The Sound of Music Live!

[+ Gar1eth]

That's too bad, lol - I'm quite fond of that number. But yes, the whole apache dance section was added to the 90's version (Osmond and beyond) - the original Broadway version used the full text but that's it - and no extra repeats.

 

One of the songs *I* am not fond of is "Every Dream Will Do" - despite Webber's facile bouncy tune, I have never been able to understand Rice's convoluted lyric here. The song simply makes no sense to me, and I think it makes for a terrible finale. (Though the endless "megamix" reprises that have been added over time are even worse, lol.) So when, in addition to its usual place at the end of the show, it was added to the beginning as extra padding, I wasn't very happy.

 

Isn't it 'Any Dream Will Do'? And we will have to agree to disagree. I like that song. I like the Megamix too. It ends the musical on a vibrant up note that has you singing in the aisles (or at least it does if your like me, and have most of the songs memorized. )

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

As for the song, think of the Biblical Joseph. He interprets dreams and can tell the future with the help of G-d. So one meaning of the song is Joseph pulls back the curtain on sleep/dreams/the future to interpret them. And then it's a foretelling of what is going to happen to him. But the other meaning is that we all need dreams and hopes in our lives.

 

Gman

[bostonman]

Isn't it 'Any Dream Will Do'? And we will have to agree to disagree. I like that song. I like the Megamix too. It ends the musical on a vibrant up note that has you singing in the aisles (or at least it does if your like me, and have most of the songs memorized. )

 

As for the song, think of the Biblical Joseph. He interprets dreams and can tell the future with the help of G-d. So one meaning of the song is Joseph pulls back the curtain on sleep/dreams/the future to interpret them. And then it's a foretelling of what is going to happen to him. But the other meaning is that we all need dreams and hopes in our lives.

 

"Any Dream" - correct. And again, I don't mind the tune, just that Rice is getting a little too arch-poetic in a moment where I think clarity would be much better.

 

"A crash of drums, a flash of light,

My golden coat flew out of sight,

The colors faded into darkness,

I was left alone..."

 

Wha?

 

(And yes, I know that Rice is trying to make a universal point about dreams, etc. I just don't think he does it effectively. And why the rather selfish-sounding conclusion of "GIVE ME my colored coat..."? I just think it's one of those cases where the writer wound up "writing a song" instead of finding the specifics that needed to be expressed in the moment.)

[+ Gar1eth]

"Any Dream" - correct. And again, I don't mind the tune, just that Rice is getting a little too arch-poetic in a moment where I think clarity would be much better.

 

"A crash of drums, a flash of light,

My golden coat flew out of sight,

The colors faded into darkness,

I was left alone..."

 

Wha?

 

(And yes, I know that Rice is trying to make a universal point about dreams, etc. I just don't think he does it effectively. And why the rather selfish-sounding conclusion of "GIVE ME my colored coat..."? I just think it's one of those cases where the writer wound up "writing a song" instead of finding the specifics that needed to be expressed in the moment.)

 

 

I don't know about that. His coat was snatched from him by his brothers (My golden coat flew out of sight). And it all happened suddenly without warning. (A crash of drums. A flash of light) Then he was thrown into a pit and sold to some slave traders or perhaps it's refers to being put into Pharoah's dungeons (The colors faded into darkness). I'm fine with the lyrics.

 

Gman

[bostonman]

His coat was snatched from him by his brothers (My golden coat flew out of sight).

 

But that's exactly the problem - the brothers stole his (amazing techni)colored coat. Not a golden one.

[+ Gar1eth]

But that's exactly the problem - the brothers stole his (amazing techni)colored coat. Not a golden one.

 

It was partly golden. Plus I take golden to mean 'fancy'.

 

Gman

[bostonman]

It was partly golden. Plus I take golden to mean 'fancy'.

 

But I think if that's what Rice was going for, he really should have used a word like fancy instead of a color reference such as golden. I think "golden" confuses the issue. I keep thinking - did he perhaps have a golden coat as an Egyptian ruler, or something? As opposed to the colored one his father gave him years ago?

 

It also really isn't clear to me from the lyrics that Joseph is recounting his own story. Maybe he is, but it's rather shrouded in a kind of "waxing poetic" that we don't see anywhere else in the piece. Rice is writing in so many metaphors and turns of phrase that it's not immediately clear what is being said. (I actually tend to wonder if this was a song that was written before they had really written the rest of the show, and then they tried to make it fit in.)

