''The Sound of Music Live!'' is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Directed by

Rob Ashford Rob Ashford (born November 19, 1959) is an American stage director and choreographer. He is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner. Early life and education Born in Orlando, Florida and ...

and Beth McCarthy-Miller, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and written by Austin Winsberg, the special was an adaptation of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's 1959 Broadway musical ''

The Sound of Music ''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. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''. The television special starred

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer and ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' winner Carrie Underwood as

Maria von Trapp Maria Augusta von Trapp Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), DHS (; 26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987), often styled as "Baroness", was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family, Trapp Family Singers. She wrote ''The Story of the ...

, and was performed and televised

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

from Grumman Studios in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Isla ...

. Spearheaded by NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt, the network positioned the special as being a live television "event". In preparing for the broadcast, Meron and Zadan emphasized the logistical challenges that they would face due to the live aspects of the special, and the fact that ''The Sound of Music Live!'' was an adaptation based on the musical itself and not the 1965 film version. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

, who starred in the 1965 film. The production was met with mixed reviews; much of its criticism was directed towards the casting of Carrie Underwood to play Maria, whom critics (including the real-life von Trapp family) believed was not experienced enough in theatre to portray such an iconic role. While her vocal performance was praised, her acting was described by critics as "amateur", "lifeless" and lacking emotion. The production was a ratings success for NBC; with a total of 18.62 million live viewers, ''The Sound of Music Live!'' brought the network its highest Thursday night viewership for an entertainment program since the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'' in 2004, and prompted NBC to sign Zadan and Meron on to produce more live musicals for the network.

Plot

Maria Rainer, a

postulant A postulant (from , "to ask") was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the period precedi ...

Nonnberg Abbey Nonnberg Abbey () is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria. Founded by Saint Rupert of Salzburg, it is the oldest continuously existing convent, nunnery in the German-speaking world. The monastery complex is today ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, is contemplating the day she has spent in the mountains. When she returns to the Abbey, she learns from the Mother Abbess that she is to be the new governess for the von Trapp children. When Maria arrives at the von Trapp house, she is greeted coldly by the Captain and introduced to the children, who enter with military precision. Maria finds that the Captain has emotionally closed himself off since the death of his wife, and decides to teach his children the basics of singing to gain their trust and acceptance. A month, later the Captain returns home with Elsa Schraeder, whom he is courting, and their friend Max Detweiler, who is looking for the perfect local singing group to perform at the annual Kaltzberg Festival. When his children arrive dressed in play clothes Maria had made from her old bedroom curtains, he is outraged and embarrassed. Maria then confronts the Captain and tells him that he does not know or understand his children, and that they need him, but this only upsets him more and he orders her to return to Nonnberg Abbey. However, upon hearing his children sing to Schraeder, his eyes are opened to the truth Maria had been speaking and he embraces his children, asking Maria to stay on as governess. The Captain throws a grand party to introduce Schraeder, and when the band plays the Ländler, the captain's youngest son asks Maria to teach him the dance, and the captain steps in to help her. As the two dance, an unspoken attraction begins to arise between them, and Maria puts a stop to the dancing. However, this unspoken attraction does not go unnoticed by the Captain's daughter Brigitta, who confronts Maria on this. Though Maria strongly denies it, she begins to realize that Brigitta is telling the truth. Schraeder calls the children out to say good night to the guests, and Max is instantly smitten with the idea of having the children sing in the festival. Meanwhile, Maria sneaks off unnoticed and returns to the Abbey, where she confides in the Mother Abbess that she has fallen in love with the captain and is ready to take her vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. The Mother Abbess denies her this, and encourages her to face her problem head-on and find the life she was born to live. Maria then returns to the von Trapp home and is warmly greeted by the children, whom had no longer felt the joys of singing due to her sudden departure. When she finds out that the Captain intends to marry Schraeder, she decides to see her duties through until arrangements can be made for a new governess. However, the political differences between Schraeder and the Captain cause the two to realize that they have no future together, and she leaves. Meanwhile, the Captain meets with Maria and the two admit their feelings for each other. The two agree to marry at the Abbey, and while the two are on honeymoon, Germany annexes Austria. When they return, the Captain is ordered to accept a commission in the German Navy and report immediately to

