My Favorite Musical: The Sound of Music

Growing up I was introduced to a musical that I found very interesting and I instantly fell in love with it. The Sound of Music has so much depth and history behind it. Anything that wasn't animated that caught my attention at such a young age, I knew had to be awesome. The Sound of Music is a musical based on Maria von Trapp. It is directed by Robert Wise. The music is by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. Hammerstein is also known for Broadway hits The King and I and Carousel.

Popular songs that were featured in the musical include, "The Sound of Music", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "My Favorite Things". These songs arenow used in commercials and other forms of advertisement. One song that I knew as a child was "Do-Re-Mi". This was before I watched the musical. Once I heard the song on the musical it felt good to already know it and learning where it actually came from. The original Broadway production opened in November 1959. Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel starred in it. In 1965 Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer starred in the Academy Award-winning film made from the musical.

Some background information of The Sound of Music dates back to 1923. The musical is based on the 1956 film and book based on the von Trapp family. Maria von Trapp and her family faced numerous of hardships in their journey of escape from the Nazis. The musical is generally based on the first section of The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. There were many alterations and omissions. Maria came to the von Trapp family as a tutor for only one child. She was not a governess to all of them. The family also traveled to Italy, not Switzerland when they escaped. They also traveled by train. They did not climb mountains with tons of luggage. I believe the producers decided to alter certain events to make it more appealing to viewers.

The Sound of Music produced 1,443 perfomances between 1959 and 1963. It first opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne. Three million copies of the original cast album were sold. The original cast consisted of 7 very dynamic artists that helped this musical win prestigious awards such as the Tony Award and Academy awards. The original cast included Mary Martin, Theodore Bikel, Kurt Kasznar, Lauri Peters, Marion Marlowe, Patricia Neway and Brian Davies.
The musical won Tony awards for the following catergories: Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Scenic Design and Best Director. I found this amazing that so many viewers respected The Sound of Music this much. As I grew up and became more aware of world history, I began to appreciate the musical alot.

My favorite musical number from The Sound of Music is called "My Favorite Things". In the musical the lyrics to the song are a reference to things Maria loves such as 'raindrops on roses and warm woolen mittens'. These are the things she selects to fill her mind with when times are bad. The beautiful winter time imagery of some of the lyrics has made this song popular during the Christmas season and it is often featured on holiday themed albums, although the musical takes place during the summer.