The Sound of Music Live! (TV Special 2013)

The Sound of Music Live!: Directed by Rob Ashford, Beth McCarthy-Miller. With Carrie Underwood, Stephen Moyer, Laura Benanti, Christian Borle. A live telecast of the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

“I have to be honest here, I originally had no intention of watching this special, but when I found out it would be performed live, as they used to do in decades past, it piqued my curiosity. I also happened to turn on the TV just about the time it started, so decided to check it out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn no way was I expecting it to compare to the 1965 film. This was obviously supposed to be more akin to the stage production. Having said that, I was far more impressed than I anticipated. The music was fantastic and I loved the live acting quality to it. I only have a couple criticisms.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI understand that Carrie Underwood was probably selected because they wanted to get a name to draw in viewers. Her singing was actually quite good, but her acting was sub-par, especially to the rest of the cast. I understand she is not an actress, so I give her kudos for putting herself on the line.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for the rest of the cast, I was happy that they decided to use mostly unknown actors, who appeared to be trained for stage productions. It definitely added to the credibility of the show. I thought the kids were all great, except Gretel, who was definitely a star in the film version. This one did not seem especially gifted in acting or singing and even lacked charisma. I wondered if she might be the daughter of a producer or something. That was a shame because its another stand out role that suffered.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was pretty pleased with everything else. The sets were gorgeous! The transitions were seamless. The music overall was very fun and enjoyable, hearing those great Rogers u0026amp; Hammerstein songs never gets old! Was also nice that they included some songs that were not in the film version. I definitely donu0026#39;t feel I wasted my evening when there is so much other rubbish on TV. I hope people were open-minded and supportive, so perhaps weu0026#39;ll see another live musical special next year!”