| SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of The Sound of Music film, and have probably seen it at least 30 times. That said, I've always enjoyed the OBC CD of the stage show, and was looking forward to seeing that version last night. Whatever I might have felt about the acting and directing, which have been discussed here at ATC by smarter people than me, what I missed the most was the screenplay by Ernest Lehman. To me, here's what Lehman improved upon: 1. Character development: the play had none. The film gave me real, 3D characters in Maria and Georg, not just in the acting but in the writing. They had more time together, they had more interactions (for example the dinner scene, which Georg later states is when he fell in love with Maria). 1.5. Chemistry: Maria and Georg having more interactions gives them time to fall in love. What's with Brigitta telling Maria, "Hey, my dad loves you. Remember that time he couldn't take his eyes off you? The audience didn't get to see it but I'll tell them all about it." 2. Humor! There are light touches throughout the film that I always enjoy, and were missing from the stage show. 3. CONFLICT. In what I saw last night, the kids liked Maria right away, and I'd want Benanti's Baroness to be my mother. In the film, Eleanor Parker's Baroness was certainly not a villain but also not exactly warm and fuzzy mom material. Her "boarding school" line spoke volumes. Actually, for me, the only improvement in the play is the fact that the Baroness herself realizes she and Georg have such differing views of politics and what's about to happen that she breaks it off. And I do wish the film had kept at least one of Elsa's songs, both of which I love. | |
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| HUGE agreement. | |
| Posted by: | GrumpyMorningBoy 01:42 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| I was reminded last night how many laugh lines Brigitta gets... and darnit it was painful to have no studio audience there. The show needs it. Audra was ready to get some laughs, too... you could see it. But I totally agree about Lehman's improvements on the script. Additionally, it's interesting how valuable "I Have Confidence" is, when setting the stage for Maria's character arc. In the film you really see how her outspokenness and ability to stand up to authority are crucial for the story, but how it's something she'd always viewed as a flaw, not an asset. That shift -- the "I'm a sinner in need of reforming" to "I'm the one person here with the balls to call this dude's shit out for what it is" -- is pretty fascinating and great. - GMB | |
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| re: HUGE agreement. | |
| Posted by: | LovestheShow 04:55 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | HUGE agreement. - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:42 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| You don't sound very grumpy to me. Oh, I see: only in the morning :-) And I so agree with you about "I Have Confidence". I would've kept that in and gotten rid of "I Must Have Done Something Good", which bothers first of all because "somewhere in my youth or childhood" seems redundant and MOST of all, believe me, if Christopher Plummer was kissing me, I would not start singing. I'd be too busy. (Although last night's total lack of chemistry between the leads made me not care that much what they sang.) | |
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| Elsa and Brigitta | |
| Posted by: | StageDoorJohnny 01:11 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Elsa is not The Baroness in the show, she's a practical business women, which makes her willingness to compromise with the Nazis more believable. Brigitta "Always tells the truth, whether you want her to or not" [the script] | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | dbg 11:16 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| You make some great points here about why the movie was such a success. In the film, Elsa is referred to as the Baroness, but in the stage version, I don't think she has that title. She is just Elsa Schraeder, and she is always called Frau. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 11:24 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - dbg 11:16 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Yes, in the show version, she's depicted as more of a business woman. | |
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| Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM | |
| Posted by: | lordofspeech 12:17 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Michael_Portantiere 11:24 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| The project started with Mary Martin and she reached out to other book writers for the musical, not Hammerstein. I think he'd have got it right. But I agree Lehman's work is a vast improvement over stage book. | |
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| re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM | |
| Posted by: | JohnDunlop 01:51 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM - lordofspeech 12:17 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| Yes, Rodgers and Hammerstein were not initially involved. Martin et al. asked them to wrote a few additional songs to blend in with the songs already associated with the real von Trapp family. Then R & H agreed to write all the songs. Rodgers and Hammerstein were occupied with "Flower Drum Song," so SOM was delayed until they were free. Martin went on tour all over the U.S. with a one-woman show while waiting for the project to completely come together. I do not remember Hammerstein ever being considered for the book. | |
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| re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM | |
| Posted by: | JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 12:35 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM - lordofspeech 12:17 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| I've always heard that Hammerstein was already ill when work began on SOM and he was not up writing both book AND lyrics for this one, as he'd done with all their previous shows. And, for that reason, the book was farmed out to Lindsay and Crouse. I've never read anything that provided more details. I've always wondered why Lindsay and Crouse were chosen and if anyone else was considered. I think, even in its time, SOM, which a box office smash, was considered to be lesser Rodgers and Hammerstein, due mainly to an inferior book. It wasn't until the film was made that SOM became the revered classic that it is today. The creation of SOM might make an interesting behind-the-scenes book or film. | |
| URL: | Jere-Rigged |
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| horse hockey | |
| Posted by: | StageDoorJohnny 11:12 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM - JereNYC 12:35 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| SOM was the 4th longest running NY musical when it closed [about 3 1/2 years] with a longer run than King and I and almost twice as long as Carousel. The longer runs were My Fair Lady, Oklahoma! and South Pacific. In London the run was about 6 months longer than the NY Oklahoma! [at just under 6 years] and was the 2nd longest running musical in London history--after Oliver!. The movie would not have been made without the huge success of the stage show. | |
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| double horse hockey | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 11:50 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | horse hockey - StageDoorJohnny 11:12 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| I'm seeing a number of posts lately that seem to be confusing success with quality. No one is denying that the run of the original production was successful. So was the run of Cats, of Mamma Mia, of Oh Calcutta...;-) | |
