The Sound of Music Live!

[MrMiniver]

I've watched this Christmas Eve the live telecast from the UK of The Sound of Music Live! which was FAR SUPERIOR in every way to the atrociously bad production that NBC did 2 years ago in the USA. I didn't catch the name of the young woman playing Maria but she was superb and the yummy Julian Ovenden was certainly the sexiest Captain in the history of the productions of this show. Highly recommended.

[N13]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/12056862/the-sound-of-music-review-kara-tointon-live-itv.html

[MrMiniver]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/12056862/the-sound-of-music-review-kara-tointon-live-itv.html

 

I don't know anything about this reviewer but she can't get the time right. It was exactly 1 hr and 58 minutes not 2 1/2 hours. She seems not to understand much about the original show and compares it mostly to the movie. Why do they let idiots like this review things?

[+ WilliamM]

She seems not to understand much about the original show and compares it mostly to the movie.

 

Yes, that is annoying. Unless Vincent Donahue brought the idea of a stage musical version of von Trapp's life to Richard Halliday and Mary Martin, there would not be a Broadway show, or later a film called "The Sound of Music." Of Course, the Hallidays (and Leland Hayward, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein) had to be willing to do all the work required to bring a Broadway show all the way to opening night and beyond.

[bostonman]

She seems not to understand much about the original show and compares it mostly to the movie.

 

That was also true for many of the viewers, I guess. It seems there was A LOT of backlash against the show having switched songs around, etc. What they didn't realize is that it was the film that did that, not this broadcast (which put them back in the stage show running order).

 

Though yes, obviously a critic should be better informed.

[MrMiniver]

That was also true for many of the viewers, I guess. It seems there was A LOT of backlash against the show having switched songs around, etc. What they didn't realize is that it was the film that did that, not this broadcast (which put them back in the stage show running order).

 

Though yes, obviously a critic should be better informed.

 

In 2015, that's way too much to hope for I suspect.

[actor61]

I've watched this Christmas Eve the live telecast from the UK of The Sound of Music Live! which was FAR SUPERIOR in every way to the atrociously bad production that NBC did 2 years ago in the USA. I didn't catch the name of the young woman playing Maria but she was superb and the yummy Julian Ovenden was certainly the sexiest Captain in the history of the productions of this show. Highly recommended.

I can't agree with you. Although the Maria in the British version was a far better actor than Underwood - who WOULDN'T be?! - her voice was tiny, she could barely hit the high notes in "The Lonely Goatherd" and she didn't play much of the comedy in the early scenes. I thought the kids were very boring too. As for the critic who bemoaned the fact that they sang "Lonely Goatherd" instead of "My Favorite Things" in Maria's bedroom, she should be fired. As noted above, this was the original version, not the movie, and in the original, Maria sings "Favorite Things" with the Mother Abbess and "Lonely Goatherd" with the kids during the thunderstorm. In both the American and British live versions, I wish they'd put in "Ordinary Couple" back in the proposal scene instead of using the atrocious "Something Good" from the film. That song makes absolutely no sense. "Perhaps I had a wicked childhood, perhaps I had a miserable youth..." WTF?

 

For what it's worth, here's my general opinion of the live musical broadcasts that have been inflicted on us over the past few years: they are horribly miscast, dismally directed and choreographed and totally bereft of joy or heart. The actors all give tiny t.v. performances; everything is done in close-up and in hushed tones. It's all too subtle and small. If you're going to do a big B'way musical, then do it with the requisite oversized performances, play it to the balcony even though there isn't one and deliver the fuckin' jokes, as corny as they may be. If Peter Pan sings "I Gotta Crow" in a tight close-up, in a voice meant only for the microphone, you've got no show. If Maria can't belt the yodeling in 'Lonely Goatherd", you've got no show. If "Everybody Rejoice" in "The Wiz" is choreographed no better than a Jazz 2 class at Ms McKay's School of the Dance, you've got no show.

 

My advice to the producers: hire theatre actors, star power be damned. Everybody raved about Christian Borle in Sound of Music and Peter Pan and that proves the point. The man has 2 Tonys, has been doing musicals most of his career and knows the tricks of the trade. What a Hook he'd have been!

[+ WilliamM]

I believe the producers of Mary Martin's "Peter Pan" had an agreement with NBC for a relatively limited run and then present the TV broadcast soon after the musical closed on Broadway. It was a major success. Has any other network or cable tried that same path?