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

. Maria, thinking quickly, hands the Admiral in charge the program for the Kaltzberg Festival showing that the von Trapp Family Singers are scheduled to perform, so the Captain couldn’t possibly leave right away. They are granted permission to perform. During the finale, Max announces that a guard of honor is waiting to escort the Captain away as soon as the concert is over. Maria leads the family in one more song, during which they escape one by one and flee to the Abbey. The Nazi soldiers search the Abbey for the von Trapps to no avail, as the family decides to flee Austria over the mountains with Maria's help.

Cast and crew

;Main * Carrie Underwood as

(née Rainer) * Stephen Moyer as Captain Georg von Trapp * Laura Benanti as Elsa Schräder / Fräulein Schweiger * Christian Borle as Max Detweiler * Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess ;Supporting * Ariane Rinehart as Liesl von Trapp * Michael Campayno as Rolf * Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta von Trapp * Peyton Ella as Gretl von Trapp * Michael Nigro as Friedrich von Trapp * Grace Rundhaug as Marta von Trapp * Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa von Trapp * Joe West as Kurt von Trapp * Jessica Molaskey as Sister Berthe * Christiane Noll as Sister Margaretta * Elena Shaddow as Sister Sophia * Kristine Nielsen as Frau Schmidt * C.J. Wilson as Herr Zeller * Sean Cullen as Franz * John Bolger as Admiral von Scheiber * Michael Park as Baron Elberfeld * Ashley Brown as Ursula Benanti had previously portrayed Maria von Trapp on Broadway in 1998. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who had previously worked with Borle on the NBC musical drama television series '' Smash'', served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

s. Other credits include

and Beth McCarthy-Miller as directors, Ashford also was the choreographer, Priscilla Taussig served as producer, David Chase as

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

and Derek McLane as production designer. Catherine Zuber was

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

and Bernie Telsey was the

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

. The production is taken from the book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and is based on the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers'' by Maria von Trapp.

Development and promotion

On June 30, 2012, NBC's chairman Bob Greenblatt announced the network's plans to broadcast a live adaptation of the Broadway musical ''

'' in 2013. On November 30, 2012, the network announced that

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer and ''

'' fourth season winner Carrie Underwood would star as Maria von Trapp in the production. In a statement, Greenblatt justified Underwood's involvement, saying that "

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

was an iconic woman who will now be played by an iconic artist." On September 16, 2013, NBC revealed the full cast of the special, and released a promotional image depicting Underwood as Maria von Trapp, wearing blond braids and a

dirndl A dirndl () is a feminine dress which originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps. It is traditionally worn by women and girls in some Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.Anette Dralle & Christiane Ma ...

, referencing one of

' "most iconic moments" from the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

. Prior to being cast, Underwood personally asked Andrews for her endorsement of the role and the production, explaining that "whenever I do a cover of somebody's song or whatever, I always get permission of the artist first." Produced on a budget of around $9 million, ''The Sound of Music Live!'' was broadcast live from a soundstage built at Grumman Studios in

