'''''The Sound of Music''''' is a [[musical theater|musical]] with music by [[Richard Rodgers]], lyrics by [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], and a book by [[Howard Lindsay]] and [[Russel Crouse]]. It is based on [[Maria von Trapp]]'s book ''[[The Story of the Trapp Family Singers]]''. Songs from the musical that have become standards include "[[The Sound of Music (song)|The Sound of Music]]", "[[Edelweiss (song)|Edelweiss]]", "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", "[[Climb Ev'ry Mountain]]", and "[[Do-Re-Mi]]".
'''''The Sound of Music''''' is a [[musical theater|musical]] with music by [[Richard Rodgers]], lyrics by [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], and a book by [[Howard Lindsay]] and [[Russel Crouse]]. It is based on [[Maria von Trapp]]'s book ''[[The Story of the Trapp Family Singers]]''. Songs from the musical that have become standards include "[[The Sound of Music (song)|The Sound of Music]]", "[[Edelweiss (song)|Edelweiss]]", "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", "[[Climb Ev'ry Mountain]]", and "[[Do-Re-Mi]]".
The original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production opened in November 1959, and the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It has also been made into apopular [[The Sound of Music (film)|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.
The original [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production opened in November 1959, and the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It has also been made into the oscarw-winning [[The Sound of Music (film)|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.
The original Broadway production opened in November 1959, and the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It has also been made into the oscarw-winning 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 (The Trapp Family in America), 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 von Trapp was sent to be a tutor 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,"[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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.[3]
Maria lives in a convent, where she is a postulant preparing to enter an unidentified order of nuns. Some of the senior nuns find her to be a troublesome presence ("How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria"). To test her vocation, she 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. 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, of which Maria disapproves. The children, initially wary and mischievous, soon come to love 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, because he is engaged to be married to Baroness Elsa Schräder and because she is still considering returning to the convent to take her vows. He too finds himself warming to the unconventional governess but remains quiet about his feelings. 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 and a conversation with the Mother Abbess ("Climb Ev'ry Mountain"), Maria leaves the abbey. Upon her return, the Captain soon breaks off his engagement with the Baroness and asks Maria to marry him. 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.
In some productions, "My Favorite Things" follows "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" in the thunderstorm scene, while "The Lonely Goatherd" is shifted to another scene. In the original Broadway production, "My Favorite Things" was sung by Maria and The Mother Abbess after the song "Maria", while Maria is still at the Abbey.[4]
Many stage revivals have also included "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good", which were written (music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers) for the film version.
Although many people believe that "Edelweiss" is a traditional Austrian song, in fact the song was written for the musical and is little known in Austria.[5]
The Ländler dance performed by Maria and the Captain during the party is only loosely based on the traditional Austrian dance of the same name.[6]
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.
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.
Later productions
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.
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.
An Australian revival of The Sound of Music played in the Lyric Theatre, in Sydney, New South Wales in 1999.[citation needed]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 and choreographed by Michael Lichtefield. The show was produced by the Gordon Frost Organisation and Sports and Entertainment Limited.
The production also toured Melbourne, Victoria, Brisbane, Queensland, Adelaide and Perth, where Rachael Beck replaced Lisa McCune as Maria and Rob Guest took over as Captain von Trapp.
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) Andrew Lloyd Webber and featured presenter/comedian Graham Norton and a judging panel of David Ian, John Barrowman and Zoe Tyler. Connie Fisher was selected by public voting as the winner of the show. In early 2007, Fisher suffered from a heavy cold that prevented her from performing for two weeks. To prevent further disruptions, an alternate Maria, Aoife Mulholland, a fellow contestant on How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, plays Maria on Monday evenings and Wednesday matinee performances. Simon Shepherd was originally cast as Captain von Trapp, but after two preview performances he was withdrawn from the production, and Alexander Hanson moved into the role in time for the official opening date along with Lesley Garrett as the Mother Abbess. After Garrett left, Margaret Preece took the role. The cast also featured Lauren Ward as the Baroness, Ian Gelber as Max, Sophie Bould as Liesl, and Neil McDermott as Rolfe. Since September 2007, the cast has included Simon Burke as the Captain, Fiona Sinnott as the Baroness, Amy Lennox as Liesl, Paul Grunert as Max and Luke Fredericks as Rolf. Preece (Mother Abbess) continues in her role, and Summer Strallen replaced Fisher in February 2008, with Aoife Mulholland continuing the role on Monday evening and Wednesday Matinee performances.
The revival has received excellent reviews, especially for Fisher, Preece, Bould and Garrett. A soundtrack recording of the London Palladium cast was released.[7]
A Toronto production is scheduled to begin in September 2008. The role of Maria will be chosen by the public through a television show similar to How do you solve a problem like Maria? Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian will produce the show, and Lloyd Webber is expected to appear in the program, which is scheduled be aired during the months of July and August 2008. The production is expected to play at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre.
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 have been covered in popular music (for example, Gwen Stefani's 2006 single, "Wind It Up") and pastiched in advertising (for example, in TV ads for SkodaFabia).[8])
The musical is also featured in the plot of films including the 1993 film Addams Family Values, where Pugsly, Wednesday, and Joel are made more "Chippewa" by being forced to watch The Sound of Music. Similarly, in the 2005 Disney movie The Pacifier, Seth Plummer and Vice Principal Murney (Brad Garrett), are cast as Rolf and the Reverend Mother, respectively, in a high school production of The Sound of Music.[citation needed]
