The media din surrounding the live telecast of “The Sound of Music” has been so deafening over the past couple of weeks, you’d think it was the only thing happening on Thursday night. Not even the latest cray-cray installment of “Scandal” — or, in the real world, Nelson Mandela’s death — could compete.
Never mind the Twittersphere’s snarky, mean-spirited burps: This “Sound of Music” — based on the 1959 production rather than its 1965 Hollywood adaptation — wasn’t fantastic, but it was far from a disaster.
And that also applies to Carrie Underwood’s eagerly expected performance as Maria, the spirited postulant who wins the heart of a stern Austrian naval officer and his seven children.
The last time a network attempted a live musical was 1957 with “Cinderella” (coincidentally written by Rodgers and Hammerstein as well). Sure, there have been plenty of show tunes on TV since — just think of Bette Midler’s “Gypsy,” Brandy’s “Cinderella” or Matthew Broderick’s “The Music Man” — but nobody dared tackle them live.
Because, basically, it’s a real headache.
And yet Thursday’s broadcast went off without any major hitches. It’s actually surprising how few surprises there were — at least once you got used to the show’s bizarre look, halfway between a Nazi-set telenovela and a diorama from the Museum of Natural History.
Even Underwood fell within predictable parameters: The “American Idol” winner doesn’t have any theater experience, and she went on to do a lot better in the singing department than in the acting one.
Underwood started off looking very stiff but she relaxed somewhat as the show went on. Of course she didn’t have Julie Andrews’ pert demeanor, but that’s ok: Underwood is a down-home gal and her Maria was earnest as can be. When she said, at the beginning, “I couldn’t be lost on that mountain — it’s my mountain,” her simple, uncomplicated directness worked.
And frankly, Underwood fared a million times better than her love interest, Captain Von Trapp, played by the “True Blood” star Stephen Moyer with inexpressive high-strung formality. Plus if someone should be banned from singing ever again, it should be Moyer.
Cannily the producers surrounded our rookies with fairly charming kids — props to Joe West’s Kurt and his lovely high register — and a formidable array of Broadway pros. Leading the pack was the multiple Tony winner Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess. Her rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” was so sensational that even Underwood teared up. The magic of live television!
Laura Benanti also scored big time as the Baroness Elsa Schraeder, Maria’s rival for the Captain’s affection. (Benanti actually made her Broadway debut playing Maria in the 1998 revival). The baroness is usually set up almost as a villain but Benanti was stylish, witty and sneakily funny — her duet with Christian Borle’s Max, “How Can Love Survive?,” was a sly delight.
So yes, there were peaks and valleys — not for nothing is this set in the Alps. But overall we can only hope NBC won’t wait another 50 years to do it again. Maybe they’ll even venture away from Rodgers and Hammerstein next time.