Posted: 7/22/15 at 5:23pm
Victoria Clark would have been a wonderful as the Abbess, but Ashley could be a novice herself in that convent.
Posted: 7/22/15 at 6:27pm
Davis was reportedly wonderful at Papermill in this role.
Brown will no doubt sing a glorious Climb Ev'ry Mountain, but the role is a colossal waste of her talents. I feel like it was only a couple of years ago she played Maria at the MUNY.
Posted: 7/22/15 at 6:36pm
I saw Davis as Papermill; he was fantastic.
And yes, the real story is quite different. The breakdown of the kids is different, for one, and I assume it was changed to add the Lisel subplot.
Posted: 7/22/15 at 9:52pm
It's interesting that people are mentioning Victoria Clark. The funny thing is she directed Kerstin Andersen in the Pace University production of The Light in the Piazza last year. I read that Jack O'Brian said he "discovered Kerstin" at her SOM audition, but one could easily argue that it was Ms. Clark who put KA on the map. Clark cast her as Clara in her production, which clearly gave KA (and her castmates) major visibility. From what I heard, that production was very impressive.
As for Ashley Brown, she's a hell of an actress and will probably be an excellent foil for Kerstin. And if you think she's too young, that's what make up and wimples are for!
Posted: 7/23/15 at 12:46am
Would Victoria Clark even consider going on tour? These days it seems that established Broadway actors don't typically do tours anymore. It seems that it is usually tours are populated by performers that are still trying to make a name for themselves.
I was quite surprised when it was announced that Idina Menzel would be taking part in the first few months of the If/Then tour.
Posted: 7/23/15 at 2:14am
*anybody* will go on tour for the right money, the problem nowadays is that there isn't a ton of money left in the touring market to secure someone who commands a lot of money.
Posted: 7/23/15 at 2:39am
I'm so glad and excited to see this show live on stage. I have all the cast recordings, seen the nbc live show, and only parts of the movie (in the minority lol). I mostly listen to the obc with Mary Martin. Can't wait to see it!
Posted: 7/23/15 at 6:37pm
Maria was orphaned at the age of 7. At 18, she graduated from a teachers' college, then entered the abbey as a postulant. Three years later (age 21), she was sent to teach the youngest von Trapp daughter (the mother had died the year Maria entered the abbey), and eventually began taking care of the other children as well.
After about a year, the Captain, 25 years older than Maria, asked her to marry him. She did (she stated in her memoirs that she didn't love him, but learned to later) in November 1927. She bore their first child three months after the wedding. She later tried to alter that child's birth date to 1 year later, but official documents show otherwise. So, clearly, the master of the house was diddling the governess, knocked her up, and had to marry her.
7-8 years later (1935), the Captain lost his money, having transferred it from a stable London bank to a failing Austrian one run by a friend. When the money was gone, they rented out most of their house to students.
Maria didn't teach the children to sing; that was done by Franz Wasner, a priest and friend of the Captain. The family began singing at concerts to help bring money in to the impoverished family.
In 1938, the family moved to Italy (by train, not hiking over mountains), then sailed to the US in 1939, where they stayed.
No offense, but there are inaccuracies in this post as well.
Posted: 7/24/15 at 2:40pm
The trailer looks AMAZING! Kind of like the West Side Story 2009 revival trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwfLzabB6cg
Updated On: 7/24/15 at 02:40 PM
Posted: 7/24/15 at 5:29pm
That's a beautiful trailer! Thanks for sharing! I wonder where it was shot?
Posted: 10/30/15 at 4:10pm
Saw this last night! It was actually a very enjoyable production, my first time seeing this on stage. Ashley Brown for me personally stole the show. Her Climb Every Mountain was beyond stunning and was quite the Act 1 closer!
Posted: 10/30/15 at 9:56pm
degrassifan said: "That's a beautiful trailer! Thanks for sharing! I wonder where it was shot? "
It was shot in Nashville!
Posted: 11/17/15 at 11:22am
Is there anyone else who has seen this and can share a report? I'm trying to decide if I should go or skip it.
Posted: 11/17/15 at 1:48pm
If you can go, then go, since its an entertaining show. I personally missed the lavish sets and costumes shown on the NBC live broadcast and having watched the DVD lot of times, it is what I got used too now.
The standouts are Ben Davis and the von Trapp children. The rest of the cast is ok and I wonder if any of them has improved since I saw the show during the second week of the run. As a matter of fact I am planning another visit to see just that.
If you have any questions feel free to ask tough I hate posting spoilers.
