Live Blog The Live Sound Of Music- Page 17

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 12:28am

But how many of those much-vaunted "Middle Americans" who tuned in for Carrie Underwood STAYED for the whole thing? Those ratings also clock how many people watch each segment. I'm afraid the fall-off may be catastrophic.

[loliveve]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 12:29am

I gotta say: DiGiorno's pizza's live tweet comments throughout the broadcast are hilarious.

a few of my favorites:

"YOU ARE 16, GOING ON 17 AND I'M ASSUMING YOU'D LIKE PIZZA FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY DINNERRRRRRR"

"HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA? GIVE HER PIZZA FOR GOODNESS SAKES" and

"BOOOOOOO ROLFE THE DELIVERY GUY BOOOOOO"
DiGiorno Pizza

[finebydesign]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 12:32am

Well PJ it did go pretty late for a "school night". Nonetheless NBC picked their serious PRIME TIME to air this so it definitely scored the most rating of all networks.

I didn't occur to me until the Tweeting began that NBC understood what it was doing. NBC owns this "live" stuff now. It's an incredible idea and one that can make what was old new again.

Money will talk, and this was MONEY

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 12:39am

I thought this was simply wonderful. Carrie Underwood gave an earnest, sweet, and incredibly well sung performance. I thought she was quite lovely.

Bravo NBC! A rousing success. I was grinning ear to ear the entire broadcast.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:16am

Besty, keep in mind NBC originally wanted to do Oklahoma! It was the producers who suggested SOM instead. If the ratings are good I could see them doing another R&H show.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:30am

I am hoping for The King and I.

[daisybeetle]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:33am

I admire Carrie's singing but she is not an actress. Wish they gave the lead to someone more deserving of prime time.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:37am

Laura Benanti for the win. She rocked this. Even more than Audra.

Otherwise, this was laughable.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:46am

I just got home from work and I'm too tired to watch it all till morning. Were there any mishaps?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 1:54am

Watching it now. I am loving it so far. Laura Benanti is incredible. Her facial expressions are hilarious. Perfection. Carrie's acting definitely lives a little bit to be desired, but I still think she's doing a pretty good job.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 2:29am

My favorite quote of the night from our viewing party came from a friend who knows nothing about musical just commenting on the last 5 minuets.
"Oh my God... Those nuns are amazing!"
It made the flaws and all totally worth it.

[A Director]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 3:11am

I'm not surprised many Broadway Vultures hated The Sound of Music.

I'm not surprised many Broadway Vultures look down their noses at people in other parts of the country. Many of these people aren't as ignorant as many Broadway Vultures think.

Yes, the first act of the Broadway script is long. This is true of most R & H musicals.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 3:39am

Let's face it, Mary Martin was no great shakes as an actress either. I've seen the private film Richard Rodgers had made of the London production of "South Pacific" in '51 and, personally, I think Underwood gave her quite the run for the money. The show desperately needed a live audience last night. So much more would have been forgiven in a crowd.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 6:07am

I call it a mixed bag, overall.

Loved the musical numbers, but Ms Underwood simply cannot act. Yet. I was not riveted to the screen, but there were definitely "moments" that worked beautifully.


As for NBC making more "live" shows...that would be terrific, but when I read the article that talked about making it a tradition, my understanding was airing THIS would become the tradition. Maybe I made the assumption because I believe the info appeared in the article talking about the re=broadcast.

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 6:56am

"But how many of those much-vaunted "Middle Americans" who tuned in for Carrie Underwood STAYED for the whole thing? Those ratings also clock how many people watch each segment. I'm afraid the fall-off may be catastrophic.

Gee, awfully churlish, aren't you, PJ? Peeved that people were afforded and -- heaven forbid-- got to enjoy something they LOVED and WANTED to see, instead of being inflicted with some cold, nasty ordeal with ugly music, that would have made them miserable ? This was a triumph for the people who love REAL musicals, and I, for one, am thrilled.

"Mary Martin was no great shakes as an actress."

I disagree. She won a Tony Award for her performance in The Sound of Music. Listen to her rendition of Sixteen Going on Seventeen on the cast album. There is acting in that, and it's wonderful.

