With songs by the famous team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the Sound of Music's score contains some of the most beautiful music ever written. Who doesn't remember such delightful songs as My Favorite Things, Doh-re-mi and The Lonely Goatherd? And then there are those moving pieces like Edelweiss, beautiful in it's simplicity, and Climb Every Mountain sung by the Reverend Mother as a prayer. It's just too bad that this was Rodgers and Hammerstein's last collaboration before Oscar Hammerstein passed away in 1960.
Set in Austria in the 1930's, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse's tale of a widower and his large brood of children struggling to survive during the war has moments which appeal to both young and old. No wonder this story, in it's movie version, has become such a classic in so many households.
The original Broadway version of The Sound of Music debuted to the American public in October of 1959 with Mary Martin, one of Broadway's hottest stars playing the part of Maria. It was Martin along with Lindsay and Crouse who created this first stage version about the Von Trapps. This production enjoyed a run of 1443 performances and over time won 7 Tony awards including Best Musical.
In 1961, a U.S. National tour was planned with Florence Henderson taking over the lead for the touring production. At this time, London's West End theatre district also staged a production of The Sound of Music which lasted for more than six years. This musical has played everywhere from North America to South Africa, Japan to Isreal; basically taking the globe by storm.
On March 2, 1965, the world was treated to the premier of the well-known movie version starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. This movie became a classic shown on network after network and now enjoys a new video cassette release which will grace many a family's video collection.
Broadway has staged a new revival version of The Sound of Music starring Barry Williams, best known for his role of Greg Brady in the sitcom, The Brady Bunch. This production is set to begin touring in Sept. 2000 in Toronto Canada. For those who enjoy crossword puzzles, contests and coloring pages, the internet offers a website well worth visiting at:
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