The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp[3]. The original Broadway production premiered at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959, starring Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain von Trapp, where it won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Leading Actress[1]. The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world's most beloved musical[3].

Origins and Development

The musical was based on Maria von Trapp's account of her family's odyssey in late-1930s Austria, The Trapp Family Singers. In 1924, Maria had entered the convent of Nonnenburg Abbey in the Austrian town of Salzburg. Two years later, she was dispatched to the household of Baron Georg von Trapp to care for his invalid daughter. In 1927, the baron and the former postulant married. The Trapp family made their debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1936, but left Austria in 1938 after the Nazis occupied the country and annexed it. After traveling through Europe, the family emigrated to the United States, and Maria, Georg, and their 10 children settled in Vermont in 1942[4].

The German film had come to the attention of Broadway star Mary Martin, famous for creating the role of Nellie Forbush in another Rodgers and Hammerstein production, South Pacific (1949). Martin was enchanted by the film, and she and her husband tried to track down Maria von Trapp to discuss the possibility of turning her family's story into a musical. Maria had been on a mission to, ironically enough, the south Pacific, and could not be found. After eight months of searching, Martin found her in Innsbruck, Austria, recovering from malaria. Though wary of allowing her life to be made into a Broadway play, Maria recognized how much money her participation could generate - money that she could use in her religious and charitable work. A book was generated from Maria's 1949 account and given to Martin. At this point, the idea was to use actual German songs sung by the Trapp family for the musical portions of the play[4].

Originally called Love Song, the show was changed to The Sound of Music when Rodgers & Hammerstein's lawyer found dozens of copyrighted shows bearing the former title and begged them to use something less susceptible to a plagiarism lawsuit[9].

Broadway Production

The production later moved to the Mark Hellinger, where it would end its lauded run on June 15, 1963 after 1,443 performances[1]. It ran for 1,443 performances, an overwhelming critical and popular success[4]. The celebrated Original Broadway Cast album of The Sound of Music was recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios on November 22, 1959 soon after its Broadway opening. The recording entered the Billboard Top 50 mono charts the week before Christmas, and when the record reached #1 on the stereo charts on January 29, 1960, it stayed at the #1 spot for 16 weeks, then in the top 10 for a record 109 weeks and on the Billboard 200 Chart for 238 weeks, making it the highest-charting cast album of all time[1].

The production of the musical in London's West End was launched on May 18th 1961 and has been performed in the Palace Theatre[2]. The original London production, which ran for over six years, long held the record as the longest-running American musical in London[7].

Plot and Musical Score

The story follows a postulant who proves too high-spirited for the religious life and is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern Captain, and they marry. Upon returning from their honeymoon, they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the Captain's immediate service in their navy. The family's narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theatre[3].

Rodgers showed the breadth and versatility of his art with this score. The music ranges from the religious solemnity of the Psalm, Hymn, and Alleluia sung by the nuns' chorus to the delights of numbers like "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favorite Things." The abbess' "Climb Every Mountain" never fails to rouse, and there are few tunes more moving than the baron's "Edelweiss." The work is, of all of the Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborations, the closest to Viennese operetta with its succession of numbers covering a wide emotional and musical range, an appropriate similarity considering its setting, if not its subject[4].

It was felt that the Captain should have a song to express his bittersweet attachment to his homeland. Hammerstein needed to marshal all his energy, so Rodgers took a pass at composing simple folksong first. The final product took a week to finish—and Oscar Hammerstein crafted the lyrics to the last full song he would ever write: "Edelweiss."[9]

Film Adaptation

Any success on Broadway during the era of the great movie musicals was bound to catch Hollywood's attention. Paramount had allowed their option to lapse, so 20th Century Fox stepped in, offering $1.2 million for the rights to The Sound of Music. After deliberation, Doris Day, the original choice, was ruled out, as was Mary Martin. The part finally was offered to Julie Andrews, who had starred on Broadway in Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady and Camelot and had just finished filming her first feature, Mary Poppins, for Disney[4].

The film was released on March 2, 1965 in the United States, initially as a limited roadshow theatrical release. Although critical response to the film was widely mixed, the film was a major commercial success, becoming the number one box-office movie after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of 1965. By November 1966, The Sound of Music had become the highest-grossing film of all-time—surpassing Gone with the Wind—and held that distinction for five years. The film was just as popular throughout the world, breaking previous box-office records in twenty-nine countries. Following an initial theatrical release that lasted four and a half years, and two successful re-releases, the film sold 283 million admissions worldwide and earned a total worldwide gross of $286,000,000[15].

The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director for Wise. In the 42 years since its release, The Sound of Music has come to symbolize everything that was great about the Hollywood musical while delighting audiences around the world[4].

