(Redirected from Sound Of Music)
'''The Sound of Music''' is a
musical with music by
Richard Rodgers, lyrics by
Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by
Howard Lindsay and
Russel Crouse. It is based on
Maria von Trapp's the book ''
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Songs from the musical that have become standards include "
The Sound of Music", "
Edelweiss", "
My Favorite Things", "Climb Every Mountain", and "
Do-Re-Mi".
The original
Broadway production opened in November 1959, and the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It has also beem made into a popular
1965 movie musical. ''The Sound of Music'' was the final musical written by
Rodgers and Hammerstein; Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the premiere.
Background
After viewing ''Die Trapp-Familie'' (The Trapp Family), a 1956
German film about the von Trapp family, and its 1958 sequel, ''Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika'', stage director
Vincent J. Donehue thought that the project would be perfect for his friend
Mary Martin; Broadway producers
Leland Hayward and
Richard Halliday (Martin's husband) agreed. The producers originally envisioned a nonmusical play that would be written by Lindsay and Crouse and that would feature songs from the repertoire of the Trapp Family Singers. Then they decided to add an original song or two, perhaps by Rodgers and Hammerstein. But it was soon agreed that the project should feature all new songs and be a musical rather than a play.
[1]
Details of the history of the von Trapp family were altered for the musical.
Georg Ritter von Trapp lived with his family in a villa in Aigen, a suburb of
Salzburg. The real Maria was sent to be a nurse to one of the children, not a governess to all of them. The Captain's oldest child was a boy, not a girl, and the names of the children were changed (at least partly to avoid confusion: the Captain's eldest daughter was also called Maria). The von Trapps spent some years in Austria after Maria and the Captain married -- they did not have to flee right away -- and they fled to
Italy, not
Switzerland. Maria von Trapp is said to have enjoyed the stage show but to have hated the movie: her standard response to praise was, "it's a nice story, but it's not ''my'' story."
[2]
Martin called the show a "triumph of audiences over critics," since the show was not well reviewed in New York.
Walter Kerr famously called it a "great step backward" for Rodgers and Hammerstein, but it nevertheless enjoyed a long and profitable run.
During the
Cold War,
BBC planned to broadcast ''The Sound of Music'' on radio in the event of a
nuclear strike on the
United Kingdom. The broadcast would be part of an emergency timetable of programs designed to "reassure" the public in the aftermath of the attack. BBC officials didn't realize that a television broadcast would not be possible, because television sets would be rendered inoperable by the
electromagnetic pulse effect.
[3]
Synopsis
The action takes place in the town of
Salzburg in
Austria, just before
World War II.
Maria, a woman studying for the
Roman Catholic sisterhood in an
abbey who has begun to doubt her calling, is sent out to be a
governess to the seven children of Captain
Georg Ritter von Trapp, a widower and a decorated
World War I captain of the
Austro-Hungarian Navy ("Maria"). Von Trapp is an Austrian patriot at a time when it would be safer to be friendly to the ascendant
Nazi regime. The Captain is raising his children in a strict and militaristic manner that Maria immediately disagrees with. The children, initially hostile and mischievous, soon come to like the courageous Maria ("
My Favorite Things"), as she works to loosen the Captain's strict policies and brings warmth -- including the joy of singing ("
Do-Re-Mi") -- back into the household. She finds herself falling in love with the stern Captain but tries to suppress her feelings, since he is engaged to be married to
Baroness Elsa Schräder. He too finds himself warming to the unconventional governess. Meanwhile, the eldest girl, Liesl, and a messenger of the Nazi officials, Rolfe, are attracted to each other and meet secretly ("
Sixteen Going On Seventeen").
The Baroness fosters some misunderstandings, and Maria returns to the abbey; but the children implore her to return. After some soul-searching, Maria leaves the abbey and marries the Captain. Soon the Captain is called to duty in the
Kriegsmarine of the
Third Reich, but Maria and the Captain arrange for the family to leave the country. Following a family concert that features the Captain's singing "
Edelweiss", they sing their final song, "So Long, Farewell", as they escape through the convent and travel over the mountains to
Switzerland.
Musical numbers in the original production (with annotations)
''NOTES:''
:†Sometimes replaced by ''Something Good''
:‡Replaced by
The Lonely Goatherd in the 1998 revival.
★ In some productions,
My Favorite Things follows
Sixteen Going on Seventeen in the thunderstorm scene, while
The Lonely Goatherd is shifted to another scene.
★ Many stage revivals have also included "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good", which were written for the film version by Richard Rodgers.
★ Many people believe "
Edelweiss" to be a traditional Austrian song, or even a national anthem. In fact the song was written for the musical and is little known in Austria.