[MrMiniver]

I can't agree with you. Although the Maria in the British version was a far better actor than Underwood - who WOULDN'T be?! - her voice was tiny, she could barely hit the high notes in "The Lonely Goatherd" and she didn't play much of the comedy in the early scenes. I thought the kids were very boring too. As for the critic who bemoaned the fact that they sang "Lonely Goatherd" instead of "My Favorite Things" in Maria's bedroom, she should be fired. As noted above, this was the original version, not the movie, and in the original, Maria sings "Favorite Things" with the Mother Abbess and "Lonely Goatherd" with the kids during the thunderstorm. In both the American and British live versions, I wish they'd put in "Ordinary Couple" back in the proposal scene instead of using the atrocious "Something Good" from the film. That song makes absolutely no sense. "Perhaps I had a wicked childhood, perhaps I had a miserable youth..." WTF?

 

For what it's worth, here's my general opinion of the live musical broadcasts that have been inflicted on us over the past few years: they are horribly miscast, dismally directed and choreographed and totally bereft of joy or heart. The actors all give tiny t.v. performances; everything is done in close-up and in hushed tones. It's all too subtle and small. If you're going to do a big B'way musical, then do it with the requisite oversized performances, play it to the balcony even though there isn't one and deliver the fuckin' jokes, as corny as they may be. If Peter Pan sings "I Gotta Crow" in a tight close-up, in a voice meant only for the microphone, you've got no show. If Maria can't belt the yodeling in 'Lonely Goatherd", you've got no show. If "Everybody Rejoice" in "The Wiz" is choreographed no better than a Jazz 2 class at Ms McKay's School of the Dance, you've got no show.

 

My advice to the producers: hire theatre actors, star power be damned. Everybody raved about Christian Borle in Sound of Music and Peter Pan and that proves the point. The man has 2 Tonys, has been doing musicals most of his career and knows the tricks of the trade. What a Hook he'd have been!

 

Count me among those who count Christian Borle a complete bore and a trial to watch. If that's what passes for a Broadway "star" these days no wonder the theatre is mostly such a dreary place (especially in musicals). In the 1950s, he wouldn't even have been hired for the chorus.

 

I can't say I'd judge a Maria by whether she can yodel in Lonely Goatherd (one of the most annoying songs ever written). Her voice may not have been perfect but I still thought she was lovely and enjoyed it very much. Carrie Underwood could neither sing nor act.

[+ WilliamM]

I can't agree with you. Although the Maria in the British version was a far better actor than Underwood - who WOULDN'T be?! - her voice was tiny, she could barely hit the high notes in "The Lonely Goatherd"

 

Maria can't belt the yodeling in 'Lonely Goatherd", you've got no show. If "Everybody Rejoice" in "The Wiz" is choreographed no better than a Jazz 2 class at Ms McKay's School of the Dance, you've got no show.

 

My advice to the producers: hire theatre actors, star power be damned. Everybody raved about Christian Borle in Sound of Music and Peter Pan and that proves the point. The man has 2 Tonys, has been doing musicals most of his career and knows the tricks of the trade. What a Hook he'd have been!

 

Wasn't "The Lonely Goatherd" written specifically for Mary Martin because she could yodel? As to Christian Borle he was wonderful in "Peter and the Starcatcher," a star performance.

 

Actor61, please post more often!

[actor61]

Count me among those who count Christian Borle a complete bore and a trial to watch. If that's what passes for a Broadway "star" these days no wonder the theatre is mostly such a dreary place (especially in musicals). In the 1950s, he wouldn't even have been hired for the chorus.

 

I can't say I'd judge a Maria by whether she can yodel in Lonely Goatherd (one of the most annoying songs ever written). Her voice may not have been perfect but I still thought she was lovely and enjoyed it very much. Carrie Underwood could neither sing nor act.

I laughed out loud when I read "Lonely Goatherd...one of the most annoying songs ever written." It certainly is, but the whole score of "Sound of Music" is annoying and still I love it.

 

I agree that Borle can be boring and a trial but I think it's because he falls into the syndrome I was describing above - giving a t.v. performance in a theatrical show. Young actors are so worried about being "honest" and "in the moment" these days that they forget that sometimes you just have to stand center stage, look 'em in the eye and belt the number!! Borle is capable of the Big Gesture (he's very good in "Something Rotten"), so I forgive him a lot.

 

I don't know if this story is true - and I think I might have posted it before - but I love it and it sums up how I feel. In "Gypsy" rehearsals, Jack Klugman (playing Herbie) complained to Jerome Robbins (the director) that Ethel Merman never looked at him in the dialogue scenes. When Robbins mentioned this to The Merm, her reply, according to legend, was: "Why should I look at him? He can hear me!"

[actor61]

I believe the producers of Mary Martin's "Peter Pan" had an agreement with NBC for a relatively limited run and then present the TV broadcast soon after the musical closed on Broadway. It was a major success. Has any other network or cable tried that same path?

