Original cast of SOUND OF MUSIC will sign Cd's at Barnes & Noble

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 6:59pm

Just got this press release:

Live at Lincoln will present The Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary Celebration presented in conjunction with The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. Special guests include Theodore Bikel, Lauri Peters, Brian Davies, and Sam Von Trapp. All will be signing copies of the 50th anniversary edition of the Original Cast Recording of The Sound of Music (Sony Masterworks) and The Sound of Music: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up (Simon & Schuster).

I know most people prefer the film soundtrack (RCA Victor) but the OBCR was a milestone when it was released in 1959. The album hit #1 in the Billboard chart and sold over a million copies. It was also Columbia's first "deluxe" show album packaged in a gatefold jacket with pictures from the production, a detailed synopsis and biographies of the stars.

It also added a letter to the prefix..Now the mono Lp was KOL 5450 and the stereo edition was KOS 2020. That extra K cost everyone an extra dollar. Later in the decade Columbia pressed a new batch and issued the album in a standard sleeve. The KOS prefix and higher price remained.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 11:15pm

Do you have a time and a date for this?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 1:53pm

Yes...Monday November 16 at 5 pm.

Sorry - I must have accidentally dropped that info when I cut and pasted the article. Link below.

Wouldn't you know it...I arrive in New York on Tuesday - the day after this event.



SOUND OF MUSIC

Updated On: 11/12/09 at 01:53 PM

Posted: 11/12/09 at 2:38pm

Amazing! I have ALWAYS wanted to meet Mary Martin!

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 8:43pm

is mary martin scheduled to be there?

[Trekkie2]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 9:25pm

"is mary martin scheduled to be there?"

I love that. I just do.

bluemirror, do a quick google search and figure out why.

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 9:41pm

um on frontrow's link it didnt have her listed...

[kate2]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 9:48pm

...for a reason

[Trekkie2]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 9:48pm

Bluemirror, joekv was making a joke. Mary Martin, sadly, is no longer with us. Your response was just... amusing.

[musicalbluemirror]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 10:30pm

oh ::blushes:: O
didnt no

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 10:38pm

No reason she couldn't be there. It's be like that movie Weekend at Mary's.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 11:03pm

This is a great idea,
surely some of the other original Trapp Brats must be around?
I can't wait to see how that delicious overbite of Laurie Peters has aged.

[MusicSnob1]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 11:04pm

Jordan - I love the idea. But can we rewrite it for the theatrical stage?

[degrassifan]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 12:41am

I've always wondered how the OBC feel about being outstaged by the movie cast.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 5:43am

Well Mary Martin was way too old even on stage and on film it would have looked ridiculous.

Bikel would have sung better than Plummer but Bikel was not a movie name at the time.

The original kids would have been too old. Would have been nice to have a film of Marion Marlowe in her prime.

Though I generally prefer the film version to watch (over stage incarnations ..the Lindsay/Crouse book is pretty bad and Lehman improved it a great deal for the screenplay) on record I still prefer the OBC.

[luvbrdway]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 11:26am

I confess, I've never listened to the OBC, but how could anyone be better than Julie Andrews?????????

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 11:51am

Martin is not "better" than Julie Andrews. Julie was perfect. But the overall recording is better: Bikel is a better Captain, Marian Marlowe and Kurt Kaznar are a great Elsa and Max, and the album includes their songs both cut from the movie.

One odd thing about Mary Martin: She was 46 when she opened the show, and no longer a soprano. The keys for her songs are quite low.

[luvbrdway]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 1:31pm

Thanks for the clarification. I agree, Julie was perfect. You have peaked my interest. I think I will hunt down the OBC. Did not know Max and Elsa had any songs in the original play.

I have seen the movie 100+ times, but never had any interest in the play. I mean, the scenery, Julie Andrews, I just figured I would be disappointed.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 1:38pm

I'm not a Sound of Music fan at all(and that's an understatement), but I think it's really cool that they are celebrating the anniversary like this. It's certainly a classic and it's always nice to see such a show still being beloved all these years later (even if it's not beloved by... well, me).

[degrassifan]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 9:12pm

You guys should check out the 1981 London revival cast recording. It's beyond amazing!

[MCfan2]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 11:09pm

Ah, but was Bikel as swoonworthy as Plummer?

Yes, I am shallow.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/13/09 at 11:49pm

Mary Martin did not have the same kind of voice as Julie Andrews,
but she could sing. She sang the lead in three legendary Broadway Shows (8 times a week, she had a great performance record), and many other Broadway shows.
I reccomend her CD with Rodgers, her intonations are magical.
Her leading men were not really "swoon" worthy, though she did discover Yul.
Ezio Pinza and Theodore Bikel had charisma and large talent but not really looks.
Cyril Ritchard was the perfect Leading Man for her Lost Boy Peter.
I only saw her live in I DO I DO where she had the totally swoonworthy Robert Preston.
Watch her in PETER PAN and you will see why audiences Loved her.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 12:11am

Last year, someone gave me an audio recording that was made way back in 1959 of the whole show. Mary Martin is definitely a different Maria than Julie Andrews' interpretation of the role, and from the sound of the audience, they loved her. I can also see (well, I guess hear) why the show won the Tony for Best Musical. The audience just ate it up (based on the recording I have).

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 2:16am

Did not know Max and Elsa had any songs in the original play.

Two rather cynical songs: "How Can Love Survive" (which IS in the movie in waltz tempo during the party scene) and a song early in Act Two where they are warning the captain about accomodating the Nazi's, "No Way to Stop It." When Ernest Lehman did the script for the movie he decided early on that Elsa and Max should not sing, so those 2 songs were cut from the screenplay in the early stages.

He also did not like the duet for Georg and Maria, "An Ordinary Couple" and asked Rodgers to replace it resulting in the song "Something Good."

[LaMusicaVa]

Posted: 11/14/09 at 1:31pm

This is one event I wish I could make. I was actually a little surprised that there hasn't been more hoopla over the 50th anniversary, since it's such a well-known and beloved show.

Visit this link to see the tribute page for the original production that I put together on my website: http://www.soundofmusicsite.110mb.com/50th.htm