November 25, 2013

“THE MAKING OF THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE!” PREMIERES ON NBC WED., NOV. 27

Take a treasured musical, filled with songs from legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein, such as My Favorite Things, The Sound of Music, Do-Re-Mi, and Edelweiss; add six-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood as Maria and “True Blood” star Stephen Moyer as Capt. Georg von Trapp plus 5-time Tony-Award winner Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess and you have a new version of this beloved Broadway musical classic.

In “The Making of the Sound of Music Live!,” viewers will see what goes into creating the live version of “The Sound of Music.” From the nationwide casting call to discover the seven von Trapp children, to the creation of the sets, and the 40 piece orchestra recording the soundtrack, the documentary provides a front row seat as the musical numbers and cast come together for a one-night-only event.

Also co-starring in “The Sound of Music Live!” are Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Elsa Schrader) and Christian Borle (Max Dettweiler). The young cast set to play the von Trapp children are Ariane Rinehart (Liesl), Michael Nigro (Fredrich), Ella Watts-Gorman (Louisa), Joe West (Kurt), Sophia Caruso (Brigitta), Grace Rundhaug (Marta) and Peyton Ella as young Gretl.

The live holiday spectacular is based on the original 1959 Broadway production of “The Sound of Music,” starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The iconic story centers on a young woman who leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the seven children of a naval officer widower.