Musicals and Other Shows

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, it's the same version.

[Katharine]

Thanks Anita, it is definitely on my wish list then.

[IceMaiden]

Cats is wonderful, one of my favourite musicals. The choreography, music and songs more than make up for the lack of plot, though there is a story among the seemingly random bunch of songs. It's very clever how it's put together and works on a stage (the less said about the movie remake the better...). The DVD version is from 1998, I have it, it's brilliantly clear, detailed and close-up as it was filmed specifically as a film version not a filmed recording of the original stage production, the only ALW musical to have had this treatment. I wish they'd done the same with Phantom of the Opera and I'd give my eye teeth for a film of the original Evita.

[Boatbuilder]

I saw Evita at the Prince Edward Theatre in November 1981. Gosh, was it really THAT long ago?

[IceMaiden]

Lucky you BB, you have no idea how envious I am of you right now! Although the version I desperately want to see and is almost certainly a pipe dream is the original 1978 production and cast. I have an audio recording of the whole show so at least I've heard it but I would so loved to have seen it too.

[Fiona1986]

Tonight I watched Sound of Music, Live! Apparently there are two of these, this was the one with Carrie Underwood as Maria and Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp. It was good, but nothing can beat the Julie Andrews film!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I watched that too, Fiona. At first I wasn't convinced by Carrie Underwood as Maria and I felt that her voice sounded harsh in the first few songs. However, she got better and better as she went along (in my opinion, anyway) and I ended up enjoying it.

You say that "there are two of these" and I saw the other one when it was broadcast on ITV in December 2015, starring Kara Tointon as Maria and Julian Ovenden as Captain von Trapp. I have that version on DVD and I like it better than the one with Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer, as Kara Tointon plays Maria with great sensitivity and radiance.

Julie Andrews is the definitive Maria though!

Recently I also watched two streamed performances of Frankenstein at the National Theatre. One had Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Victor Frankenstein, while their roles were reversed in the other. They were tense, powerful productions but I was particularly moved by Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of the creature.

I watched the quirky National Theatre Twelfth Night too, which was both amusing and poignant. It had Tamsin Greig as Malvolia (female version of Malvolio!)

Theatres need to get back to work in some way or another in order to survive, but social distancing looks set to remain in place for quite some time and that makes things tremendously tricky for them.

[Katharine]

Tonight I watched Sound of Music, Live! Apparently there are two of these, this was the one with Carrie Underwood as Maria and Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp. It was good, but nothing can beat the Julie Andrews film!

I've just watched that. As I'm a massive fan of the film, it was better than I feared it would be, but I don't think I'd bother to watch it again.

Carrie Underwood's voice was very powerful, but I felt it was a little too 'shouty' and nasal in tone (reminded me of Cilla Black's). I had to turn the sound down on the TV as I felt the singing in general was too loud - but that meant it was a strain to hear the speaking.

The acting I thought was a bit OTT/wooden, but I'm assuming that was because it intended for a stage audience where it needs to be exaggerated.

Also, I appreciate that some scenes had to be altered to accommodate the lack of outdoor shots, but couldn't understand why the scene where the Captain and his fiancee call of the wedding was completely changed. The fact that she was a wealthy business woman I'm pretty certain wasn't in the film either. I couldn't help wondering if it was an attempt to 'modernise' her character which if so, is really annoying when they apply modern standards/expectations to historical settings. I also noticed the absence of the name 'Hitler', which again seems a little silly, but maybe the use of the word is banned in some countries and they wanted it to be shown anywhere?

[Anita Bensoussane]

The Sound of Music, Live! was a made-for-television performance of the stage play, which came before the film. Certain things were altered for the film, including some songs being omitted, moved or added.

[Katharine]

Ah, that's interesting Anita. I wonder which was altered then from the original stage version, the film or the modern stage version.

I read the book in my teens, and from what I remember, the film and stage versions are quite different anyway. I'm fairly sure the Captain didn't have 7 children when Maria arrived, and I suspect the telegram boy is pure fiction too.

Although I've also seen documentaries, including interviews with Maria's relations, which cast doubt on of the authenticity of parts of the book.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I read Maria von Trapp's memoirs as a teenager and was amazed to learn just how much of the story of The Sound of Music was basically true (though the events shown in the musical actually happened a long time before the Second World War, if I remember correctly).

Tony and I saw The Sound of Music on stage in Woking on 14th March - a truly magical performance which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also saw an amateur performance with my daughter some years ago. The Sound of Music, Live! appears to have been firmly based on the stage version.

[Katharine]

Ah, maybe I didn't read it as carefully as I thought I had! Plus of course, my teenage years are further away than yours Anita.

I've just done a quick Google and I was wrong about the children, there were 7 originals, although the eldest was a boy, not as girl as in the film.

Unfortunately I think my parents gave away the book that I read (it was theirs, not mine), but I do have a sequel somewhere that I picked up a few years ago, but haven't read yet.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I read The Sound of Music - The Trapp Family Singers as a teenager and The Trapp Family on Wheels a little later. A lot of things were different from either the film or the stage play but until I discovered the first book (which I picked up for a few pence at a kiosk on Colwyn Bay promenade) I had assumed the entire story of The Sound of Music was fictional so I was surprised to find that it was based on a true story. If I remember correctly, the real Maria had been training to become a nun but went to the von Trapp family as a governess (specifically for one child rather than for all seven, though she grew to love them all). She ended up marrying Georg even though he had been going to marry someone else. And of course, they were a musical family and sang in concerts.

[Fiona1986]

I agree about Carrie Underwood's voice. She's probably better suited to her country and western songs rather than the Sound of Music.

Obviously they had to change various things to fit the sets they had, and they did it quite cleverly. I know it was based on the stage show but Do Re Mi done in the main hall and then out on the terrace had clear nods to the film version in the dance routine. I was just disappointed that we didn't get the summerhouse dance with Leisl and Rolf (but that might well have been created just for the film.)

I thought the little asides with the housekeeper and butler were good too, presumably inserted either to the play or this adaptation to allow for changing the scene?

[Katharine]

I thought the little asides with the housekeeper and butler were good too, presumably inserted either to the play or this adaptation to allow for changing the scene?

At first they irritated me, but then I changed my mind, as I think they quite cleverly set the background for the growing unrest etc. As it was a musical, I think it's sensible to keep the dialogue to a minimum, and probably the little sketches with the housekeeper and butler filled in some necessary details that possibly would have taken several scenes to do in the film.

I hadn't considered the scene changes, but that's a good suggestion.