[+ Gar1eth]

But I think if that's what Rice was going for, he really should have used a word like fancy instead of a color reference such as golden. I think "golden" confuses the issue. I keep thinking - did he perhaps have a golden coat as an Egyptian ruler, or something? As opposed to the colored one his father gave him years ago?

 

It also really isn't clear to me from the lyrics that Joseph is recounting his own story. Maybe he is, but it's rather shrouded in a kind of "waxing poetic" that we don't see anywhere else in the piece. Rice is writing in so many metaphors and turns of phrase that it's not immediately clear what is being said. (I actually tend to wonder if this was a song that was written before they had really written the rest of the show, and then they tried to make it fit in.)

 

 

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's a perfect show by any means. But I pretty much go with the flow. I'm suspending my disbelief. After all there is no Canaan anymore or Egyptian pharoahs either.

 

Now talk about confusing-the first time I saw a Phantom I was confused. From the way the beginning started, I thought (spoilers) Raoul had lost Christine to the Phantom years ago and had become a bitter man over the years. Then in his last few years he was bidding on something to remind him of the love he had lost. But it was totally opposite. He won her.

 

Or what exactly was Meg Giry, the chief dancer, doing climbing down into the catacombs. It makes no sense. She's only there to pick up the mask at the end. But thats the only reason she's down there. It's dramatic. But it makes no sense.

 

Gman

[+ WilliamM]

Very interesting discussion. Excellent reminder that I must finish Thomas Mann's masterpiece, "Joseph and His Brothers." It's not as difficult to read as Mann's "The Magic Mountain," the length (1,000 pages plus) of "Joseph" is off-putting. My other problem is that I have not read the Bible in many, many years.

[Kippy]

Back to the insipid presentation on TV of the "Sound of Music Live"... a black Mother Abbess in late 1930's Salzburg, Austria? The only thing worse than the music was social context!

 

Peace,

 

Kipp

[+ WilliamM]

Back to the insipid presentation on TV of the "Sound of Music Live"... a black Mother Abbess in late 1930's Salzburg, Austria? The only thing worse than the music was social context!

 

Peace,

 

Kipp

 

On Broadway, von Trapp was played by Theo Bikel who was Jewish. Bikel was also 11 years younger than Maria played by Mary Martin.

[bostonman]

Back to the insipid presentation on TV of the "Sound of Music Live"... a black Mother Abbess in late 1930's Salzburg, Austria? The only thing worse than the music was social context!

 

It's a shame that even now in 2016 some people have trouble with the theatrical conceit of color-blind casting. The Mother Abbess wasn't black, the actress was. We should be able to understand that. Thankfully, I think a lot of us do.

[actor61]

On Broadway, von Trapp was played by Theo Bikel who was Jewish. Bikel was also 11 years younger than Maria played by Mary Martin.

Excellent point, perfectly stated.

 

I read an exhaustive biography of John Gielgud last year that included some of his diary and journal entries. He was great friends with Mary Martin and admired her enormously for her performance in "South Pacific" both in NY and London. I'll have to paraphrase but his diary entry regarding "The Sound of Music" on Broadway is very funny. He says that it's obvious she was way too old for the role (she was 49, I think) but what he found unforgivable was her "cuteness". I think the sentence was "shame on Mary" for deciding to play Maria so cutely that it tipped the show into "fairy story" territory. Maybe that's what happens to older actresses trying to maintain their audiences. I remember when Helen Hayes won a Best Supporting Oscar for "Airplane" and a well respected actor said that it was an award for being a cute old lady, not for acting of any kind.

 

Regarding "Pippin" (mentioned above). I played the title role in the early 70s in various productions and the Leading Player was always played by a man, and brilliantly in several cases. When I heard that in the revival, the character would be played by a woman, I thought, "Well, why not? That should be great." It wasn't. And it wasn't Patina Miller's fault, although I didn't like her performance. (And you're right - she did the whole show with her head down! WTF?!) It's just one of those roles that should be played by a guy, especially in the scenes where he lures Pippin into sexual adventures. I'm all for out-of-the-box casting and I sincerely wanted the gender fucking of the Leading Player to work but it just didn't for me. In fact, not much of the revival worked for me. I hate the Cirque du Soleil concept, and I especially hate the "nod" to the Fosse choreography. Either do the show or don't do the show but mixing and matching just doesn't cut it. A prime example is Fastrada's dance in "Spread a Little Sunshine". Charlotte D'Amboise did the best she could with it, bless her, but the new choreography was pedestrian and frankly boring. Of course, I'm biased, having played the role in its original context and form and judging from the audience's reaction when I saw the revival in New York, I was definitely the Scrooge in the house, so I'll just keep my memories and let this new generation make its own.

