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The Sound of Music

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For the film of the same name, see The Sound of Music (film)
For the St. Paul, Minnesota store of the same name, see Sound of Music stores
The Sound of Music
File:The Sound of Music OBC Album Cover.jpg
Cover of the original Broadway cast recording
MusicRichard Rodgers
LyricsOscar Hammerstein II
BookHoward Lindsay and Russel Crouse
BasisThe Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp
Productions1959 Original Broadway production

1961 Original London production

1981 London revival
1993 Stockholm premiere
1998 Broadway revival
2006 London revival

2007 Stockholm revival
Awards1960 Tony Award for Best Musical

The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, based on the book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. Songs from the musical became popular standards, including 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 was also made into a popular 1965 movie musical. The Sound of Music was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; the latter died of cancer nine months after the premiere.

After viewing a German film (Die Trapp-Familie (The Trapp Family, 1956) and a sequel, Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika (1958)), about the von Trapp family, stage director Vincent J. Donehue thought that the project would be perfect for his friend, Mary Martin; Broadway producers Leland Hayward and Richard Halliday (husband of star Mary Martin) agreed. It was originally envisioned as a non-musical play to be written by Lindsay and Crouse which would feature songs from the repertoire of the Trapp Family Singers. Then it was decided to add an original song or two, perhaps by Rodgers and Hammerstein. However, it was soon agreed that the project should feature all new songs and be a musical rather than a play.[1]

Synopsis

The action takes place in the town of Salzburg in Austria, just prior to 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 in 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, with which Maria immediately disagrees. The children, initially hostile and mischievous, soon come to like Maria, as she works to loosen the Captain's strict policies and brings warmth, including the joy of singing, back into their household. She finds herself falling in love with the stern Captain but tries to suppress her feelings, as 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, 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. When the Captain is called to duty in the Kriegsmarine of the Third Reich, Maria and the Captain arrange for the family to escape. After a family concert, as they sing their final song – Edelweiss – they leave through the convent and over the mountains to Switzerland.

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. It starred Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp. The director was Vincent J. Donehue and the choreographer was Joe Layton. The original cast included:

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. It was also nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (both Theodore Bikel and Kurt Kasznar), Best Director of a Musical (Vincent J. Donehue) and the entire children's cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, despite the fact that two of them were boys.

Jeannie Carson and Nancy Dussault also played Maria during the run. Jon Voight was a replacement for the part of Rolfe, and he eventually married co-star Lauri Peters. Florence Henderson headlined the national tour.

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. With the original New York choreography supervised by Joe Layton and the original New York sets designed by Oliver Smith. The cast included:

1961 Australian production

The Australian Production opened at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne 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:

A recording was made in 1961. It was the first time a major overseas production had been transferred to disc featuring Australian artists.

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, alongside Michael Jayston as Captain von Trapp and Honor Blackman as the Baroness. Despite her 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 her as "the best" Maria ever. Due to an unprecedented demand for tickets, Clark extended her initial six-month contract to thirteen months. Playing to 101% 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 chronicled by The Guinness Book of Theatre. This was the first stage production to incorporate the two additional songs that Richard Rodgers had composed for the film version. The cast recording of this production was the first to be recorded digitally, but the recording has never 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, Hyogo), starring Harukaze Hitomi and Gou Mayuka.

1990 New York City Opera production

In 1990, the 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 and then went on to tour in North America. This production was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

The Australian revival

File:Sound-of-Music-Australian-production.jpg
"The Sound of Music" Australian production

The Australian revival of The Sound of Music opened in the Lyric Theatre, in Sydney, New South Wales, with the star of the popular Australian drama Blue Heelers, Lisa McCune, playing the role of Maria von Trapp, TV personality Bert Newton as Max and John Waters as 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, and Brisbane, Queensland. The show also was also performed in Perth, Western Australia, with Rachael Beck replacing Lisa McCune as Maria and Rob Guest assuming the role of Captain von Trapp.

2006 London revival

An Andrew Lloyd Webber production opened on 15 November 2006 at the London Palladium, with Live Nation's David Ian co-producing 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 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, 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.

A soundtrack recording of the London Palladium Cast was released. This show received good notices. [1]

2007 Stockholm revival

A Stockholm revival is sceduled to begin in September 2007 with Pernilla Wahlgren as Maria and Tommy Nilsson as Captain von Trapp.

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, casting opera stars in the lead roles. Frederica von Stade sang the role of Maria opposite Håkan Hagegård's Captain von Trapp and Eileen Farrell as the Mother Abbess. Kunzel cast children from the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts to sing the children's parts. This all-digital recording combined the songs of both the stage and screen versions, and included sections of music that had been recorded for the first time.

Musical numbers

Act I

Act II

  • No Way To Stop It (Max, the Captain and Elsa)
  • An Ordinary Couple (Maria and the Captain) - sometimes replaced by Something Good.
  • Processional (The Nuns)
  • Sixteen Going On Seventeen Reprise (Maria and Liesl)
  • Do-Re-Mi Reprise (Maria, the Captain and the Children) - replaced by The Lonely Goatherd in the 1998 revival.
  • Edelweiss (The Captain, Maria and the Children)
  • So Long, Farewell Reprise (Maria, the Captain and the Children)
  • Finale (The Nuns)

NOTES:

  • 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 hymn. In fact the song was written for the musical and is little known in Austria.[2]
  • 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.[3]

Authenticity

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 a suburb of Salzburg, called Aigen. The real Maria was sent to be nurse to one of the children, not governess to all of them. The Captain's eldest child was a boy, not a girl, and the names of the children were changed (at least partly to avoid confusion, as the Captain's eldest daughter was also called Maria). The von Trapps spent some years in Austria after Maria and the Captain had 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 hated the movie - her standard response to praise was, "it's a nice story, but it's not my story. [2]

Cultural references

Songs from the musical have been heard often in popular culture. They have been covered or sampled in popular music (for example, Gwen Stefani's 2006 single, "Wind It Up") and pastiched in advertising (TV ads for Kia Motors).

Many television shows have featured characters singing songs or pastiches of songs from the musical, including Seinfeld, The OC, (episode 313, "The Pot Stirrer"), The Simpsons, and Family Guy. In other television shows, the musical is merely referenced (for example in the Charmed episode, "The Power of Three Blondes").

Trivia

  • The musical itself is virtually unknown in Austria, except in backpacker's hostels in Salzburg, where the film is screened daily on DVD.[4]
  • Maria von Trapp's book, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, was made into two successful German films before it was adapted as The Sound of Music. Maria sold the rights for less than $10,000, so the von Trapp family did not benefit greatly from its success.
  • During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear strike on the United Kingdom, the BBC planned to broadcast The Sound of Music on radio as part of an emergency timetable of programmes designed to "reassure" the public in the aftermath of the attack. A television broadcast would not have been planned or possible, though, as televisions would be rendered inoperable by the Electromagnetic pulse effect. [5]

References

  1. ^ http://www.rnh.com/theatricals/shows/TSOM_History.htm
  2. ^ http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps.html
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