In 1962, when I was nine years old, I saw The Sound Of Music which was my first live play. It was at the old Shubert Theater in Chicago, and I was very much enthralled with this production. I knew that this NBC production would be taken more from the source play, rather than the film version (which I have also loved for nearly 50 years). The fact that this show was presented live did transmit a bit of excitement to me. I have seen the film umpteen times and own the DVD of it, but it was indeed a treat to see again the stage version, with it's differences from the film after all this time. I did remember the two tunes which had been cut from the film, reinstated here, and the position changes of some of the other tunes. Carrie Underwood had difficult shoes to fill, indeed, as Maria. Her singing was flawless, and that overcame her unsureness in her acting. (For me). Audra McDonald blew me away as the Mother Abess. Her "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" was beautiful and moving. Did anyone else notice the resemblance between the actress playing Liesl and Angela Cartwright who played Brigitta in the film version? Or the disquieting resemblance of the gentleman who played Max (Sorry, I don't know all the names of the cast) to cult director John Waters? This was a glittering production, with superb direction, beautiful settings and an excitement that only a live telecast can exude. I can only hope that NBC, as well as the other networks will see the successful ratings of this production as a beacon of hope that we can expect more quality programming like this in the future. Perfect? Maybe not. But pretty darn good.
