Robert Wise News

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the original classic starring Julie Andrews, brings its special magic to the holiday season when it airs in HDTV with 5.1-channel surround sound as the "ABC Sunday Movie of the Week," DECEMBER 23 (7:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today that it will present 15 films in their original 70mm glory, featuring a mix of beloved classics and rarely screened gems, all at the Walter Reade Theater - one of the last remaining cinemas in the country equipped to screen 70mm prints.

Sing-A-Long Sound of Music once again beckons turkey-stuffed friends and families to Chicago's Music Box Theatre for Thanksgiving weekend. The spirited audience-participation event includes a presentation of the 1962 Rogers & Hammerstein movie musical The Sound of Music in glorious Technicolor and full-screen Cinemascope. Lyrics are projected on the screen during the movie so that the audience can easily sing along to "Do-Re-Me," "Edelweiss" and, of course, "My Favorite Things." The film is preceded by a hosted warm-up and a "fancy-dress" costume contest. Sing-A-Long Sound of Music runs Friday-Sunday, November 23-25, 2012at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue.

This year's Second Annual Gold Coast International Film Festival will present two programs that capture all the excitement and energy of Hollywood and all that it evokes: 'West Side Story: Celebrating 50 Years' and 'Conversation with Budd Burton Moss & His Hollywood Friends.'

The Second Annual Gold Coast International Film Festival presented by the Great Neck Arts Center, with the Town of North Hempstead as Founding Sponsor, will present seven days and nights of bold, dynamic films, programs, panels, tributes, conversations, awards and festivities on Long Island's North Shore. GCIFF gets underway Monday, October 22 with two pre-festival events followed by its Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, and then runs at the Clearview Cinemas in the communities of Manhasset, Roslyn, Great Neck and Port Washington through Sunday, October 28, 2012.

Sidney Poitier's 'To Sir, With Love,' the story of an idealistic engineer who takes a teaching job and faces a group of rough and disorderly white high school students from London's East End will air as the culmination of American Graduate Day tonight, September 22 at 9 p.m. on Reel 13.

Flocking back to movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, September 19, Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS is the latest in a seriously impressive series of classic films being re-released for one night only in HD with special attendant interviews and behind-the-scenes features, hosted by noted film historian Robert Osborne, as part of an unprecedented, ongoing Turner Classic Movies film festival hosted by NCM Fathom-equipped cinemas. This special presentation of THE BIRDS will begin with an introduction, mini-documentary and interview with film star Tippi Hedren prior to the presentation of the film itself, so, today let us take a look back at one of the most influential and terrifying films of the 1960s, as well as the formidable icon who made it, Alfred Hitchcock.

Flocking back to movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, September 19, Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS is the latest in a seriously impressive series of classic films being re-released for one night only in HD with special attendant interviews and behind-the-scenes features, hosted by noted film historian Robert Osborne, as part of an unprecedented, ongoing Turner Classic Movies film festival hosted by NCM Fathom-equipped cinemas. This special presentation of THE BIRDS will begin with an introduction, mini-documentary and interview with film star Tippi Hedren prior to the presentation of the film itself, so, today let us take a look back at one of the most influential and terrifying films of the 1960s, as well as the formidable icon who made it, Alfred Hitchcock.

Sidney Poitier's 'To Sir, With Love,' the story of an idealistic engineer who takes a teaching job and faces a group of rough and disorderly white high school students from London's East End will air as the culmination of American Graduate Day on Saturday, September 22 at 9 p.m. on Reel 13.

Cinema at the Square returns to PlayhouseSquare for its fifteenth year of bringing classic films back to the BIG screen in Cleveland August 2-19.

Sing-A-Long-A Sound of Music returns to Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre for three performances, tonight 20 & Saturday 21 July, 2012 7:30pm and a family friendly Matinee on Saturday 21 July at 1pm. The effervescent Chelsea Plumley returns to hosting duties to guide the audience through an interactive experience and tribute to the very unique film The Sound of Music.

Cinema at the Square returns to PlayhouseSquare for its fifteenth year of bringing classic films back to the BIG screen in Cleveland August 2-19.

Fifty years after its release, the MGM re-mastered film returns to the big screen in high definition with its original vocals and dialog intact. This classic romantic tragedy and the bitter battle between the Jets and the Sharks as Leonard Bernstein's seminal score, featuring the much loved 'America', 'Somewhere' and 'Tonight', is dramatically brought to life on stage by The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Jayce Ogren at the Royal Albert Hall for four performances tonight, June 22nd to June 24, 2012.

Today BroadwayWorld's 2012 Tony Awards Clip Countdown continues by highlighting one of the most innovative and unforgettable musicals ever composed - the Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim/Arthur Laurents/Jerome Robbins masterpiece WEST SIDE STORY.