. NBC, as well as producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, emphasized that the production was not a remake of the film, but an adaptation of the musical itself; Meron iterated that "the audience will discover, within the first few minutes of watching the show, that they are not seeing a TV version of the movie. They'll know right away it's ''The Sound of Music'', but it's a different ''Sound of Music'' than they are accustomed to seeing on film." Meron felt that if successful, the broadcast could "open the door to another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." He also praised the involvement of Underwood as the star of the production, believing that she was a quick learner, and "has all of the qualities of Maria." Greenblatt was highly supportive of the project, as he was, in the words of Zadan, a "passionate devotee of theater". Zadan considered the production to be "one of the profoundly complicated, amazing experiences we’ve ever had", noting the additional challenges created by the live broadcast. Promoted by NBC as a "three-hour holiday event", ''The Sound of Music Live!'' was aired as part of a push by NBC to air more live entertainment specials. Among its most popular programs in recent years have been those with live components (such as '' The Voice'' and '' Sunday Night Football''); NBC's Jennifer Salke believed that the increased level of

social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

interaction possible in a live broadcast, along with the feeling of being part of an "event", would encourage viewers to watch the special live instead of on-demand or from a recording. NBC's previous attempt at event television, '' The Million Second Quiz'', was met with mixed reviews and viewership, but NBC did indicate that Subway's advertising throughout the series brought a higher level of

awareness In philosophy and psychology, awareness is the perception or knowledge of something. The concept is often synonymous with consciousness. However, one can be aware of something without being explicitly conscious of it, such as in the case of bli ...

to the brand. The television special was also the first live musical special in almost fifty years on NBC. Retail chain

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

served as the presenting sponsor for ''The Sound of Music Live!''. NBC also produced five themed Walmart commercials to air throughout the special, featuring scenes of a family using products from the store set to songs from ''The Sound of Music''. The five ads were timed to air during the commercial break following the scene where the song was featured; NBC's advertising chief Dan Lovinger considered the ads to be a way to "enhance the excitement" of the presentation for families.

Musical numbers

:''The list of musical numbers is taken from the actual broadcast and are in order as they appear in the broadcast and include the characters' names who perform the song.'' * "Preludium" – Nuns * "

" – Maria * " Maria" – Sister Berthe, Sister Sophia, Sister Margaretta, and the Mother Abbess * " My Favorite Things" – Maria and the Mother Abbess * "My Favorite Things" (reprise 1) – Maria and Sister Margaretta * " Do-Re-Mi" – Maria and the children * " Sixteen Going on Seventeen" – Rolf and Liesl * " The Lonely Goatherd" – Maria and the children * "How Can Love Survive" – Max and Elsa * "The Sound of Music" (reprise) – The children, the captain, and Maria * "The Grand Waltz" (instrumental) * " Ländler" (instrumental) * " So Long, Farewell" – The children & Party Guests * " Climb Ev'ry Mountain" – Mother Abbess * "The Lonely Goatherd" (reprise) – Max and the children * "Do-Re-Mi" (reprise) – The children * "Do-Re-Mi" (reprise 2) – The captain * "The Sound of Music" (reprise 2) – The captain and the children * "My Favorite Things" (reprise) – The children and Maria * " No Way to Stop It" – Elsa, Max and the captain * " Something Good" – Maria and the captain * "Processional" – Nuns * "Maria" (reprise) – Nuns * "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" (reprise) – Maria and Liesl * "Do-Re-Mi" (reprise 3) – Maria, the children, and the captain * " Edelweiss" – The captain, Maria, and the children * "So Long, Farewell" (reprise) – Maria, the children, and the captain * "Finale Ultimo: Climb Ev'ry Mountain" – Mother Abbess, Nuns, Maria, the children, and the captain * "End Credits" (instrumental)

Reception

Critical reception

Prior to the broadcast, members of the real-life von Trapp family were critical of casting Underwood to play Maria, agreeing with the notion that she would be a good singer but a poor actor. They suggested that

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

, who played Fantine in the 2012 film adaptation of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' for which she won the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