Posted: 3/19/16 at 11:34pm
I couldn't find a more recent thread about the tour, so I'm bumping this one. I saw the tour in Philadelphia and was absolutely charmed by it. Kerstin Anderson is such a charming and spunky Maria with a gorgeous voice and so many wonderful roles ahead of her. Ben Davis has a fantastic voice, and I remember him very vividly as The Preacher in Violet. Davis does a wonderful job of slowly melting to Anderson's charms as Maria and taking in the work she does with his children. Watching him as he hears them sing for the first time brought me to tears, as did his "Edelweiss". Melody Betts has just recently joined the tour taking over for Ashley Brown and she delivers an absolutely stunning version of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".
The children were all adorable and precious - especially the adorable nugget of a girl playing Gretel and the charming girl who played Brigitta. Merwin Foard is a charming Max, Dan Tracy is a fine Rolf and a nice match for the charming Paige Silvester as Liesl. Teri Hansen does the best she can playing Elsa, but it's a difficult role to be the wedge between Captain Von Trapp and Maria.
The set was fine, but I felt like it could have been grander in ways. The backdrop of the Alps, the windows of the Von Trapp household, and the gorgeous stain glass of the abbey were highlights. I absolutely think if the tour comes to a town near you, go. I only knew the film and the live television production, and I was so charmed by this production.
Updated On: 3/19/16 at 11:34 PM
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:37pm
So thrilled that I bought a ticket months ago so I could see Ashley Brown in Pittsburgh tomorrow, and I just now find out she's no longer on the tour.
End dates for principal performers should be announced as a courtesy. This is getting ridiculous. The same thing happened to me last year when Kyle Dean Massey and Lucie Arnaz left the PIPPIN tour the week before Pittsburgh. I know they're not household names, and that the average theatergoers in these cities don't care who they see. However, I'm sure I'm not the only person who DOES follow the industry and IS familiar with certain 'name' performers and would like to plan accordingly.
Updated On: 3/24/16 at 01:37 PM
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:43pm
Ashley left the tour because she is pregnant and has been very open about it in all her social media postings. I know I was bummed that Ashley left a few weeks before Philadelphia myself, but tours don't tend to make big notices of casting changes (unless you're Wicked or Book of Mormon - sometimes). I do agree with you that it should be a little bit easier to know when someone is leaving, but it's sometimes not hard to find out via social media postings.
Also, Melody Betts is an incredible performer and I loved her Mother Abbess.
Updated On: 3/24/16 at 01:43 PM
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:49pm
Ok, that's understandable if she's left for health reasons since she's pregnant.
But "but tours don't tend to make big notices of casting changes" is my point... they SHOULD announce the end dates for principal performers when they're known in advance. It's not fair to those of us in touring markets who purchase tickets well in advance for the announced "Performer A" and then get stuck with "Performer B" with little or no notice, like the PIPPIN situation I mentioned.
Updated On: 3/24/16 at 01:49 PM
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:50pm
Well, "stuck with" is subjective.
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:54pm
LizzieCurry said: "Well, "stuck with" is subjective.
Yes, yes, very good point. 
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:54pm
I completely get where you're coming from, and I do agree that tours should make it a little easier to find out if a performer is still in said tour or has departed.
I do hope you decide to go and see Melody because she is wonderful and don't feel "stuck" with her performance. Although, I suppose you could "unstick" yourself and sell the tickets.
Updated On: 3/24/16 at 01:54 PM
Posted: 3/24/16 at 1:58pm
The only city in the states that I've seen a national tour is Los Angeles, but frankly every time I have there have been tons of empty seats. Is it that way in Pittsburgh? I tend to be a last minute ticket buyer, I guess partly because I do want to know who is in the company when I see the show.
Posted: 3/24/16 at 2:02pm
I was venting with my original post. Of course I will still be going and I'm sure I'll enjoy myself. Still sad that I won't be seeing Ashley, since I've been looking forward to this for a while now. But I certainly won't hold anything against her replacement while I'm seeing the performance, and I'm sure she's talented in her own right to land this role.
Just wanted to get some other opinions on the casting announcement issue. 
Posted: 3/24/16 at 2:07pm
That's the spirit, sbyfly! It's a gorgeous production and so rich with talented people. Enjoy!
QueenAlice - I am use to the Philadelphia tour circuit and it depends on the show in terms of how well it sells. I like you tend to be a last minute/and or day of ticket buyer, so I never know truly how well sold things are. With the Academy of Music given its size, there's usually always something available for most performances. With the two runs of Book of Mormon and the run of Kinky Boots at the Forrest, there has been ticket availability for last minute/day of options.
Posted: 3/24/16 at 2:13pm
I'm sorry I didn't know this was in Philadelphia. That's the closest stop to DC this tour is going.
