I remember my parents taking me to see "The Sound of Music" at the Southtown movie theatre in Bloomington, MN when I was about 6-years old. I was in awe of the gigantic screen and how the mountains in the opening scene seemed so real - almost as if f were twirling along with Julia Andrews. And I, at the tender age of six, fell in love with Christopher Plummer.
(I was thrilled this year when Mr. Plummer was finally given credit for his acting by being presented an Oscar!!)
In 1959 the inspiring story of the von Trapp family was brought to Broadway. And in 1965 Hollywood brought the von Trapp Family story to the American public in film. However this was not the first time this story had been made into a movie. Two movies had been made earlier – ‘Die Trapp Familie’ (1956), and the sequel ‘Die Trapp Familie in Amerika’ (1958), both very popular in Europe.
All of these stemmed from the book ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’ which was published in 1949 and written by Maria von Trapp. German Film producer Wolfgang Reinhardt bought the rights to the story for $9000. Without realizing it, Maria had signed her rights away to any future royalties.
Mary Martin and her husband/manager Richard Halliday wanted to take on a new project and withthe assistance from Broadway producer Leland Hayward, to co-produce the Sound of Music. Hayward and Halliday hired two veteran Broadway scriptwriters, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, to actually write the Sound of Music script. Musical legends Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were approached to write an additional song for the play.
The Sound of Music Broadway Show opened on November 16th 1959 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York, with Mary Martin as Maria, and Theodore Bikel (another Austrian exile, just like the real version) as the Captain. The Sound of Music ran on Broadway for 1443 performances, closing on June 15, 1963. The show won numerous awards, including a Tony in 1960 for Best Musical.
Northern Light Opera is pleased to bring the Sound of Music to the Park Rapids area for the 2012 season! We will also have a special guest join us for the July 27, 28 and 29 performances. Debbie Turner-Larson, who was the original Marta in the Sound of Music film, will be discussing her experience with the audience prior to the NLOC performances!! We are THRILLED to have Debbie with us!
Park Rapids is alive....with The Sound of Music!
(More on the history of The Sound of Music can be found here (where I found this information to share) at: http://www.the-sound-of-music-guide.com/sound-of-music-broadway.html )
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