NewsVon Trapp Family Reacts to The Sound of Music Live!Francoise von Trapp, the daughter Maria von Trapp's stepson Rupert, has shared her thoughts on the NBC live telecast of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, which was inspired by her family's true story.
By
Adam Hetrick
December 12, 2013
Laura Benanti and Stephen Moyer
Photo by Will Hart/NBC
Among the 18.6 million viewers who tuned in for the Dec. 5 NBC telecast was von Trapp, who said she's ready to go back to maintaining a low profile after expressing her views on the musical, which starred Grammy Award winner Carrie Underood and Stephen Moyer, alongside Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti and Christian Borle.
"For all of you who clamored for public apologies for criticizing Carrie Underwood, I'm sorry to disappoint you, because you're not going to get one," she wrote on her blog, titled, "Will a Real von Trapp Please Stand Up." "I stand by what I said in last year's post. She’s a talented country music star, but she is not an actress. And I think she proved that to the world last night. She kicked-ass on Lonely Goatherd – yes the girl can yodel. But beyond that I found the overall production to be completely underwhelming and mediocre at best. I kept wondering why NBC would settle for a community theater quality production."
"And for all of you who feel sorry for Carrie, I really wouldn't worry too much about it. She's a pro – she can take a little criticism. She got a lot of publicity out of this. And she’s probably laughing all the way to the bank," she continued.
The day following the telecast, Underwood took to twitter to address her critics, writing, "Plain and simple: Mean people need Jesus. They will be in my prayers tonight... 1 Peter 2:1-25."
Von Trapp noted that many members of her family did not share her same views, but that she tried to keep an open mind when viewing the telecast. In 2012, when NBC first announced plans to present the Broadway musical on television, von Trapp commented, "I have to say I'm heartened by the number of purists out there who agree with me - somethings just can't be remade!" In a separate post, she continued, "Its saving grace may be that it will be an adaptation of the original Broadway musical, rather than a remake of the Hollywood blockbuster." Following the Dec. 5 telecast, she wrote, "For everyone who thought the whole thing was wonderful and that NBC did a spectacular job, I say maybe your expectations weren’t high to begin with," adding, "If they hoped to have created a new holiday classic, I think they missed their mark. Maybe my mistake is having higher expectations overall, and especially when classics – theater or film – are involved."
Von Trapp did find merits in NBC's efforts, however. "Personally, I think the best thing about last night's performance was that it exposed the world to the original Broadway production, which had some great songs that never made it to film."
Myles von Trapp Derbyshire, the great grandson of Maria von Trapp, also previously expressed his skepticism of the broadcast with ABC news. “It’s just upsetting that this could potentially be the final broadcast of our story," he said when asked about remaking the classic.
The Sound of Music Live!, Starring Carrie Underwood and Audra McDonald, Hits the Airwaves; Highlights from the Broadcast
The Sound of Music Live!, Starring Carrie Underwood and Audra McDonald, Hits the Airwaves; Highlights from the Broadcast
The television broadcast of The Sound of Music Live!, starring Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood, was presented Dec. 5 beginning at 8 PM ET.
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Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Carrie Underwood as Maria
Will Hart/NBC
Carrie Underwood as Maria
Will Hart/NBC
Carrie Underwood as Maria, Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp
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Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Carrie Underwood as Maria
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Carrie Underwood as Maria
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Jessica Molaskey as Sister Berthe, Christiane Noll as Sister Margaretta, Elena Shaddow as Sister Sophia, Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess
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Jessica Molaskey as Sister Berthe, Elena Shaddow as Sister Sophia, Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess, Christiane Noll as Sister Margaretta
Will Hart/NBC
Jessica Molaskey as Sister Berthe, Elena Shaddow as Sister Sophia, Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess, Christiane Noll as Sister Margaretta
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Carrie Underwood as Maria, Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess
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Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess, Carrie Underwood as Maria
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Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Joe West as Kurt, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Grace Rundhaug as Marta, Peyton Ella as Gretl, Carrie Underwood as Maria
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Carrie Underwood as Maria with (back, l-r) Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl, Joe West as Kurt; (front, l-r) Grace Rundhaug as Marta, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Peyton Ella as Gretl
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Michael Campayno as Rolf Gruber, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
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Michael Campayno as Rolf Gruber, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
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Michael Campayno as Rolf Gruber, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa
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Carrie Underwood as Maria, Joe West as Kurt
Will Hart/NBC
Carrie Underwood as Maria, Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Joe West as Kurt
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Carrie Underwood as Maria, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta
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Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Grace Rundhaug as Marta, Joe West as Kurt, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Peyton Ella as Gretl
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Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
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Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess, Carrie Underwood as Maria
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Kristine Nielsen as Frau Schmidt, CJ Wilson as Herr Zeller, Christian Borle as Max Detweiler
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Christian Borle as Max Detweiler
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Christian Borle as Max Detweiler, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Peyton Ella as Gretl, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
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Christian Borle as Max Detweiler, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Peyton Ella as Gretl, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl
Will Hart/NBC
Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Ella Watts-Gorman as Louisa, Grace Rundhaug as Marta, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl, Peyton Ella as Gretl, Sophia Anne Caruso as Brigitta, Michael Nigro as Friedrich, Joe West as Kurt
Will Hart/NBC
Joe West as Kurt, Carrie Underwood as Maria, Peyton Ella as Gretl, Ariane Rinehart as Liesl, Grace Rundhaug as Marta, Michael Nigro as Friedrich
Will Hart/NBC
Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Laura Benanti as Elsa Schraeder in "The Sound of Music Live!"
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Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Carrie Underwood as Maria
Will Hart/NBC
Carrie Underwood as Maria, Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp
Will Hart/NBC
Carrie Underwood as Maria
Will Hart/NBC
Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, Carrie Underwood as Maria