Julie Andrews In the Spotlight: From Broadway to THE SOUND OF MUSIC and Beyond

2025 marks the 60th anniversary of The Sound of Music, one of the most beloved movie musicals of the twentieth century. Released in 1965, the movie has returned to theaters in a new 4K remaster, running from September 12- 17. Many people remember the film for its stunning Austrian settings, the stunning music from Rodgers & Hammerstein, and, of course, Julie Andrews' magical performance as Maria at the center.

Released only a year after her Oscar-winning performance in Mary Poppins, Andrews stole audiences' hearts as the reluctant governess who soon falls in love with the gruff Captain von Trapp, played by Christopher Plummer. However, before taking on movies, Julie Andrews’ performance background was firmly rooted in stage work. 

From a young age, the future Oscar winner took part in revues and other staged entertainment in her native country of England. At just 13 years old, she performed for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the London Palladium. Six years later, she officially made her Broadway debut in the American premiere of The Boy Friend, a musical comedy by Sandy Wilson.

The musical follows the antics of several young women at a British finishing school. Andrews played the leading character of Polly Browne, a millionaire’s daughter who falls in love with a boy named Tony, played here by John Hewer. The show played for over a year, with Andrews starring in the full run. For her performance, she won the Theatre World Award.

After her Broadway run in The Boy Friend, she didn’t stay away long, returning to the Great White Way only a year later in My Fair Lady. The musical, written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, was an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, which follows a Cockney flower girl who receives speech lessons from a professor in order to pass as a proper lady in society. Andrews worked to perfect a Cockney accent for the part, and appeared alongside English actor Rex Harrison, who played the professor. 

With breakout songs like "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" and "I Could Have Danced All Night," the musical was a monumental hit, winning six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. For her performance, Andrews received her first Tony nomination.

The production also went on to break a record for the longest run of a Broadway show at the time, running for a little over six years. Andrews and Harrison, however, didn't stay for the full run. In 1958, they brought their performances across the pond, reprising their celebrated roles in the original West End production. Andrews didn't reprise her role in the later film version- Audrey Hepburn would have that distinction- but instead starred in Mary Poppins, which won her an Academy Award. During the late 1950s, she also played the title role in a new musical version of Cinderella, written by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

After My Fair Lady, Andrews reunited with Lerner and Loewe for another new musical, the follow-up to their biggest success to date. Based on a collection of novels about the legend of King Arthur, Camelot premiered on Broadway in 1960. Andrews played the part of Guenevere opposite the formidable Richard Burton as Arthur. She would receive another Tony nomination for her performance. 

After concluding her run in the production in 1962, Andrews turning her attention to Hollywood. During the subsequent decades of her career, she gained a whole new audience who came to know the performer primarily through her film work. Though she was not active on stage during this period, she continued to utilize her familiar voice in onscreen musicals like Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. In the 1960s, she also appeared in several other dramatic roles in such movies as The Americanization of Henry, Hawaii, and Alfred Hitchcock's Torn Curtain.

Following years of an acclaimed career in Hollywood, returned to the New York stage more than thirty years later in Putting It Together. Premiering off-Broadway in 1993, the show was a musical revue featuring the songs of Stephen Sondheim. It borrowed its title from the musical number in Sunday in the Park with George. Along with Stephen Collins, Andrews starred as one of the two hosts of the evening.

The loose plot explores the ups and downs of two marriages: a younger and older couple. For the show, she and the cast performed a range of Sondheim songs, ranging from deep cuts to better-known numbers tunes such as "Getting Married Today" and "Could I Leave You?" Fellow performer and Andrews' "chum" Carol Burnett would take over her part in the later Broadway production.

Later that same year, Andrews would star in a studio recording of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I. With a cast that also included Ben Kingsley, Lea Salonga, and Marilyn Horne, it was a return to form for the performer, whose earlier caereer was deeply associated with the work of the celebrated composers.

In 1995, Andrews would return to Broadway proper with the stage adaptation of Victor/Victoria, the 1982 film in which she also starred. With a book by her husband and frequent collaborator Blake Edwards (who also directed the film,) the show featured music and lyrics by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, along with contributions by Frank Wildhorn.

The stage show incoporated most of the best-known songs from the film, including the showstopping "Le Jazz Hot." Andrews received a Tony Award nomination for her performance, but famously turned it down at the time, noting that she would instead stand with the rest of the cast and crew whom she said were "egregiously overlooked." In 1997, she left the production after a vocal surgery permanantly damaged her vocal cords and singing voice.

Though Victor/Victoria would serve as her final Broadway credit, she returned to stage work only a year later in Doctor Dolittle- albeit in a slightly different manner. Andrews pre-recorded her vocals for the part of Polynesia the Parrot for the West End production of the stage musical, which was based on the 1967 movie starring her My Fair Lady co-star Rex Harrison. Her part was brought to life for every performance alongside the live actors, thanks to the work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Despite concluding her career as a performer in musical productions, she returned to the big screen in the 2000s, introducing herself to a brand new generation of viewers as the Queen of Genovia in The Princess Diaries films. She also continued to stay active doing voice work for the Shrek and Despicable Me franchises.

In 2017, Andrews teamed up with Netflix and The Jim Henson Company to produce an educational series for children, highlighting the wonders of the arts. In Julie's Greenroom, the actress plays Miss Julie, a theater director who teaches children the many facets of performance, including singing, acting, dancing, writing, and more. Several Broadway performers appear as guest stars including Sara Bareilles, Tituss Burgess, Idina Menzel, and David Hyde Pierce. The show served as a full-circle encapsulation of Andrews' career, which has spanned decades and mediums.

Now, at almost 90, Andrews is still beloved by audiences worldwide, who remember her for her iconic performance as Maria von Trapp, and enjoy her ongoing voiceover work as Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton. She also continues to be honored with awards, having just won the 2025 Emmy Award for her work in the series. As The Sound of Music celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, there's never been a better time to revisit Andrews' expansive work as a musical theater performer.

Experience the breathtaking theatrical presentation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s iconic musical The Sound of Music in movie theatres across the US.

Photo Credit: “THE SOUND OF MUSIC” ©1965 20th Century Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.