her entire role is sung and she has a fantastic voice, but her performance would not be nearly as good if she weren’t as equally fantastic in acting and interpreting the songs in character and not just being herself.</p>
<p>Interesting trivia from the SOM movie: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I heard an NPR interview with Julie Andrews a couple of years ago, and she said they did retake after retake of the “Hills are alive…” scene at the opening. And each time the blast of air from the helicopter blades as it swooped in close to film her singing would knock her flat on her face there on the hill top. And then she’d get up spitting grass out of her mouth and have to do it all over again.</p></li>
<li><p>The real Capt. von Trapp was there on the set as they filmed the movie, and Christopher Plummer, who played him in the movie, couldn’t stand him. Said von Trap was a total jerk.</p></li>
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<p>You must have misunderstood something, coureur–or NPR did a very shoddy job.</p>
<p>Capt von Trapp died in 1947.[Georg</a> Johannes von Trapp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Johannes_von_Trapp]Georg”>Georg von Trapp - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I had to check the date, but I knew he died a LONG time before the movie was made.</p>
<p>Also, there are multiple retakes of every scene in every movie ever made.</p>
<p>My daughter and I were discussing the outrage over Carrie’s performance. Daughter was a vocal performance major and also loves music theater. She also loves Carrie, but commented that no one could have possibly expected her to be a good actress. She isn’t even that good at acting when she hosts the CMAs, but she is still a great host. My daughter said, “Not everyone gets taken to great musical productions. If a few kids watched this, and then wanted to see the original or wanted to see other musicals, the show did its job.”</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone did expect her to be a great actress. I just think people were surprised by exactly how bad she was which was a little stunning and then began to get snarky and have some fun at her expense. As far as the show doing it’s job, let’s get real. It made money.</p>
<p>This was not some sort of cultural public service effort.</p>
<p>“But I think without realizing it, what makes it so enjoyable for you IS the acting combined with the singing. In a concert, it may be enough that the performer sings really well. But what makes a song really come off well in a musical is great singing that is acted and where the song is being interpreted.”</p>
<p>I agree with this. I was referring to the spoken words in a musical, and on this thread, the complaints about CU have pretty much all been about her acting in regards to the spoken words.</p>
<p>Perhaps if it was shown on PBS or IFC some of you critics would not say it’s the death of MT.</p>
<p>Krillies, did you just play the “you just like it because it’s on PBS” card? Really?</p>
<p>Yes, that is my response to those who say this version is the death of MT.</p>
<p>I don’t recall a single person saying it was the death of MT. </p>
<p>I do recall a lot of people (including yours truly) saying that Carrie Underwood cannot act. Because Maria is the pivotal character in the show, this had a lot of impact on the quality of the show as a whole. </p>
<p>One of the kinder reviews said that this was on par with the performance you would expect from a community theatre. I personally think it was worse. And community theatres don’t have budgets of $9 million. ( If you’d like me to give you links to high school performances on youtube that are better, I’ll be glad to do so. )</p>
<p>What if some people watched this and thought "This isn’t really all that good. It’s free so who cares, but… I guess when we visit New York next summer, it’s really not worth spending $100 each to see a musical. " (And it’s usually more than $100 unless you buy discount tickets.)</p>
<p>I am not a MT person myself. I just think it’s sad that a lot of people will think that NBC’s SOM is representative of the quality of a Broadway show. It isn’t. And, IMO, it’s very sad that it isn’t.</p>
<p>It’s even sadder when people who point out the obvious–CU cannot act–are told that we “need to find Jesus” or that we would love this sort of mediocrity if only it were on PBS.</p>
<p>Jonri, I said her acting was probably at the same level as the main actors cast in Twilight and daytime soap actors. I even gave kudos to her acting ability when she was confronting the Captain regarding his kids being turned into marching machines.</p>
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<p>I agree completely.</p>
<p>I also get annoyed when singers who are paid obscene amounts of money lip sync “live performances.” My Ds would defend them, saying, “But they are dancing at the same time, and you can’t really sing AND dance at the same moment and make it sound good.” I replied with “Oh really? Well, they’ve been singing and dancing at the same time on Broadway for generations.” :rolleyes:</p>
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<p>Oops! LOL.</p>