[4]
★ The
Ländler dance as performed by Maria and the Captain during the party is only loosely based on the traditional Austrian dance of the same name.
[5]
Stage productions
1959 Broadway production
''The Sound of Music'' opened on
Broadway at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on
November 16,
1959, and ran for 1,443 performances. The director was
Vincent J. Donehue and the choreographer
Joe Layton. The original cast included
Mary Martin as Maria,
Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp,
Patricia Neway as Mother Abbess,
Kurt Kasznar as Max Detweiler, Marion Marlowe as Elsa Schraeder, Brian Davies as Rolfe, and
Lauri Peters as Liesl.
The production shared the
Tony Award for Best Musical with ''
Fiorello!''. It also won for Best Actress in a Musical (
Mary Martin), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (
Patricia Neway), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (
Oliver Smith), and Best Musical Direction. And it was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (both
Theodore Bikel and
Kurt Kasznar) and Best Director of a Musical (
Vincent J. Donehue). The entire children's cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two children were boys.
Jeannie Carson and
Nancy Dussault also played Maria during the run.
Jon Voight, who eventually married co-star
Lauri Peters, was a replacement for Rolfe's part. The national tour starred
Florence Henderson.
The original Broadway cast album sold three million copies.
1961 London production
The
London production opened at the
Palace Theatre on
May 18,
1961, and ran for 2,385 performances. It was directed by
Jerome Whyte and used the original New York choreography supervised by
Joe Layton and the original New York sets designed by
Oliver Smith. The cast included Jean Bayless as Maria, Roger Dann as Captain von Trapp, Constance Shacklock as Mother Abbess,
Eunice Gayson as Elsa Schraeder, Harold Kasket as Max Detweiler,
Barbara Brown as Liesl, and
Nicholas Bennett as Rolfe.
1961 Australian production
The Australian Production opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre in 1961 and ran for 3 years. It then toured Australia for many years, with Vanessa Lee (Peter Graves' wife) taking the role of Maria. The production was directed by Charles Hickman, with musical numbers staged by Ernest Parham. The cast included
June Bronhill as Maria,
Peter Graves as Captain von Trapp,
Rosina Raisbeck as Mother Abbess, Lola Brooks as Elsa Schraeder, Eric Reiman as Max Detweiler, Julie Day as Liesl, and Tony Jenkins as Rolfe.
A recording was made in 1961. It was the first time a major overseas production featuring Australian artists was transferred to disc .
1981 London revival
In 1981, at producer Ross Taylor's urging,
Petula Clark signed to star in a revival of the show at the
Apollo Victoria Theatre in
London's
West End. Michael Jayston played Captain von Trapp and Honor Blackman was the Baroness. Despite Clark's misgivings that, at age 51, she was too old to play the role convincingly, Clark opened to unanimous rave reviews (and the largest advance sale in the history of British theatre at that time). Maria von Trapp herself, present at the opening night performance, described Clark as "the best" Maria ever. Clark extended her initial six-month contract to thirteen months. Playing to 101 percent of
seating capacity, the show set the highest attendance figure for a single week (October 26–31, 1981) of any British musical production in history (as recorded in ''The Guinness Book of Theatre''). This was the first stage production to incorporate the two additional songs that
Richard Rodgers composed for the film version. The cast recording of this production was the first to be recorded digitally, but the recording has not been released on compact disc.
The 1988 Takarazuka (Japan) version
In 1988, the Snow Troupe of
Takarazuka Revue performed the musical at the Bow Hall (Takarazuka,
Hyōgo). Harukaze Hitomi and Gou Mayuka starred.
1990 New York City Opera production
A 1990
New York City Opera production was directed by
Oscar Hammerstein II's son, James. It featured
Debby Boone as Maria,
Laurence Guittard as Captain von Trapp, and
Werner Klemperer as Max Detweiler.
1993 Stockholm premiere
In the original Stockholm production,
Carola Häggkvist played Maria,
Tommy Körberg played Captain Georg von Trapp, Erik Skutnick played Max, and Emilia Brown played Gretl.
1998 Broadway revival
In 1998, director
Susan H. Schulman staged the first Broadway revival of ''The Sound of Music'', with
Rebecca Luker as Maria and
Michael Siberry as Captain von Trapp. It also featured
Patti Cohenour as Mother Abbess,
Jan Maxwell as Elsa Schraeder, Fred Applegate as Max Detweiler,
Dashiell Eaves as Rolf, and
Laura Benanti, in her Broadway debut, as Luker's
standby. Later, Luker and Siberry were replaced by
Richard Chamberlain as the Captain and Benanti as Maria.