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| re: double horse hockey | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 02:11 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | double horse hockey - Chromolume 11:50 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| "The Sound of Music" didn't feature nudity to get to its long run. Though I wouldn't put it past someone like Calito Bieito or some other outlandish avant-garde director in a Euro-trash version to insert it somewhere. But the original cast did have in addition to starring Mary Martin, a chorus that included, amazingly enough, Joey Heatherton, and opera divas to be Patricia Brooks and Tatiana Troyanos. | |
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| re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 08:04 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM - JereNYC 12:35 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| "The Sound Of Music" was still a hit during its initial run; it tied with "Fiorello!" for the Tony that year (although "Gypsy" was famously overlooked). Lindsay and Crouse were very well-known names -- they had written among other things "Life With Father" which still holds the record for the longest-running straight play on Broadway. | |
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| re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM | |
| Posted by: | JohnDunlop 10:19 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Hammerstein did not write stage book for SOM - PlayWiz 08:04 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| It wasn't just a hit, it was a huge hit. I saw "The Sound of Music" on a weekday night, buying the tickets far in advance. After the performance, there were a very large crowd outside the theater. I had to leave, but I assumed the crowd was there to see Mary Martin (this was only a few years after the TV "Peter Pan" in '55 & '56). | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | carolinaguy 10:48 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Amen. I've never seen a stage production of SOM; I only knew that there were some song and plot differences from the beloved film. But mostly what I kept thinking last night was, "Damn, this is a clunky and stilted book." If Carrie seemed stilted and wooden much of the time in the dialogue scenes, at least some of the fault has to be given to the writing. Jeez, Meryl Streep would have had a time pulling off some of those eye-rollers. If it weren't for the glorious score, this never would have made it to the stage, let alone the screen. Lehman was truly a great screenwriting craftsman--he was robbed of the Oscar for writing "North by Northwest"! | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | WaymanWong 11:40 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - carolinaguy 10:48 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Lehman WAS robbed, losing to ''Pillow Talk.'' But he was in good company: Other ''losers'' in that Original Screenplay category were Francois Truffaut for ''The 400 Blows'' and Ingmar Bergman for ''Wild Strawberries.'' Happily, the 6-time Academy Award nominee finally got a Honorary Oscar in 2001 - the first one ever given to a screenwriter - and it was presented to him by Julie Andrews. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 10:12 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| I am of the school of thought that the weakest R&H Broadway show was the best R&H movie. This is very much to Ernest Lehman's credit, as well as to Robert Wise's very smart direction (I also think his film version of WEST SIDE STORY is far better structured and compelling than the play, but I know that is blasphemy in certain circles). The other reason the film is so good is because of the acting. Julie Andrews is funny and charming and charismatic and her Maria is thinking all the time. She is a nuanced character. As is Christopher Plummer's Georg. His timing is impeccable, he's not one-dimensional. I found Moyer played the surface and not much more. And the direction didn't help--why, when he sang with his kids for the first time in years, did he sing to the backyard and not to his family? I understand that SOM is a great title which makes it seem obvious for this kind of stunt production, but it is only a great title because it's a great film, not because it's a great play. The revivals of CAROUSEL and SOUTH PACIFIC shined but the revival of SOM did not reach those heights for a reason. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - bicoastal 10:12 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Lehman's screen adaptation of THE KING AND I is also exemplary. He doesn't usually get as much credit for that one because, compared to THE SOUND OF MUSIC and WEST SIDE STORY, he didn't make that many changes or do that much rewriting. But he greatly improved the story in at least two significant ways: Lady Thiang is a more sympathetic character in the movie, and even more importantly, Anna is directly involved in facilitating the romance and eventual attempted escape of Tuptim and Lun Tha, which is not the case in the stage version. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | Greg_M 01:24 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Michael_Portantiere 10:46 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Lehman also improved the screenplay for "Hello Dolly!" by having Dolly send the boys to the hat shop instead of having them wandering in by chance (among other things) which make the film more believable | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 02:30 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Greg_M 01:24 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| Yes, definitely. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | bicoastal 06:18 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - Michael_Portantiere 02:30 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| Agreed. The involvement of Anna in the Tuptim romance is in the source material and Lehman wisely brought it back. He was quite a brilliant screenwriter. | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | mendacity 09:56 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| I had the same reaction while watching last night — the first time I really realized the miracles Ernest Lehman made happen in the film screenplay — essentially turning a plot-driven musical into a character-driven musical. That said, I did get so much more from Mother Abbess last night than I ever did in the film — particularly a clear picture that she had a special empathy with Maria — but was that due to the script or Audra McDonald? | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 09:55 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - LovestheShow 09:39 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| I have not watched it yet, but my only complaint about the film involves the cutting of The Baroness's songs, particularly "How Can Love Survive?" (much too good of a song to have been rendered obscure by Hollywood), as well. Lehman just felt that The Baroness and Max should not be singing characters. What he wrote certainly works, but, damn, I miss those songs! | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | Cappy414 09:52 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - TheOtherOne 09:55 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Ah..but the song was used in the movie..sort of.. The melody of How Can Love Survive was the underscoring waltz in the party scene | |
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| re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! | |
| Posted by: | mamaleh 11:26 am EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: SOM: Thank you Ernest Lehman! - TheOtherOne 09:55 am EST 12/06/13 |
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| Me, too. Those two songs omitted from the '65 movie but mercifully resurrected for last night's broadcast are, well, "a few of my favorite things." | |
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