The Hills Are Alive...

This is my mini review of the live performance of the Sound of Music last night. Let me go ahead and say that I had been looking forward to this event since I first heard it was happening. I've loved the Sound of Music since I was a little girl, so when I saw it advertised I was almost giddy about it. I was not disappointed! I went into it knowing that it could never be the same thing as the movie with Julie Andrews that I love so much, but also knowing that the movie version is not what it should have been. It is something totally different...it is the live version of the STAGE version. It seems that too many folks that love the movie went into it with their "claws out," so to speak, ready to pounce on everything about it.

Here are some of the reasons why I liked it:

First of all, I LOVE live theatre. I've been in a hand full of shows, and I've watched too many live shows to count. There is nothing like it. I like that it is usually not perfection. It is live and it is happening right now and it is flawed in little ways. The flaws and the unexpected things that happen add to the show and help you to see how well an actor can adjust. So when someone was standing on Laura Benanti's dress and she had to adjust, or when the man playing the German officer obviously flubbed his lines a little and Stephen Moyer had to cover for him (and they both recovered quickly), it's those little things that make it so exciting to me. It reminds me that, oh yea, this is happening RIGHT NOW, right here in front of me. So, no, this show was not perfection (except for maybe Audra McDonald, she is always pretty close to perfection I'm pretty sure, and has five Tonys to prove it), but, its little imperfections make it so much better to me. Come on people, it was happening LIVE!! They rehearsed it hundreds of times I'm sure, but they didn't get to record each scene over and over again, take after take, like they do for movies. Not to mention, they didn't have someone working on tweaking and editing each scene for months to make it absolutely perfect. One shot, that's it! How exciting!

Secondly, while I agree that Carrie Underwood's acting skills were not the best I'd ever seen, I mean, you'd think that was her first time ever doing live theatre or something, oh, wait, IT WAS!! So, with that in mind I think she did pretty great. I've definitely seen worse. And no one can deny that her singing was absolutely spot on! How awesomely brave to take on such a huge, iconic role. And, while they could have cast a broadway star that could do the singing and the acting, bringing Carrie Underwood to the role brought a whole new generation and introduced a new audience to live theatre. An audience that may not have tuned in had they cast someone unknown to the "mainstream" folks.

And, thirdly, my boys were enthralled. Even my baby girl was swaying to the music. And here is this little new generation who got to experience seeing a live, broadway-worthy show and we didn't even have to leave this house (granted that had to go to bed before it was over).They got to see a show broadcast live, in which the main character says a prayer in front of millions of people nationally, and who also speaks of God and God's will multiple times. And at the same time, learned a little history. That, in itself, is priceless. It was good, clean fun that I could actually sit down and watch with my entire family sitting with me. How often does that happen anymore?!?

If you watch this show with an open mind and a willingness to sit back and have fun, you might actually enjoy it. It was a beautiful event and I'm glad it happened!