Hello again, readers! I hope you have been enjoying all the blogs from my close friends as I have been away on vacation. While trying to return to my normal routine of daily activities and blog research, I came across two very interesting facts that sparked a fuse of curiosity. It was on this day, July 5th, in 1964 that director Robert Wise and The Sound of Music cast and crew wrapped up their eleven weeks of shooting on location in and around Salzburg, Austria. Little did they know then what an impact those eleven weeks were going to make in cinematic history – and this blogger’s life! Fast forward to the current year of 2012 and The Sound of Music is still in news headlines with talks of a live television version of the award-winning musical to air on NBC. My little musical loving heart leaps for joy.
A live broadcast of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is no stranger to the air waves of television. On March 31, 1957, CBS aired Cinderella - the writing duo’s first collaborative effort written strictly for television. It starred a then unknown 21 year old named Julie Andrews as the title character and Edith Adams as her Fairy Godmother. The show was a smashing success and was seen by over 100 million viewers! (Another fun factoid: Cinderella was broadcast in color, but a black and white kinescope is all that remains.)
An air date for The Sound of Music has not yet been announced, but we know the producers from “Smash” will be backing this project which gives me positive vibes about the production. Producer Craig Zadan recently stated about the show, “What we want to do, instead, is to give audiences a completely fresh experience of this great Tony Award-winning stage musical in the form of a classic television event, combined with the spontaneity of a live performance. And all of the actors will be singing live; there will be no lip-synching to pre-recordings.” The only question that remains now is WHO will be cast?
It is hard for me to imagine anybody who can remotely come close to the magic of Julie Andrews created in the role of Maria, so I want to know your thoughts about casting. Will you watch the live broadcast when it airs?
Until next time,
Thea