<p>I only watched clips. It was worse when she spoke but when she was singing I thought it was okay. Hated the wigs, though. Audra, Christian, Laura, and the Leisl were great. Then other parts felt like community theater. It was just weird.</p>
<p>The reviews are dreadful. How exactly does this help theater?</p>
<p>YES Flossy…that was a point I was trying to make and I have had some heated discussions with some friends. Someone should have taken her aside and stopped her. Maybe they tried. I don’t know all the behind the scene stuff, but if she had been my daughter I would have said “Hell no, you are not going on until we get you better prepared”. Why was she so out of breath all the time? It was all very weird.</p>
<p>A stagemom friend and I were discussing the show. I was surprised that someone who does concerts was out of breath, but we said she’s obviously not a dancer so she isn’t doing any heavy dancing and singing in her concerts. We decided that for a generation of people who have been raised on reality TV (Housewives this, Bad Girls that), she was probably stellar in the role to them.
I had two questions.
- Did she learn NOTHING from all of her co stars during rehearsals…NOTHING!!!
- Was there really no one else with star power who could sing and add some life to the script?? I mean, really, NO ONE!!! A big movie actor who can sing?? A Disney/Nick kid??? I’m assuming she has a business/development deal with NBC. In the 30 minutes that I saw (how in the world did you all last two hours), I just wanted her to sing all her lines! I was also surprised that as a performer she didn’t act through the songs better. I’ve not seen her perform. Perhaps she just parks and barks. Dunno.</p>
<p>Overall, I get what they were doing and they were wise to have surrounded the lead with live theatre performers. Hopefully, it won’t be another 56 years before we see a musical live on tv.</p>
<p>I didn’t watch any of it because I knew it couldn’t touch the original. All my theatre friends are saying it was awful though so I’m sure it is. I’m left thinking the same thing I thought after watching Russell Crowe in the Les Miserables movie - WHY with so many amazingly talented and well trained performers in our country would you pick this guy?? Just because people know his name?? I wanted to cheer when he jumped off the bridge because it meant he was done singing. As long as movie and TV producers keep going for names over talent and skill they won’t produce good theatre for TV/film. Period.
Carrie was out of breath because she doesn’t know how to breathe properly. The first thing my D learned with her acting teacher was how to stand for acting and how to breathe.</p>
<p>I wanted to cheer when he jumped off the bridge because it meant he was done singing. </p>
<p>I wanted to push him off the bridge. LOL.</p>
<p>I have just been laughing at this thread! I didn’t watch - because we had other stuff going on that night. I meant to DVR, but forgot. Sounds like I didn’t miss much.</p>
<p>The pushing Russell Crowe off the bridge comment ^ is funny!</p>
<p>The issue with Carrie’s lack of acting ability is, I believe, a good illustration of the importance of acting in MT. It’s fine to be a great vocalist but if you can’t act, you’re not going to make it.</p>
<p>^^Totally agree. There’s lies the true relevance of this thread here on the MT Forum for those looking to enter this field.</p>
<p>An interesting article written by an actor is making its way around the internet. We can’t link blogs here but if you google Eviscerating the Sound of Music Live, you’ll find it. Balanced and thoughtful.</p>
<p>alwaysmom, that was an excellent article. I saw some of the production today with my MT daughter and her non-MT friend. The non-MT friend watched it with her father when it aired. She definitely saw the difference in the acting ability, but it did not turn them off from the production. In fact, they would not have watched it if Carrie was not in it. But they were able to see some of real musical theatre which to me, is a success.</p>
<p>I have to say that Audra gave me chills she was so fantastic!</p>
<p>@alwaysamom – Great article!</p>
<p>I particularly liked this – “However, I wonder how many people who absolutely hated what they saw took the time to tweet, facebook or write to NBC and say “thank you so much for being the first network in modern memory to attempt to bring the magic of live theatre performances to a larger audience, and we hope you’ll take even greater risks next time to ensure the performances live up to the material.””</p>
<p>^^^good point Momcares. And were it not for the fact that I have absolutely no idea what a Tweet is (and so sorry… plan on keeping it that way), I’d be urging all of us to rise up and do so!</p>
<p>Bisouu, I agree with every word you said. They had to have realized in rehearsals how awful she was. They must have worked hard to coach her to improve, to no avail. When they realized she couldn’t do it, they should have pulled the plug and made a switch like they did with the Little Red movie role. Unfortunately it was a live show with a designated air date, but some pro could have come in and done it. We can only hope that the embarrassment might make them think twice before doing something like that again.</p>
<p>Several professors from D’s school took to facebook to defend the production and to give support to Carrie for her enjoyable and courageous effort. One wrote about how difficult a live TV performance is and how when the Met had a live performance with Parvoratti, he and others in the opera were a sweating mess :)</p>
<p>Wish I had a “LOVE” button for what uskoolfish just posted. I saw that same analogy made somewhere else.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the only reason there was a live SOM on NBC was because of CU. Did you see all those Wal-Mart commercials? They sponsored the show because she was Maria. Every promo featured CU. No-one else. And her fans loved it. She has a lot of fans. It wouldn’t have happened at all without her.</p>
<p>Flossy- I don’t know why but that info about Walmart makes me even sadder…</p>
<p>Best money quote from the article referenced above and the one that many of us theatre snobs forget --relates to how few people actually EVER experience musical theatre…“If this was the first glimpse a lower middle class kid somewhere with no access to live theatre had of our world, I will stand by that it was indeed still a very good thing.”</p>
<p>I am a college professor in a mid-sized city in the South. I have sent my students to see all kinds of theatrical productions – good, bad, mediocre – and have even paid for them to do so, on occasion, so they can experience the genre. Like it or not, theatre is increasingly an art form obscured by the broader popular culture (reality television, for God’s sake??) and our condemnation of efforts like this does nothing to help the genre. Again, Carrie Underwood? Walmart? Well, the connection is that this is precisely the demographic who NEVER experienced a classical musical.<br>
This recent production has revived a lot of the venting about Russell Crowe as Javert and Anne Hathaway as Fantine…but again, I bet 90 people out of 100 had never seen Les Miserables and never would have otherwise…
Increasingly, the challenge for the business end of the theatrical art form is going to be to remain relevant. Our kids who are majoring in MT need to know these trends. There’s a great quote from No Country For Old Men: “you can’t stop what’s coming.”</p>
<p>I guess I will just have to agree to disagree on Walmart’s choice for a Maria…I guess that is why I don’t shop at Walmart.</p>
<p>p.s. I loved Anne Hathaway in Les Mis</p>