Lou Taylor Pucci made his Broadway debut as the understudy for Kurt von Trapp. This revival opened on
March 12,
1998, at the
Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for 15 months. It then went on tour in North America. This production was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
The Australian revival
The
Australian revival of The Sound of Music opened in the Lyric Theatre, in
Sydney,
New South Wales.
Lisa McCune, the star of the popular Australian drama ''
Blue Heelers'', played Maria von Trapp; TV personality Bert Newton was Max; and
John Waters was Captain von Trapp. The children's cast included Pia Morley, Christopher Nolan, Stephanie Martonhelyi, Mathew Gammel,
Nikki Webster, Rachel Marley, and Lauren Vartanian. This production was based on the 1998 Broadway revival staging directed by Susan Schulman. The show was produced by the Gordon Frost Organisation and Sports and Entertainment Limited.
The production also toured
Melbourne,
Victoria,
Brisbane,
Queensland, and (in a jump to western Australia) Perth, where Rachael Beck replaced Lisa McCune as Maria and Rob Guest took over as Captain von Trapp.
2006 London revival
An
Andrew Lloyd Webber production opened on November 15, 2006, at the
London Palladium. Live Nation's David Ian was co-producer with Jeremy Sams.
Following failed negotiations with Hollywood star
Scarlett Johansson, the role of Maria was cast through a UK talent search reality TV show called ''
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?''. The talent show was produced by (and starred) Lloyd Webber as well as comedian
Graham Norton. The show featured a judging panel of David Ian, Zoe Tyler, and
John Barrowman.
Connie Fisher was selected by public voting as the winner of the show and earned good notices for her performance. After Fisher suffered an illness that prevented her from performing for two weeks, an alternate Maria, Aoife Mullholland, a runner-up in 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?', played Maria on Monday evenings and Wednesday matinees.
Simon Shepherd was originally cast as Captain von Trapp, with
Lesley Garrett as Mother Abbess. However, after two preview performances, Shepherd was withdrawn from the production and
Alexander Hanson moved into the role. in time for the official opening date of 15th November 2006. Others in the cast were
Lesley Garrett and then
Margaret Preece as Mother Abbess,
Lauren Ward as the Baroness,
Ian Gelber as Max,
Sophie Bould as Liesl, and
Neil McDermott as Rolfe.
A soundtrack recording of the London Palladium Cast was released. This show received good notices.
[6]
2007 Stockholm revival
A Stockholm revival is scheduled to begin in
September 2007 with
Pernilla Wahlgren as Maria,
Tommy Nilsson as Captain von Trapp,
Ulrika Liljeroth and
Emmi Christensson as Liesel,
Gert Fylking as Franz,
Fillie Lyckow as Frau Schmidt,
Malena Laszlo as Baroness,
Johan Wahlström as Max Detweiler,
Jörgen Olsson as Rolf, and
Margareta Dalhamn as Mother
Abbess. Some of the characters names were translated into
Swedish.
The 1987 Telarc studio cast recording
The
Telarc label made a studio cast recording of ''The Sound of Music'', with the
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conducted by
Erich Kunzel. The lead roles went to opera stars:
Frederica von Stade as Maria,
Håkan Hagegård as Captain von Trapp, and
Eileen Farrell as the Mother Abbess. Kunzel cast children from the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts in the children's parts. This all-digital recording combined the songs of both the stage and the screen versions, and included sections of music that were being recorded for the first time.
Cultural references
Songs from the musical adapted in popular music (for example,
Gwen Stefani's 2006 single, "
Wind It Up") and
pastiched in advertising (TV ads for
Skoda Fabia [7]).
Many television shows have featured characters singing songs or pastiches of songs from the musical. The shows include ''
Seinfeld'', ''
Will & Grace'', ''
The OC'' (episode 313, "The Pot Stirrer"), ''
The Simpsons'', and ''
Family Guy''. In other television shows, the musical is merely mentioned (e.g., in the ''
Charmed'' episode, "
The Power of Three Blondes").
In the film
Addams Family Values, Pugsly, Wednesday, and Joel are made more "Chippewa" by being forced to watch the ''The Sound of Music''.
An
anime version of the show was produced by
Nippon Animation as part of its
World Masterpiece Theater.
References
1. Information from the R&H website
2. Article about the Von Trapps
3. Article about the planned Cold War BBC broadcast
4. Information from the BBC website
5. Information from Earthlydelights.com
6. Information from Theatre.com
7. You Tube clip of the ad
External links
★
★
The Sound of Music at R&H Theatricals
★
Synopsis on theatrehistory
★
Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the von Trapp Family - ''Prologue'' magazine, Winter 2005 - published by the
National Archives and Records Administration
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