A Director,

I too am disgusted by all the putdowns of "Middle Americans." These Americans have more heart and soul, and I dare say, far better taste than the elitist snots who deride them. Vultures you called them, and vultures they are.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:10am

"This was a triumph for the people who love REAL musicals, and I, for one, am thrilled. "
What's your definition of a REAL musical? I consider myself someone who loves musical and didn't think that was anything close to a triumph. More like a train wreck.

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:24am

Erik,

My definition of a real musical is one with beautiful music that moves, enchants, entertains, etc. The Sound of Music fits that defintion, amply.

I won't ask you what your definition is, for I don't care to find out.

[MollyL]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:24am

Bit of a theater outsider (at least compared to most of you) here...I watched this with my children because it was the Sound of Music, a show I remember seeing and enjoying as a child. Although I had heard Carrie Underwood's name, I couldn't have told you who she was or what she was famous for (and I had never heard of Stephen Moyer). We don't have any sort of cable and I went way, way out of my way to be able to watch this, and yes, we stayed for the whole thing. I believe if NBC were to air family friendly shows yearly, we'd be watching each time. And as I said, we don't ever watch any tv.

As to the quality, I loved Carrie's singing but her acting...was pretty painful. Stephen Moyer's singing and acting were both...not that great. The standouts in the cast to me were the people playing the Mother Superior, Elsa and Liesl. I do believe I'd heard of Audra McDonald before, but not Laura Benanti. The kids playing Brigitta and Gretl were kind of painful to me - really didn't like them at all, but when the kids sang as a group I thought it was really beautiful.

I would love to see more of Laura Benanti in any show - loved her facial expressions and humor. Honestly, don't people get excited about whomever they see as a newcomer (I'm thinking of those singing shows people watch all the time)?

I guess the bottom line for me was that they picked a show with plenty of name recognition and to me this does more to gain the audience than the person playing the starring role. That's certainly true in my family's case.

[AlfredColo]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:34am

Why did they not get a famous actress to do the part???

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:36am

Why did they not get someone who could act to play the part?

[peachesr82]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:43am

It was certainly no where near as bad as I had anticipated and while Audra and Laura Benanti clearly owned it, I found myself liking Stephen Moyer and I warmed to Carrie. It seemed like they all, Underwood mostly, took a little while to settle into it but it got better and I found myself really quite enjoying it. The sets were great and it felt like it moved really quite fluidly.
You sort of have to admire NBC's ambition in doing this, it wasn't perfect but kudos for them for even considering doing this and doing it live, I presume nothing like this has been done before. I only hope that they learn from this and try again with something else, maybe another R&H, Sondheim might be a big ask, but I think it's not a bad thing and actually in the long run, if it maybe snags the attention of people who wouldn't go to the theatre or kids then there's no harm done.

[suestorm]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:50am

"But how many of those much-vaunted "Middle Americans" who tuned in for Carrie Underwood STAYED for the whole thing? Those ratings also clock how many people watch each segment. I'm afraid the fall-off may be catastrophic."

Its this type of looking down at "middle america" snobbery by over educated/underemplyed elitists that prevent events like this from happening more often. Its the same attitude you see with all the bashing of tourists you see so often on these boards.

BOTTOM LINE: did you enjoy it? Was it fun? Did you sing along? YES ON ALL ACCOUNTS.

Updated On: 12/6/13 at 07:50 AM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 7:58am

Oh WOW! I just watched Climb Ev'ry Mountain on youtube. I was moved to tears. I am amazed not only by Audra's great voice (we all know she has the pipes) but in her acting choices in not only her facial expressions but her phrasing, vocal inflections and delivery that made a powerful song just that more powerful. I almost gave her a standing ovation!

[Jacobonce]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 8:44am

If NBC decides to do this again next year, I have a feeling it will be The Wizard of Oz. This formula can only work with a big star and a family-friendly show that everyone in the world knows. Other R&H shows like The King and I or Oklahoma could work, as could Grease, My Fair Lady, or Mary Poppins.

Personally, I'd love to see them tackle White Christmas.

If ABC/Disney decides to get in the game, Beauty and the Beast would be perfect in this setup.

And if we're fantasizing, I certainly wouldn't mind Little Shop with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Lady Gaga.

[fbueller]

Posted: 12/6/13 at 8:48am

Did Carrie have cue cards or was she being distracted by crew members? Her repeated glances off stage really took away from her performance.