| The Sound of Music Live! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Musical drama |
| Created by | |
| Based on | The Sound of Music by Howard Lindsay Russel Crouse |
| Written by | Austin Winsberg |
| Directed by | |
| Presented by | NBC |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Rodgers and Hammerstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Priscilla Taussig |
| Production locations | Grumman Studios Bethpage, New York |
| Running time | 135 minutes[1] |
| Production companies | Sony Pictures Television Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 5, 2013 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Sound of Music Live! is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and written by Austin Winsberg, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music. The television special starred country singer and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, and was performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York.
Spearheaded by NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt, the network positioned the special as being a live television "event". In preparing for the broadcast, Meron and Zadan emphasized the logistical challenges that they would face due to the live aspects of the special, and the fact that The Sound of Music Live! was an adaptation based on the musical itself and not the 1965 film version. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
The production was met with mixed reviews; much of its criticism was directed towards the casting of Carrie Underwood to play Maria, whom critics (including the real-life von Trapp family) believed was not experienced enough in theatre to portray such an iconic role. While her vocal performance was praised, her acting was described by critics as "amateur", "lifeless" and lacking emotion. The production was a ratings success for NBC; with a total of 18.62 million live viewers, The Sound of Music Live! brought the network its highest Thursday night viewership for an entertainment program since the series finale of Frasier in 2004, and prompted NBC to sign Zadan and Meron on to produce more live musicals for the network.
- ^ "The Sound of Music Live!: Movies & TV". Retrieved June 16, 2014.