Today we are shining a light on one of the most respected and revered stage and screen stars of the last several decades who is known the world over for not only his stirring and commanding dramatic performances and touching and rib-tickling comedies on film, but also for his iconic roles on the stage playing Shakespeare, and, perhaps most of all, for his essaying of Captain Von Trapp in the celebrated Robert Wise film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Tony Award-winning THE SOUND OF MUSIC - the elegant, graceful and eminently gifted Christopher Plummer. Looking back at a career spanning nearly seven decades, today we will focus on Plummer's most important and most fondly remembered roles to date - ranging from Sidney Lumet's STAGE STRUCK in 1958 to his Shakespeare stage work, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, TV's THE THORN BIRDS, and, of course, his Academy Award-winning turn in last year's BEGINNERS - with a look ahead to the exceptionally enticing new Fathom in-cinema presentation of Des McAnuff's Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of THE TEMPEST starring Plummer as Prospero, in movie theaters nationwide on June 14 - what the 83-year-old actor has promised will be his final Shakespeare performance onstage. So, if there were ever a time to take a look back at one of the most remarkable Broadway/Hollywood crossover stars of the last century or the current one as he reaches yet another peek in a career populated with many highs, now is certainly the time! After all, as the oldest Oscar-winner to date, a midsummer night's dream has evidently quite quickly turned to a winter's tale - but with sound and fury signifying much, as we will see.

With a cast led by Broadway veterans Jessica Grove (who ideally captures the spirit and charm of Maria in her thoroughly captivating performance) and Ben Davis (tall and commanding as the naval captain torn by conflicting loyalties and social upheaval), Logan presents The Sound of Music you would expect from him, although in no way can you call it predictable or expected. To the contrary, Logan excels at delivering the unexpected and while The Sound of Music is probably the one show you would expect to be played out in the traditional, often-seen manner you've encountered in numerous other productions, he manages to surprise and delight you with his vision, his concept and his daring.

Fifty years after its release, the MGM re-mastered film returns to the big screen in high definition with its original vocals and dialog intact. This classic romantic tragedy and the bitter battle between the Jets and the Sharks as Leonard Bernstein's seminal score, featuring the much loved 'America', 'Somewhere' and 'Tonight', is dramatically brought to life on stage by The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Jayce Ogren at the Royal Albert Hall for four performances on the 22nd to the 24th of June, 2012.

Sing-A-Long-A Sound of Music returns to Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre for three performances, Friday 20 & Saturday 21 July, 2012 7:30pm and a family friendly Matinee on Saturday 21 July at 1pm. The effervescent Chelsea Plumley returns to hosting duties to guide the audience through an interactive experience and tribute to the very unique film The Sound of Music.

The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is coming to Columbus, opening at the Ohio Theatre on Tuesday, April 17. Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway direction will be recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway. The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life).

Today we are saluting one of the most beloved Broadway scores of all time, created by the formidable show business songwriting dynasty of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein - THE SOUND OF MUSIC. While the original 1959 Broadway production was well-received and won Mary Martin a Tony Award for her winsome Maria, the property has gone on to win over generations the world over thanks in no small part to the 1965 Robert Wise feature film version starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. On Monday, Carnegie Hall will be presenting a special concert version of the family- friendly show starring Laura Osnes, Tony Goldwyn and Brooke Shields. Be sure to check out my comprehensive conversation with Brooke Shields, who will be playing the Baroness, available here, and, also, stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for my upcoming InDepth InterView with the Maria of the concert presentation, rising Broadway superstar Laura Osnes. So, what exactly is it about THE SOUND OF MUSIC that has won over audiences of all ages for more than fifty years and set hearts aflutter and souls stirred? Is it the dramatic story of a family torn apart by death and war only to be brought back together again when least expected by a kindly maternal nun? Is it the slice of life depiction of the family dynamic and how we can all relate to one or many facets of it therein? Is it the ensuing romance between Maria and Captain Von Trapp and their delicately portrayed courtship (particularly when considering the ravishing duet added for the film, "Something Good")? Or, is it that classic Rodgers & Hammerstein score - containing a dizzying assortment of standards that have gone on to become ingrained in our ears, minds and hearts, as well as made a fixture of pop culture itself - "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", the title song and beyond. AMC's hit series MAD MEN even featured one of the most beloved SOUND OF MUSIC duets on a recent broadcast as an ironic episode capper all too befitting of the moment (and, given the 60s setting of the series, era) - Betty Draper mischievously sneaking an extra bowl of ice cream set to the strains of "I Am Sixteen Going On Seventeen". Between the MAD MEN song reference, the ongoing SOUND OF MUSIC film singalongs occurring every week (with many patrons coming in costume and with props, ala ROCKY HORROR) around the world and the countless professional and amateur productions that crop up every year, as well as the glitzy Carnegie Hall concert on Monday, THE SOUND OF MUSIC has never gone out of style - it shall forever remain sixteen, even when the show itself is not too far away from hitting sixty.