"LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING; A VERY GOOD PLACE TO STA
DEWEY MEE | ELLENSBURG, WA, | 11/28/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For 50 years now, "The Sound Of Music" has received disdain from critics, who rebuke its excessive sentimentality, and adoration from international audiences. Buried somewhere underneath the odd mix of rebuke, disdain, and adoration lies a compelling musical with a lovely, final score from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. To re-discover it, you can "start at the very beginning", with this excellent re-issue of the Original Broadway Cast Album from 1959.
This album was recorded at Columbia Records historic 30th Street Studio; where such other classic Broadway Cast Albums as "My Fair Lady," "West Side Story," and "Gypsy" were also recorded. In its original production, "The Sound Of Music", rather controversially, won eight Tony Awards, including "Best Musical" over Jule Styne and Steven Sondheim's darker, more complex, musical "Gypsy." Even more controversially, Mary Martin won the Best Actress Tony Award as Maria, instead of Ethel Merman as hard-driving, ambitious and obsessed Mama Rose in "Gypsy."
On the surface, Mary Martin, then 43 years old and fresh from her high-flying success as "Peter Pan", was far too old to portray 20 year old would-be nun turned governess Maria. But the rules are different on stage. And, perhaps taking a cue from her "Peter Pan" persona, Mary Martin was determined to be to be the theatrical personification of "youth, joy" and "freedom"-- qualities which are as well suited to Maria Von Trapp as to Peter Pan. Mary Martin sings her heart out as Maria, generating genuine warmth and infectious high spirits as she sings "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd" with the children. But the real singing star of this recording is Patricia Neway as the Mother Absess. Her mighty, diva power rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" can not, indeed, will not, be denied. Neway practically demands and rightfully deserves respect! The generation who grew up with the 1965 movie version will likely be shocked by this original Broadway version. This "music", under the direction of conductor Fredrick Dvorch, has a far more intimate "sound." There are also two songs, "How Can Love Survive?" and "No Way To Stop It" for the characters of Max and Elsa (Kurt Kaszner and Marion Marlowe) that were cut from the movie version. If there is a dud in Rodgers and Hammerstein's stage score, it is definitely "An Ordinary Couple", a duet for Mary Martin and co-star Theodore Bikel, that sounds like a deadly dirge. "An Ordinary Couple" was, mercifully, cut from the movie version and replaced by Richard Rodgers with "Something Good."
The bonus material included here is very informative and entertaining. The CD booklet includes an excellent essay by Bert Fink and several rare photos. My favorite photo shows the real Maria Von Trapp (a formidable looking-woman, indeed!) standing alongside Mary Martin and Florence Henderson; who was the "second Maria" (following Mary Martin-- thank God Florence Henderson did not play Maria in the movie)! The Bonus Tracks include a hilarious "Sound Of Music" Parody titled "The Pratt Family from Switzerland" from "Julie Andrews & Carol Burnett at Carnegie Hall" in 1962. Julie says, "And now, we bring you a happy song that I used to sing when I was a happy nun back home in Switzerland," to which Carol adds, "You all can sing along if it doesn't make you sick!" Richard Rodgers was so upset by this parody that, three years later, he was reportedly furious when Julie Andrews was cast as Maria in the film version. He changed his tune quickly enough; when the film became the most successful film of all time-- and became known in the industry as "The Sound Of Money." By the time the movie was planned, Mary Martin was pushing 50 and definitely too old now. In an odd show-business irony, Audrey Hepburn, an early candidate for the role of Maria, accepted the role of Eliza Doolittle-- that Julie Andrews had played to great acclaim on stage-- in the 1964 film version of "My Fair Lady." This left Julie Andrews free to accept film roles in "Mary Poppins" and "The Americanization Of Emily": and to replace Mary Martin as Maria in the film version of "The Sound Of Music."
"The Sound Of Music" has been embraced in practically every country in the world-- except Austria; where the real-life events took place. Austrians seem to hold the same disdain for "The Sound Of Music" as American theatre and film critics do. That finally changed in 2005, when the first German language production was staged in Vienna; the birth place of the real Maria Von Trapp. This CD includes Michael Kraus and Sandra Piers' emotional rendition of "Edelweiss" from that historic production. And finally, basking in the show's international appeal a bit more, this CD concludes with a Swedish version of "Sok Dig Till Bergin" ("Climb Every Mountain") by Tommy Korberg; proving that, after 50 years, "The Sound Of Music" is still moving in emotionally honest, far from manipulative, ways."
The hills are alive with the voice of Mary...
Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 04/08/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The final musical from the teaming of Rodgers and Hammerstein, THE SOUND OF MUSIC first opened on Broadway in 1959, starring Mary Martin as the unruly postulant who is assigned the task of becoming governess to the seven children of widower Captain Von Trapp (played by Theodore Bikel).
Even the hugely-successful 1965 movie version--starring Julie Andrews--has done little to dim the enchantment and magic of the original 1959 Broadway cast album, now reissued in this lavish 50th Anniversary package from Sony Broadway Masterworks.
Mary Martin imbues Maria with a childlike wonderment and maternal warmth; you can completely follow her character's journey through Maria's songs on the cast album. Cutting through any possible sugar within the piece are the two numbers shared by the Captain's worldly mistress, Elsa (Marion Marlowe) and her wisecracking friend Max (Kurt Kasznar), "How Can Love Survive?" and "No Way to Stop It", which are the closest that lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II ever came to approaching the cynical, rueful ballads made famous during Richard Rodgers' days with Lorenz Hart. The fact that those two songs never made it to the eventual movie version robbed the Baroness Elsa of much of her impact, and gave the film no real sense of mounting conflict within the Maria/Captain/Elsa love triangle.
Playing the Mother Abbess, Patricia Neway graces the album with her soaring "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"; Lauri Peters is the love-struck Liesel, and Brian Davies plays Rolf. THE SOUND OF MUSIC opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on the 16th November, 1959 (moving in 1962 to the Mark Hellinger Theatre) and eventually clocked up 1,443 performances before closing in 1963. Mary Martin's various replacements throughout the run included Jeannie Carson, Nancy Dussault, Martha Wright and Barbara Meister.
Bonuses featured in this 50th Anniversary package differ from those heard on the previous 1999 Broadway Masterworks edition, so collectors will be inclined to double-dip. Chief among the extra treasures is the "Pratt Family Singers" skit from Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett's 1962 Carnegie Hall album (which is begging to be reissued in it's entirety...hint, hint, Sony!)."
A 50th Anniversary present
D. Lebow | La Mirada, CA USA | 12/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I listened to this new release in 20 bit technology and was blown away by the glorious sound. Mary Martin was never quite given credit for the incredible voice she had. From One Touch of Venus to South Pacific to her Annie Get Your Gun and The Sound of Music, her vocal talent is amazing.
See my review at [...]"
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1