 

And yes, Bikel was Jewish playing a Roman Catholic Austrian Baron in "The Sound of Music". He also played a southern Sheriff in "The Defiant Ones" (and was Oscar nominated for it), and a German ship's captain in "The African Queen". From the rumors I've heard, Mary Martin was bisexual and had a long, loving relationship with Janet Gaynor. So, an African American Mother Abbess didn't bother me one little bit; at least she could sing and act. And I wouldn't have minded if the Von Trapp kids had been black, Hispanic, Mongolian or in wheelchairs if they'd just been good!!!

[bostonman]

And I wouldn't have minded if the Von Trapp kids had been black, Hispanic, Mongolian or in wheelchairs if they'd just been good!!!

 

Indeed. I've done 2 productions of Sound Of Music - one with teens, and one professional/regional production. In both cases, casts were of mixed races (and particularly, the Von Trapp children.) In the regional production, our Maria was black, as was Max. I don't remember anyone saying they were bothered by that.

 

Funny story with the regional production - given some scheduling conflicts with some morning performances for school groups, we had, I think, 2 performances where the woman understudying the Abbess and Elsa had to do BOTH roles. It's a possible doubling, as neither character is onstage with the other, but it was a challenge with costume changes, etc. But she pulled it off!

[N13]

Thank you Actor 61. I thought I was alone in not liking the revival of Pippin. The original was a little gem that I went to repeatedly to recharge my love of the Broadway musical. I also enjoyed the movie version even though it paled a bit in comparison to its' forerunner. They blew up the production, almost as much as Cats was blown up for the Broadway incarnation. Why can't they let the little gems sparkle? (Cats in London qualified as "A little Gem!")

`

[+ Gar1eth]

Excellent point, perfectly stated.

 

I read an exhaustive biography of John Gielgud last year that included some of his diary and journal entries. He was great friends with Mary Martin and admired her enormously for her performance in "South Pacific" both in NY and London. I'll have to paraphrase but his diary entry regarding "The Sound of Music" on Broadway is very funny. He says that it's obvious she was way too old for the role (she was 49, I think) but what he found unforgivable was her "cuteness". I think the sentence was "shame on Mary" for deciding to play Maria so cutely that it tipped the show into "fairy story" territory. Maybe that's what happens to older actresses trying to maintain their audiences. I remember when Helen Hayes won a Best Supporting Oscar for "Airplane" and a well respected actor said that it was an award for being a cute old lady, not for acting of any kind.

 

Regarding "Pippin" (mentioned above). I played the title role in the early 70s in various productions and the Leading Player was always played by a man, and brilliantly in several cases. When I heard that in the revival, the character would be played by a woman, I thought, "Well, why not? That should be great." It wasn't. And it wasn't Patina Miller's fault, although I didn't like her performance. (And you're right - she did the whole show with her head down! WTF?!) It's just one of those roles that should be played by a guy, especially in the scenes where he lures Pippin into sexual adventures. I'm all for out-of-the-box casting and I sincerely wanted the gender fucking of the Leading Player to work but it just didn't for me. In fact, not much of the revival worked for me. I hate the Cirque du Soleil concept, and I especially hate the "nod" to the Fosse choreography. Either do the show or don't do the show but mixing and matching just doesn't cut it. A prime example is Fastrada's dance in "Spread a Little Sunshine". Charlotte D'Amboise did the best she could with it, bless her, but the new choreography was pedestrian and frankly boring. Of course, I'm biased, having played the role in its original context and form and judging from the audience's reaction when I saw the revival in New York, I was definitely the Scrooge in the house, so I'll just keep my memories and let this new generation make its own.

 

I will have to be one to disagree with you. I was fine with the 'Cirque' concept. I had seen a non professional Pippin at least once before. I'm fairly sure it was years ago put on by the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in their Hot Summer Nights Series of shows. On top of that I used to watch William Katt's version on video multiple times (although I realize that might not be the best Pippin ever).

