Wednesday, November 13, 2013
COERCED GOAT MARRIAGES: While our friend Linda Holmes points out the many fundamental flaws of The Sound of Music (seriously, Maria, they're calling you a problem at your own wedding?), focusing on the film, I'd like to draw your attention to how many of your favorite things are different in the film compared to the staged version which will be performed on NBC.
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I'm annoyed I missed that Holmes article last week, because it's exactly right about who the best character in Sound of Music is: The Baroness. (And to the movie's credit, it doesn't give her some silly "trying to breaking up the Captain and Maria" plot; she just moves on.)
ReplyDeleteThe differences between the stage and film versions really struck me when I saw it onstage in Toronto a few years ago. I've long been fascinated by the process of adapting a work from one medium to another, and this is a great example. (Cabaret is also a superb example - I prefer the movie, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing Cumming and Williams on Broadway next spring.)
ReplyDeleteI don't *love* the movie version of The Sound of Music, but it's one of those movies that has been part of my life since my youth (or childhood), thanks to its annual TV screenings. So I don't really want to defend the movie too strongly, but I thought Linda's piece was RIDICULOUS. Differences of opinion are one thing, but getting stuff wrong is something else entirely. ("You only have 17 favorite things..." No. No she does not. "These are a *few* of my favorite things.")
The title of the song is inherently ridiculous and cannot be relied upon. A few is approximately three so it gets goofier and goofier as the song ends up with 14 favorite things (and c'mon, doorbells? Really?)
ReplyDeleteOne of the early disillusioning moments of my youth was finding out they changed the names of the von Trapp kids. I mean really? Based on a true story indeed...
ReplyDeleteWhat would be enormously gutsy is if ABC said "OK, we'll just air the movie that night." (Or at least if they popped it on ABC Family.)
ReplyDeleteI honestly kind of assumed that's happening.
ReplyDeleteThe problem (assuming there's not an agreement barring them from doing so, which there might be as a result of the license to let NBC do the production) is that ABC/Disney owns the rights and that's around the time of Grey's/Scandal midseason finales, and ABC Family doesn't want to muck with its successful "25 Days of Christmas!" thing.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking out of my butt on this, wouldn't NBC's license for this be for the stage musical and have nothing to do with ABC's license for the movie?
ReplyDelete(Also, as Amy knows from a recent discussion, I always forget that Grey's still exists.)
There may be some warranty from R&H Organization on exclusivity--I'm not sure what the full rights picture is for it.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we think they're doing the staged version, rather than a stage version of the film version? Sorry, I know I likely missed a reality TV show for the casting and several years of pre-publicity, but in my defense I did poke around for some articles and saw nothing in them to indicate that they're not just going to do a play of the movie, but you guys all seem so sure.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some interviews suggesting such, though it may be the revised stage version which incorporates previously film-only songs like I Have Confidence.
ReplyDeleteI assumed that since they cast Laura Benanti and Christian Borle as Elsa and Max, they're going to have them sing. That would mean the staged version. (That, plus Audra, are the only reasons I will watch any of this. Carrie Underwood as Maria just does not work for me.)
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