Wasn't the original "Cinderella" with Julie Andrews sort of the same idea? It was never presented on B'way until many years later but was written specifically as a B'way type musical for t.v. And it kind of proves the point I was making above about performances. Watch Kaye Ballard as one the the stepsisters. Watch Andrews as Cinderella. Watch just about everybody; these are all musical comedy performances with no apologies. They're big, bold, pointed at the back row and they work like a charm.

[+ WilliamM]

 

I don't know if this story is true - and I think I might have posted it before - but I love it and it sums up how I feel. In "Gypsy" rehearsals, Jack Klugman (playing Herbie) complained to Jerome Robbins (the director) that Ethel Merman never looked at him in the dialogue scenes. When Robbins mentioned this to The Merm, her reply, according to legend, was: "Why should I look at him? He can hear me!"

 

I was very lucky to see "Gypsy" from the front row center at the Imperial Theater. It was slightly annoying that she seldom looked at Klugman when singing together. But, to be fair to both Merman and Klugman, It was difficult to look at anyone but Merman when she was on stage -- especially when sitting so close. She was in essence delivering a master class on getting laughs while watching the backstage people out of the corner of her eye; lord help anyone who was being lazy and missed a cue.

[actor61]

I was very lucky to see "Gypsy" from the front row center at the Imperial Theater. It was slightly annoying that she seldom looked at Klugman when singing together. But, to be fair to both Merman and Klugman, It was difficult to look at anyone but Merman when she was on stage -- especially when sitting so close. She was in essence delivering a master class on getting laughs while watching the backstage people out of the corner of her eye; lord help anyone who was being lazy and missed a cue.

I had a very dear friend playing a supporting role in that production. Oh my goodness, the stories she tells about Merman and Robbins!!!! Both monsters but I think Robbins won by a neck. What a shitty human being he was. Merman could be nice when she felt like it. Robbins couldn't.

[+ WilliamM]

I had a very dear friend playing a supporting role in that production. Oh my goodness, the stories she tells about Merman and Robbins!!!! Both monsters but I think Robbins won by a neck. What a shitty human being he was. Merman could be nice when she felt like it. Robbins couldn't.

 

Merman and Robbins were the best at their jobs back then. Merman appeared at a large summer tent theater in my town (Framingham, MA) for a week in 1963 or 1964. I did not see her, but most people said it was her nightclub act with perhaps a comic to fill the bill. She did play "Gypsy" in Boston and many other cities after Broadway. So I understanding that Merman wanted to do something else after working in Gypsy after 2.5+ years. But, the summer theater drew people from all over the Boston area. They wanted to see her in a musical, not a nightclub act.

 

Ethel Merman's performance in "Gypsy" is still the highlight of my theater going experience. I saw "Gypsy" in Boston and Broadway. But, I feel sorry for her managers & agents.

 

One of the best things about MrMiniver is his friendship with Merman.

[MrMiniver]

Wasn't "The Lonely Goatherd" written specifically for Mary Martin because she could yodel? As to Christian Borle he was wonderful in "Peter and the Starcatcher," a star performance.

 

Actor61, please post more often!

 

Star performance? Only in a theater without stars. When people rhapsodize about Borle, Burstein, d'Arcy James, Norbert Leo Butz it's just an example of how theater has declined. None of them would have made it past the first audition in 1948.

[MrMiniver]

I had a very dear friend playing a supporting role in that production. Oh my goodness, the stories she tells about Merman and Robbins!!!! Both monsters but I think Robbins won by a neck. What a shitty human being he was. Merman could be nice when she felt like it. Robbins couldn't.

 

I knew her personally for over a decade and I can't imagine ever describing her as a monster. A rather shy person when not on stage she was just a perfectionist like many of the artists of her era. She expected everyone else to be the same, I'd hardly call that a "monster." Robbins, on the other hand, was a first class asshole. A talented asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

[actor61]

I knew her personally for over a decade and I can't imagine ever describing her as a monster. A rather shy person when not on stage she was just a perfectionist like many of the artists of her era. She expected everyone else to be the same, I'd hardly call that a "monster." Robbins, on the other hand, was a first class asshole. A talented asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

I think calling Merman a monster is appropriate if it's meant as a "monstre sacre" (sacred monster) of the American theatre. I hope you'll accept that explanation. But the reference to Robbins as a monster certainly meant that he was monstrous. I have firsthand experience and it wasn't ever any fun. I was young and eager to learn and he just shat on all my dreams. I was grateful for the job and I recognize that he was a genius but what good is being a genius if you're barely human? I don't know one person who has ever spoken well of him as a man. You Tube Bea Arthur's story about him when she did "Fiddler on the Roof" - priceless.

