First off, as I said in my first post on the subject, I am familiar with the stage version so I came to this with perhaps fewer expectations directing relating to the film than the general public might have. In the movie version, songs were omitted and added and rearranged so if you were hoping for a remake of the film, this was not that. I thought Carrie Underwood’s singing was good. Some of my more purist friends thought it was too belty, but it honestly didn't offend me. It was really her acting that was distracting. It fell flat and monotone and made me actually feel sorry and worried for her. That alone at least points to the fact that she seemed to be trying harder than say, Russell Crowe in Les Mis. One of her more solid moments—that reached anywhere near the emotional height the role of Maria demands— was her confrontation scene with Captain von Trapp, but even that toward the end began to come off as a list of lines about each child that she had to get through. The part that really irritated me was that their sexual tension and ultimate romance wasn’t earned and seemed too random. Even worse, her realization that the Captain returned her love later was totally without any readable signs of real surprise, relief, or joy.
Underwood’s best scene may have been the emotion she showed when Audra McDonald was, of course, killing it in “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”. And who wouldn't tear up during that? Thank goodness they didn't write dialogue for Maria after that number. Let me tell you, Audra sang that shit, but she also had a very clear intention of making Maria understand what she had to do throughout that part of the scene. Without that, the second time through the song is just another verse. Making the words of these songs that we’ve all heard a hundred times fresh and spontaneous is what distinguished her and the other wonderful supporting actors in the cast. And take it from me, not every singer is a natural-born actor. I can tell you from experience just how many hours singers spend in a Conservatory setting working on conveying clear intentions from the beginning to the end of the song or aria. And Audra articulated as much in an interview beforehand:
"Just focus on what Mother Abbess is really trying to do. And what she's trying to do is give Maria some serious tough love and kicking her out. She's saying no, you can't run from your problems. This is opportunity in your life knocking on the door saying here we are. Here is your life. This is your destiny. And I'm not going to let you run away from it because it seems scary. So if I focus on that I will be okay. If I focus on; 'oh this is a hard song, I hope I don't screw it up,' then I'll screw up."
This kind of dramatic commitment is not spontaneously manufactured. Just as Audra says, it takes thought and work in advance to make it seem spontaneous.
Laura Benanti and Christian Borle were both great as Elsa and Uncle Max respectively. I've always found the stage version to be more foreboding in its political implications than the movie, and they both contributed well to this sensibility. Bernanti, (surprise, surprise!) has actually played Maria in a Broadway revival and really outshone the leads vocally and dramatically. Lisel and Rolf proved to be good triple threats, negotiating well through the acting, singing, and dancing. As with any good production of this show, the kids were cute but I didn't get the sense that it was all about them either, which I prefer. Stephen Moyer was a decent Captain. I’m not familiar with his character on True Blood, but I thought his singing was good enough and he at least brought a decent amount of conviction to the character. Even if he wasn’t the most dashing man in the role, he was still acting circles around his romantic counterpart. It seems unfair to compare to Christopher Plummer but maybe if we could sense that Moyer secretly hated the family fun of it all too, earning his love would have seemed more worthwhile somehow.
Overall, would I have cast someone else as Maria? Sure. But then, this particular production was viewed by millions of Americans last night. You can’t say the same for other modern adaptations of musical theater pieces. Lincoln Center’s performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel aired on PBS fairly recently and starred amazing singing actors Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe and others. And I seem to be the only person I know who watched it— and loved it! Seriously, there isn’t too much footage of it online, but if you order the whole show, I will guarantee a more satisfying experience than last night’s muddled one, (Carousel's confusing anti-hero Billy Bigelow aside). Still, it’s no mistake that the network chose a Carrie Underwood and combined it with this ever-popular, multi-generational piece*. Last evening's performance ran on anticipation and controversy as much as it did on the multi-million dollar budget and I for one, have enjoyed the public discussion of the arts it brought about thoroughly. Hopefully, the hype it received can pave the way for more exciting projects like it. The public is abuzz and the networks should take advantage.
* We all know just how popular The Sound of Music is, but to me personally, nothing emphasizes this more than family reaction when I played Maria in a musical review. My grandmother kept the tape of the performance perpetually in her VCR so she could regale visitors with it. Did she ever show them my graduate recital? My performances in La boheme? Nope. Friends and acquaintances were always forced to watch me prancing around in a dirndl with a gaggle of kids singing "Do-Re-Mi".
This kind of dramatic commitment is not spontaneously manufactured. Just as Audra says, it takes thought and work in advance to make it seem spontaneous.
Laura Benanti and Christian Borle were both great as Elsa and Uncle Max respectively. I've always found the stage version to be more foreboding in its political implications than the movie, and they both contributed well to this sensibility. Bernanti, (surprise, surprise!) has actually played Maria in a Broadway revival and really outshone the leads vocally and dramatically. Lisel and Rolf proved to be good triple threats, negotiating well through the acting, singing, and dancing. As with any good production of this show, the kids were cute but I didn't get the sense that it was all about them either, which I prefer. Stephen Moyer was a decent Captain. I’m not familiar with his character on True Blood, but I thought his singing was good enough and he at least brought a decent amount of conviction to the character. Even if he wasn’t the most dashing man in the role, he was still acting circles around his romantic counterpart. It seems unfair to compare to Christopher Plummer but maybe if we could sense that Moyer secretly hated the family fun of it all too, earning his love would have seemed more worthwhile somehow.
Overall, would I have cast someone else as Maria? Sure. But then, this particular production was viewed by millions of Americans last night. You can’t say the same for other modern adaptations of musical theater pieces. Lincoln Center’s performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel aired on PBS fairly recently and starred amazing singing actors Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe and others. And I seem to be the only person I know who watched it— and loved it! Seriously, there isn’t too much footage of it online, but if you order the whole show, I will guarantee a more satisfying experience than last night’s muddled one, (Carousel's confusing anti-hero Billy Bigelow aside). Still, it’s no mistake that the network chose a Carrie Underwood and combined it with this ever-popular, multi-generational piece*. Last evening's performance ran on anticipation and controversy as much as it did on the multi-million dollar budget and I for one, have enjoyed the public discussion of the arts it brought about thoroughly. Hopefully, the hype it received can pave the way for more exciting projects like it. The public is abuzz and the networks should take advantage.
* We all know just how popular The Sound of Music is, but to me personally, nothing emphasizes this more than family reaction when I played Maria in a musical review. My grandmother kept the tape of the performance perpetually in her VCR so she could regale visitors with it. Did she ever show them my graduate recital? My performances in La boheme? Nope. Friends and acquaintances were always forced to watch me prancing around in a dirndl with a gaggle of kids singing "Do-Re-Mi".
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