Why Have We Only Had One Broadway Revival of THE SOUND OF MUSIC?

It just seems odd that a property with so much name recognition and that's geared to a family audience would have only had one major revival.  I know there was first class, AEA tour directed by Jack O'Brien but why haven't there been moves to mount a Broadway production?

It just seems like it could be a cash cow if producers were to play their cards right. 

Is there more to the story? Has the R&H Organization held on tightly to the rights out of fear of a flop?

Probably because EVERY high school and community theatre does it, so tourists would have no reason to pay Broadway prices (unless they could get Taylor Swift (or Lizzo?) as Maria.

I believe the Broadway revival with Rebecca Luker (then Laura Benanti) did not recoup.

 

 

Okay, put your thinking caps on.  I'm sure you can figure out the reason.  

JSquared2 said: "Probably because EVERY high school and community theatre does it, so tourists would have no reason to pay Broadway prices (unless they could get Taylor Swift (or Lizzo?) as Maria.

I believe the Broadway revival with Rebecca Luker (then Laura Benanti) did not recoup.



"

Ironically enough to this comment, Taylor Swift was in Sound of Music in middle school. My mother knew the theater teacher who directed that production. So it would (bizarrely) not be unprecedented for Taylor.

Ironically enough to this comment, Taylor Swift was in Sound of Music in middle school. My mother knew the theater teacher who directed that production. So it would (bizarrely) not be unprecedented for Taylor.

MikeInTheDistrict said: "The stage version suffers in comparison to the film, IMO. It might be fairly difficult to find a director willing to take this on because, for some scenes, there's just not much you can do with it. The title song on stage is very static. You just have Maria standing and singing (maybe walking around a bit) in front of a backdrop of hills. Compare that to the breathtaking views of Julie Andrews on location at Mount Untersberg. "My Favorite Things" is also much better placed in the film. I could see someone like Sher looking at it and thinking there's not much he could do with it. O'Brien's production was fairly banal, like his Carousel.

I know the London revivals have incorporated changes to make it closer to the movie, so maybe that could be done here. I'd like to see something new done with it, like the recent Oklahoma! A local community theatre, years ago, did a very pared down production with projections and only a guitar as accompaniment. It was intimate and interesting."

 

In the original production, Mary Martin was lowered from above on the limb of a tree. It was far from static.

 

The simplest answer is the movie casts quite a shadow

jagman1062 said: "As I recall, the 1998 revival wasn't the hit it was expected to be, and the movie version is much-beloved and much better than the stage version. The filming of the movie on location makes presenting those same scenes on stage pale in comparison. Even the wedding scene during the revival wasn't as grand as that same scene in the cathedral in the movie (even though in reality, Maria and the Captain were married in a country church). I think this is one of those rare occasions where the movie is so much better than the stage version that presenting the show in a Broadway revival is a huge and almost impossible undertaiking."

Agree 100%. 

Plus, unlike London (where the West End production ran longer than the Broadway production, and a revival came as early as the 1980's), New York was about to go through quite a sea change as to what constituted a popular show. It's hard to imagine SoM doing well in 1970's or 1980's. Maybe more likely now, but the show pales in comparison to the film. Just not the same demand as there is for revivals of the other big R&H shows. 

Having said that, I'm a fan, and it would be good to see a revival that tried to be smaller and more intimate and played the show on its own terms rather than attempting to shove a Todd-AO roadshow film into a stage space. 

Georgeanddot2 said: "Because it's a dull musical made for Christians in middle America."

Yeah, no non-Christian ever cared for The Sound of Music. I guess you think Fiddler only appeals to people who are Jewish.

We seem to be forgetting  that there was a well-received production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring Debbie Boone at Lincoln Center.

And don’t forget about Carrie underwood’s wonderful acting in the sound of music liv 

I would love to see a revival direct by Sher. Laura Osnes as Maria. Cheyenne Jackson as Von Trapp. Audra McDonald as Mother Superior. Lea so Logan as baroness. Norm Lewis as max.   
 

a full lush set and orchestrations. Would all be sublime