Hmm recently, I was caught by the musical bug again (maybe because I’m going to S’pore to watch Phantom of the Opera). And I was thinking of telling you one of my favourite musicals of all time. THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The Sound of Music was directed by Robert Wise and starred Julie Andrews (my favourite musical actress next to Lea Salonga) and Christopher Plummer.
This musical was actually my first musical I’ve ever watched. My grandmother (God bless her) was the one who introduced me to this wonderful musical. The story line and the music are the many reasons why I’ve watched this musical more than 100 times (I’ve counted) and I still watch it today. I’ve lost count also the many times I would just listen to the dialogue while I’m doing my work even without watching the picture, I can visualize what is happening.
Why do I like this musical? Well I guess it was the first musical I’ve ever watched, and it is the musical that made me liked performing arts. As a young child, I would put on the music and make my own steps/choreograph the dance sequence (although I can’t dance). I would also sing along and that’s where the hobby of singing anywhere and anytime came about. The songs are easy to follow and catchy.
Although I have watched this musical so many times, it stills give me the goosebumps when Julie Andrews burst into the first song and it still brings tears in my eyes when the captain sings The Sound of Music with his kids and when the reverend mother sings Climb every Mountain.
The Sound of Music has also been tested against time. My niece (about 9) is in Britney Spears era. I have always thought this generation may not appreciate movies like this. But I was wrong. I put on the show for them to watch (told them it was Uncle Aaron’s favourite) and my goodness they were glued. And they liked it. I guess The Sound of Music is here to stay.
The movie version of the Sound of Music is not the same as the stage version. Both have the same songs but the interpretation of the script is a little different. I prefer the movie version cause it makes Maria and Captain a little more realistic than the stage play.
Below are some trivia about the movie that I found interesting out of wikipedia:
1) Many people believe "Edelweiss" to be a traditional Austrian song, or even the national anthem. In fact the song was written for the musical and is little known in Austria. The song was the last that Oscar Hammerstein II wrote.
2) The Ländler dance that Maria and the Captain shared was not performed the traditional way it is done in Austria.
3) "I Have Confidence" is a song that Rodgers wrote as a musical bridge, needed in the movie to get Maria from the convent to the von Trapp manor (as he explained). During that segment, at one point Julie Andrews passes under an archway. As pointed out in one of the DVD's extras, the real Maria von Trapp, one of her daughters, and one of her daughters (Maria's granddaughter) can be seen starting to cross the road at that point. The von Trapps arrived on set that day and director Wise offered them this walk-on role. It has also been reported that Andrews tripped at one point during the filming, a moment the editors left in because it seemed to fit the character.
4) The order of several of the songs is markedly different between the stage play and the film, thanks to the screenwriting of Ernest Lehman. One example is that in the play, "My Favorite Things" is sung at the convent, whereas in the movie it is sung to the children. A couple of the songs were altered. "How Can Love Survive?" (which did not fit the flow of the movie very well) was reduced to an instrumental, one of several waltz numbers played at the party occurring just before intermission. The title song's four-line prelude ("My day in the hills has come to an end, I know..."), sung by Mary Martin in the stage play, is reduced to an instrumental hint during the overture and dramatic zoom-in shot to Julie Andrews on the mountaintop at the start of the movie.
5) Ironically, the movie featured a rare onscreen performance by Marni Nixon, who plays Sister Sophia and is well known to have dubbed the singing voices for many famous movie stars such as Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. In fact, the producers weren't sure how Julie Andrews would react to her after Marni dubbed Hepburn in a role made famous by Andrews; however, when Andrews first met Nixon, she exclaimed, "Marni, I'm a fan of you!" and the producers were relieved.
A Scene from Sound of Music
Cheers
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