Julie Andrews: Early Life and Education

Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1, 1935) was born in Walton-on-Thames in England and raised by parents Barbara Ward Wells and Edward Charles Wells. Her mother was a pianist while her father was a teacher[22][25]. Her father, Ted Wells, the son of a carpenter, was a handicrafts schoolteacher, a quiet romantic with a deep love of poetry and the English countryside – passions he would pass on to his daughter[27].

Barbara Ward Wells divorced Ted Wells when the outbreak of World War II took place and married Ted Andrews, a professional singer. She joined him in his service in the military through the Entertainments National Service Association[22]. In complete contrast to Ted, Barbara was a larger-than-life show-business personality, helping her sister Joan run a local dance school while pursuing a career as a popular pianist. Julie was taught to sing and dance – "almost from the time I could toddle" – but Barbara would play even more of a key role in her daughter's career after marrying her second husband, Julie's stepfather Ted Andrews[27].

Julie Andrews had an abusive childhood and carried the responsibility to work and support their family at a very young age. Julie Andrews had to perform on the road with her mother and her stepfather, and at the same time, she also helped raise her siblings[22]. When she was 14, she later found out that her biological father was a family friend with whom her mother had an affair[22].

Education and Training

Her mother and stepfather's career flourished, so they bought a home in Beckenham and transferred to Hersham after the war. Her education in Cone-Ripman School, an independent arts educational school, and lessons with Madam Lilian Stiles-Allen, a concert soprano and voice coach, were all financed by Ted Andrews[22]. She first attended the Cone-Ripman School. Then she studied with a famous voice teacher, Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen. Andrews said Stiles-Allen had a huge impact on her. Stiles-Allen believed Julie had a rare gift for music[25].

Because I didn't have a formal education, a governess was found for me who traveled with me wherever I went, because touring in vaudeville you're a week in one place, a week in another, and you could not settle into any school. So, I had this wonderful lady who traveled with me who quickly recognized that if she wanted me to do anything, all she had to do was say, "Do this first and then you may write your story," whatever story I was going to write because that was obviously what I loved to do most of all. She was a very gentle, very kind lady, and I loved her[30].

Key Influences and Mentors

This was the first time her singing voice was noticed, and her parents took care to nurture and improve her singing voice in her childhood years. Amongst her teachers was the famous concert soprano and voice instructor, Madame Lillian Stiles-Allen[23]. Andrews described her own voice as "very pure, white, thin," with a four-octave range[25].

Julie Andrews acknowledged that a particular book "probably influenced me as much as anything, that and my dad. And obviously Dickens and Goldsmith and oh gosh, so many. Jane Austen obviously and the Brontë sisters and so on"[30]. I also loved to scribble as a kid[30].

Another notable broadway project she was in was My Fair Lady and she was trained by director Moss Hart. The play was also a huge success and became a good experience for Julie Andrews to improve[22].

Professional Development

From 1945, Julie Andrews joined her parents' performances spontaneously. She used to stand on a beer crate and sing duets or solos with her stepfather, accompanied by her mother on the piano[22]. Her first big single performance came on 22 October 1947, when she performed at the London Hippodrome. She performed "Je Suis Titania" aria from Mignon. This difficult piece was from the part of a musical revue called "Starlight Roof". From this point, her progress was swift; in the next year, aged only 13, Julie Andrews, became the youngest person to perform in a Royal Command Variety Performance[23].

On September 30, 1954, the day before her 19th birthday, Andrews made her Broadway debut. She played Polly Browne in the musical The Boy Friend.[25] The Boy Friend was a big hit. Critics praised Andrews, calling her the best part of the show. Andrews came to Broadway in 1954 with "The Boy Friend", and became a bona fide star two years later in 1956, in the role of Eliza Doolittle in the unprecedented hit "My Fair Lady"[29].

Personal Life

Julie Andrews married set designer Tony Walton on May 10, 1959. They first met in 1948. Their daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, was born in 1962. They divorced in 1968[25]. In November 1969, Andrews married director Blake Edwards. She became a stepmother to his two children[25].

In 1997, Andrews was forced to quit the Broadway revival of Victor/Victoria in order to undergo surgery to remove a lesion on her vocal cord.[14] Julie Andrews, who played Maria in The Sound of Music, faced vocal cord damage after surgery in 1997, leading to a loss of her four-octave range and a shift to non-musical roles in her career.

Legacy and Impact

The Sound of Music quickly became a box office and critical success, winning five Oscars. Most notably, it won five Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment. That is in addition to being nominated for another five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews[13].

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked The Sound of Music as the 40th greatest American movie ever. The same group had named the film the fourth-best musical the previous year[13]. The movie has the third-highest lifetime gross—more than $1.3 billion—of any movie when adjusted for 2022 ticket prices[16].

Julie Andrews has won many awards over her long career, which has lasted more than eight decades. These awards include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and seven Golden Globe Awards. She was also nominated for three Tony Awards. She has received special honors like the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2007. In 2022, she received the AF[25]