, would have been a better choice. ''The Sound of Music Live!'' received mixed reviews from entertainment critics, commending the show for its scope and supporting cast while questioning Underwood's acting capabilities. Kevin Fallon of ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' wrote: "Naturally, Underwood sounded astounding, as alive as those damned hills, every time she was asked to stand on top of things and belt. But whether it was because of nerves or lack of experience, her acting was painfully lifeless and amateur throughout the first two thirds of the lengthy ordeal. The singer, it seems, is a proud graduate of the school of 'If I don't blink, they'll think I'm acting!'" Verne Gay of ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' liked Underwood's performance, commenting that not only could she sing, but "she is a luminous stage presence who had the guts to take on one of the most iconic roles of the stage or screen." Brian Lowry of '' Variety'' described the production "as lifeless as tsalpine backdrops." Marc Bernardin of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' commended the production's aesthetics but called it a "very expensive karaoke", and he wrote that Underwood "doesn’t acquit herself so well when it comes to the carrying the emotional weight of the production." He also panned Moyer, criticizing his vocal performance and describing "his attempt at conveying an emotional hollowness" as "mildly constipated" and "clenched." However, he lauded Benanti, Borle and McDonald's "strong" performances.

Ratings

18.62 million viewers watched ''The Sound of Music Live!'', making it the most-watched program of the night. It had a 4.6 rating, 13 share in the 18–49 demographic, which led all networks. It attracted NBC's largest non-sports Thursday audience since the

of ''

'' in 2004 (which averaged 22.6 million viewers), and NBC's largest non-sports audience on any night since the 2007 Golden Globe Awards. The special performed the best with women in the 25–54 demographic, reaching a household rating of 7.0 for that demographic during the primetime broadcast. It did particularly well in Oklahoma City, the capital of Underwood's home state, where it was watched by 28% of TV viewers. At least 38.69 million viewers watched a portion of ''The Sound of Music Live!''. Factoring in DVR viewership over the week following the broadcast, the special was viewed by 21.84 million, with 3.1 million within the first three days. Following its original airing, an encore presentation of ''The Sound of Music Live!'' aired on December 14, 2013, attracting 3.1 million viewers. It notably displaced one of NBC's two traditional airings of the film '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (the other being on Christmas Eve), which was bumped ahead to December 20, 2013. NBC's Bob Greenblatt considered the production to be a success, and signed Meron and Zadan to produce another live musical for the 2014 holiday season. Greenblatt felt that there were enough recognizable, family-friendly musicals to make events such as ''The Sound of Music Live!'' an annual tradition, and he indicated that NBC received e-mails and phone calls from various theatrical rightsholders, expressing interest in having their musicals adapted in a similar fashion, In January 2014, NBC announced that it would broadcast a live version of '' Peter Pan'' in December 2014, and at NBC's upfronts in May 2014, Greenblatt announced that NBC had also obtained rights to produce an adaptation of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'', although the network did not announce any timeframe for the production. It was later revealed that ''The Music Man'' project was put on hold for a live performance of '' The Wiz''. Interest in the concept also spread to competing networks: in April 2014, Fox announced that it would produce a live production of '' Grease'', which aired in January 2016. NBC aired '' Hairspray Live!'' later that year. The special also had an influence on viewership for ABC's annual broadcast of the 1965 film version of ''The Sound of Music''; with 6.5 million viewers and a 1.3 share, it was ABC's highest-rated airing of the film since 2007, although it was beaten by NBC's '' Sunday Night Football''.

Accolades

Soundtrack

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the broadcast was released on December 3, 2013 and consists of 22 studio recordings.

outlets exclusively released a nine-track instrumental ( sing-along) bonus CD with the soundtrack. It peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Soundtracks chart. The soundtrack had sold 103,000 copies as of January 2, 2014.

Home media release

A DVD of the special was released on December 17, 2013, through Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes look, titled "The Making of ''The Sound of Music Live!''" and a preview of the soundtrack. It was released on DVD in Canada on January 7, 2014.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sound of Music Live! 2010s American television specials 2013 television specials American live television shows American English-language television shows American musical television films Musical theatre television specials NBC television specials The Sound of Music Television shows based on plays Television shows directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller Television remakes of films Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in Austria Trapp family Works based on actual events