[actor61]

Star performance? Only in a theater without stars. When people rhapsodize about Borle, Burstein, d'Arcy James, Norbert Leo Butz it's just an example of how theater has declined. None of them would have made it past the first audition in 1948.

I agree 100% with you about Butz and Burstein but I think Borle and d'Arcy James are pretty good, and versatile - in the show biz sense of the word!!! I saw Burstein in "South Pacific" as Billis and in "Follies" as Buddy and found him intensely self indulgent, mannered, and awful. His Billis was evil; I truly did not get his performance and spent a long time trying to figure out if it was played that way because of direction or the actor's choice. He was sinister, creepy and dark in a role that should be funny once in a while. His performance in "Follies" made me cringe. I can't imagine what he's doing as Tevye in the current revival of "Fiddler" and I'm not tempted in any way to find out.

 

I saw Butz in "Cabaret" as the MC.. - meh. I saw him in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" - meh. I saw him in "Catch me if you Can" - meh.

[+ WilliamM]

I think calling Merman a monster is appropriate if it's meant as a "monstre sacre" (sacred monster) of the American theatre. I hope you'll accept that explanation.

 

Sounds good to me.

[bostonman]

Wasn't the original "Cinderella" with Julie Andrews sort of the same idea? It was never presented on B'way until many years later...

 

Technically I don't think it's ever really been presented on Broadway. The Douglas Carter Beane rewrite that recently played Broadway (as something called Rodgers Plus [sic] Hammerstein's Cinderella) was so completely different I don't count it to be the same show at all.

 

There is a standard stage version of the show that stays fairly close to the original TV version (though still with some major differences in spots), and that one has been the go-to version for regional/amateur companies for many years - but that version never played NYC as far as I know.

[MrMiniver]

I agree 100% with you about Butz and Burstein but I think Borle and d'Arcy James are pretty good, and versatile - in the show biz sense of the word!!! I saw Burstein in "South Pacific" as Billis and in "Follies" as Buddy and found him intensely self indulgent, mannered, and awful. His Billis was evil; I truly did not get his performance and spent a long time trying to figure out if it was played that way because of direction or the actor's choice. He was sinister, creepy and dark in a role that should be funny once in a while. His performance in "Follies" made me cringe. I can't imagine what he's doing as Tevye in the current revival of "Fiddler" and I'm not tempted in any way to find out.

 

I saw Butz in "Cabaret" as the MC.. - meh. I saw him in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" - meh. I saw him in "Catch me if you Can" - meh.

 

Big difference between "pretty good" and "star presence." I just don't believe that d'Arcy James (and I can't recall a single memorable thing he's done -- the roles just all blend together -- I remember Sweet Smell of Success. He was non-existent) and Borle have any star presence whatsoever. Not like Preston or Mostel or, god, even Harve Presnell had more presence!

[MrMiniver]

Technically I don't think it's ever really been presented on Broadway. The Douglas Carter Beane rewrite that recently played Broadway (as something called Rodgers Plus [sic] Hammerstein's Cinderella) was so completely different I don't count it to be the same show at all.

 

There is a standard stage version of the show that stays fairly close to the original TV version (though still with some major differences in spots), and that one has been the go-to version for regional/amateur companies for many years - but that version never played NYC as far as I know.

 

I've only ever seen it at the New York City Opera (when it still existed) in a fairly cartoonish version with drag queens as the sisters and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother! Impossible, indeed!

[actor61]

I've only ever seen it at the New York City Opera (when it still existed) in a fairly cartoonish version with drag queens as the sisters and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother! Impossible, indeed!

LMAO. I would LOVE to have seen that!!! Eartha Fuckin' Kitt!!! One of my most memorable moments in the theatre was hearing her purrrrrrrrrr "Welcome to Timbuktu" in that dreadful musical she did towards the end of her B'way career. Oh lordy, was it camp and awful!

 

Thanks so much for the info about the various versions of the R&H "Cinderella". Not having seen it, I thought the recent NY production was a replica of the t.v. version. The idea of Carly Rae Jepson as Cinderella and Fran Dresher as the wicked stepmother really kinda put me off wanting to see it!

 

Brian D'Arcy James is pretty good in the movie "Spotlight", even though you're not a fan. And I like the performances Borle has given on "The Good Wife". Maybe that's why you don't like them - they are better t.v./film presences than stage presences.

 

I gotta get some groceries now.

[+ WilliamM]

actor61, We disagree for the first time. I am 72-years old. After seeing Christian Borle in "Peter and The Starcatcher," he would have done just fine in Broadway's Golden Age. I admit that I was not old enough to have see many Golden Age shows, but I saw every show that tried out in Boston beginning in 1959.