I'm assuming it will be the stage version (at least to a greater degree) since they cast Benanti and Borle as the Baroness and Uncle Max. There would be no reason to have singers in those roles otherwise.
As for "blaming it on Eleanor Parker," she was cast as the Baroness after the screenplay had been written. I know other non-singing actresses who were up for the part as well. It was never going to be a singing role in the film.
Despite having a beautiful melody (which they kept as underscoring), How Can Love Survive isn't necessary to the plot or to character development. It was an easy cut, in my opinion, and since they were expanding other moments in the story (such as the chase scenes getting away from the Nazis toward the end), it made sense to remove a song that is pretty much superfluous.
I've seen The Sound of Music several times on stage, and "How Can Love Survive?" and "No Way to Stop It" add nothing to the overall show that we don't already know or come to learn about these characters and their situations. If anything, it makes them a bit more evil, shallow, and calculating. We get enough of that in the plot without overemphasizing the point. I think it makes the story more powerful if we don't completely hate the Baroness. She tried her best, and lost. She doesn't even lie to Maria. She merely exposes her love for the Captain and his love for her, and that's enough to drive Maria away. And Maria asks her not to mention a word of it to the Captain. While she certainly plotted and schemed, she also maintained a definite about of dignity while trying to "keep her man." And her scene with the Captain when he tells her "It's no use," is very touching in the film. That's why I think the film is a definite improvement over the stage show.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 9/17/13 at 09:13 AM
