Unreasonable expectations abound when it
comes to the groundbreaking three hour performance of The Sound of Music LIVE
on NBC December 5, 2013. I grew up
watching The Sound of Music, and of
course Carrie Underwood isn't Julie Andrews, but she and that cast did a decent
made-for-TV LIVE version of a classic Broadway musical made movie that can't be
matched. There are a number of reviews
floating around, but this is the article that seems most accurate of the ones I’ve
read.
Not even Carrie Underwood thought she
could be a modern day Julie Andrews. One
of the qualities of classic, famous films is that the parts are played so well
by those chosen for those roles that you can’t imagine anyone else doing it
better. If you tuned in last night to
see if Carrie Underwood would put in a performance as perfectly fitting,
amazing, and endearing as Julie Andrews did, then in my opinion, you just don’t
get it.
It didn’t look like there was anything
alive on that hill, except for people.
Costumes weren’t always fitted properly.
The sound mix left something to be desired. All true.
The scenery wasn’t perfect or as breathtaking as filming on location, nor
were the costumes as impressive or the lighting as spot-on as it could be, but
again, what do you expect for a soundscape where you must perform and get the
audio and video as perfect as possible because you’re broadcasting live to
millions?
I think it was incredibly gutsy of Carrie
Underwood to accept this challenge. No
one with any sense, understanding of musical theater, of acting, filmmaking, or
Broadway actually expected last night’s performance to make people jump up and
rejoice that a moving rendition of the story had finally been done right. They did it right with the original film that
came out in 1965, which is the only reason this whole scenario has caused such an
uproar. People respect and appreciate the
quality of the original film and its actors.
The Sound of Music is a
classic that continues to be unparalleled.
Last night’s performance was never
intended to rival that of the movie. It
was done more to inspire others to have a love and appreciation for Broadway
classics, LIVE performances, and adaptations of plays meant to be judged in
their own light and merit rather than compared to something else. The adaptations made for shooting this on a
soundscape live were quite clever. The
primary songs for which the musical is known and loved were fit in, even if
they didn’t appear in the order or circumstances in which they were in the
movie. The choreography was commendable,
the singing mostly beautiful, and the acting, by and large, was good.
My favorite quote about last night came
from my husband: “They did a great job.
It’s just the audio that bothers me.”
Trust my dear spouse to come up with such an assessment of a Broadway
musical. To his credit, I knew that as
someone who used to be a musician, own a recording studio, and be the soundman
for different bands Kevin was talking about his dissatisfaction with the audio
mix produced by the person(s) at the controls of the soundboard. Often the instruments overpowered the
singing, which they wouldn’t have and shouldn’t have if done correctly.
My mom’s biggest pet peeve was that they
didn’t use true edelweiss flowers. When
my mom was fourteen, she went with her father to Austria, and they brought home
some edelweiss seeds wrapped up in newspaper.
My mother has fond memories of planting them and watching them bloom in
her grandmother’s garden.
I grew up watching The Sound of Music as did my mother. The two of us know every word of the original
script and songs by heart, yet we really enjoyed the creativity used for this
production, because we didn’t go into it thinking or expecting Carrie Underwood
or anyone else to upstage the original film version. We hoped to be entertained and reminded of
our favorite scenes from the movie, which we were. In our minds that was the intention in the
first place; therefore, mission accomplished.