 

I think the transforming of the traveling acting troupe into circus performers works very well.

 

 

And yes, Bikel was Jewish playing a Roman Catholic Austrian Baron in "The Sound of Music". He also played a southern Sheriff in "The Defiant Ones" (and was Oscar nominated for it), and a German ship's captain in "The African Queen". From the rumors I've heard, Mary Martin was bisexual and had a long, loving relationship with Janet Gaynor. So, an African American Mother Abbess didn't bother me one little bit; at least she could sing and act. And I wouldn't have minded if the Von Trapp kids had been black, Hispanic, Mongolian or in wheelchairs if they'd just been good!!!

 

I read somewhere either in Bikel's autobiography or maybe an interview he gave that they had asked him to play Capt. Von Trapp in the movie. But he knew Mary Martin wouldn't be able to be cast as Maria because of her age. And he felt (my paraphrasing here) that it would be betraying her, so he turned it down.

 

Gman

[+ WilliamM]

Excellent point, perfectly stated.

 

I read an exhaustive biography of John Gielgud last year that included some of his diary and journal entries. He was great friends with Mary Martin and admired her enormously for her performance in "South Pacific" both in NY and London. I'll have to paraphrase but his diary entry regarding "The Sound of Music" on Broadway is very funny. He says that it's obvious she was way too old for the role (she was 49, I think) but what he found unforgivable was her "cuteness". I think the sentence was "shame on Mary" for deciding to play Maria so cutely that it tipped the show into "fairy story" territory. Maybe that's what happens to older actresses trying to maintain their audiences. I remember when Helen Hayes won a Best Supporting Oscar for "Airplane" and a well respected actor said that it was an award for being a cute old lady, not for acting of any kind.

 

Yes, that "cuteness" was there off-stage as well, in TV interviews and in person. A stong TV personality like Jack Paar could cut it short almost immediately and conduct a very good interview with Martin, but ahe did not participate in many 60-minute interviews like Paar's.* I only met Mary Martin once. It was a wonderful conversarion until I said something she disagreed with. Martin let me know immediately, but knew she had gone too far. Conclusions: Martin was a much more complicated person than her public image, but that is true of almost everyone in the public view. The "cuteness" was somewhat less evident after her husband, Richard Halliday, died. She had a long time, after Halliday's death, to finally get to know her children and grandchildren. To be fair, Halliday gets blamed for everything, perhaps without justification.

 

*Jack Paar Program, Fall 1964, with Mary Martin and Nichols & May (available at the Paley Center)

Paar also appeared on Mary Martin's PBS "Over Easy" interview show in the early 1980s. Equally good, but, I am not sure if the Paley Center has it.

[marylander1940]

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.

 

Please check the alternative endings.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QcSS5vxhu4

[bostonman]

...which still doesn't hold a candle to this:

 

 

[+ WilliamM]

actor 61: Mary Martin was 45, nearly 46 when "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway.

 

Martin: born December 1, 1913

 

"The Sound of Music" opening in NY on November 16, 1959

[bostonman]

And of course there was Ethel Merman. She was 38 when she originated the role of the 15-year-old Annie Oakley in 1946, and she was 58 when she did the Lincoln Center revival in 1966. (Her co-star for the revival, Bruce Yarnell, was 30 at the time - though Frank Butler would properly have been around 10 years older than Oakley. Of course, Yarnell was also a foot taller than Merman, at 6'5". Her Frank in the original production, Ray Middleton, was a mere 6'3" lol.) I would imagine that even in the original production, the kids that played Annie's brother and sisters probably seemed more like her son and daughters, lol.

[N13]

Bostonman thank you for the Scleroso My Fair Lady. This has long been one of my favorite things! Sitting with Andrea Martin at a party a number of years ago I told her that it was one character that I quoted often. She was amused. So let the rune in spun stay mainly on the pune!!!!

[bostonman]

I was recently involved with a regional My Fair Lady - I played that video for some of the cast in the dressing room one night - they were on the floor.

[+ Gar1eth]

So let the rune in spun stay mainly on the pune!!!!

 

By George, I think you've got it!!

 

Gman

[+ WilliamM]

Age becomes less important when the stars of a musical appear on TV years later to sing the best song in the show. Martin and Pinza in a scene from "South Pacific."