http://uproxx.

com/tv/sound-music-terrible/

Musical fans have been storming the Internet to complain about NBCs desperate bid for attention,
staging The Sound Of Music live, tonight, in place of their Thursday lineup, because people would
rather watch The CW than Sean Saves The World. Imagine that! And youd think NBC was
defacing a classic, but theres one problem with that idea: The Sound of Music is a movie that
makes you want the Nazis to win.

Lets break down a few problems, shall we?

The Movie Is Proof You Can Polish A Turd

Most strong feelings about The Sound of Music come from the fact that the movie is, on a technical
level, actually pretty accomplished. Thats what happens when you get the editor of Citizen Kane to
direct your movie, and fill the cast with essentially every remotely talented actor you can find the
movie is a whos who of Broadway at the time. Its easy to understand how its the third highest-
grossing movie ever made; you get professionals and write them all a massive check, theyre going
to earn that check.

But its still a terrible movie in a lot of respects. For example, whos the antagonist? Were
supposed to be all concerned because Nazis, partially because the Broadway show was a knock-
off of a German film. But theyre barely in the movie and its not like the Von Trapps were going to
be sent to a concentration camp. The entire plot of this movie centers on Christopher Plummer
dodging a job offer he doesnt want because hed rather bang Julie Andrews. Not that we can
blame him, but come on.

Its Problematic To Say The Least

Being a Rodgers and Hammerstein production, the basic message of this movie is that if a woman
has strong, independent feelings and wants to be her own person, thats a problem that can be
solved with liberal application of the D. Seriously. Thats how you solve a problem like Maria. Oh,
and shes also a homewrecker, but were not supposed to care about that since she cockblocked a
Nazi.

If thats not creepy enough, theres a song that essentially boils down to Dont hang out with other
guys, because I want first crack. This gets even more troubling when the guy singing it turns out to
be a grade-A douchebag. But dont worry, its got plenty of crappy messages about men, too!
Consider that this show finds the concept of a single father horrifying because, uh, he asked his
kids to behave and be orderly since hes often away and is in the process of hiring somebody to
take care of them. What a dick he is, doing the best he can with the tools he has.

Secondly, this is the most adorable movie about the Nazis invading a country, seizing power, and
rigging an election ever made. Its kind of irritating that a movie where Hitlers consolidation of
power and one of the first indications that the world was about to go into the toilet for seven years
is mostly treated as an annoying background event. If you break this movie down, the worst thing
that would actually happen to the Von Trapps is that Georg would probably have died in a U-boat,
the crushing black depths of the North Atlantic granting him peace from the sugary warbling that
surrounded him. Imagine 12 Years A Slave but entirely about the white people looking out a
window and arguing whether that black guy should be whipped so hard; thats The Sound of Music,
in a political nutshell.

Finally, The Songs Are Terrible And Thus Hard To Screw Up

Rodgers and Hammerstein made a fortune on Broadway and in movies because they were the pop
hit factories of their time. Rodgers, after discovering that making songs that were actually good
rarely made you money, sought out Hammerstein and thus, with a few exceptions, a monster was
born, and this is the most foul of its spawn.
To be fair, Broadway musicals are often a very conservative form that doesnt stray far from what
works, because staging shows is expensive and its not the art crowd buying overpriced tickets.
Throw the fact that youll have kids singing into the mix, and their limited range and life experience
generally means youre going to be writing some pretty saccharine garbage if you want to make
money.

As a result, youve got what amounts to a musical thats mostly cutesy, simple childrens songs.
Ask any parent, five minutes of childrens songs will drive a sane person into a homicidal rage. An
entire musical of them is worse than attending a Necronomicon reading.

The flip-side is that, frankly, these songs are pretty hard to botch. So, if nothing else, Carrie
Underwood wont embarrass herself when this thing goes live. And, as excruciating and terrible as
it is, at least itll be off the air by the end of Thursday. We can think of a lot of shows that we wish
that were true of.

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps.html

Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family

En Espaol

Winter 2005, Vol. 37, No. 4

By Joan Gearin

refer to caption Enlarge

Maria von Trapp, photograph from her Declaration of Intention, dated January 21, 1944. (Records
of District Courts of the United States, RG 21)
I first saw the movie The Sound of Music as a young child, probably in the late 1960s. I liked the
singing, and Maria was so pretty and kind! As I grew older, more aware of world history, and
saturated by viewing the movie at least once yearly, I was struck and annoyed by the somewhat
sanitized story of the von Trapp family it told, as well as the bad 1960s hairdos and costumes. "It's
not historically accurate!" I'd protest, a small archivist in the making. In the early 1970s I saw Maria
von Trapp herself on Dinah Shore's television show, and boy, was she not like the Julie Andrews
version of Maria! She didn't look like Julie, and she came across as a true force of nature. In
thinking about the fictionalized movie version of Maria von Trapp as compared to this very real
Maria von Trapp, I came to realize that the story of the von Trapp family was probably something
closer to human, and therefore much more interesting, than the movie led me to believe.

Part of the story of the real von Trapp family can be found in the records of the National Archives.
When they fled the Nazi regime in Austria, the von Trapps traveled to America. Their entry into the
United States and their subsequent applications for citizenship are documented in the holdings of
the National Archives and Records Administration.

Fact from Fiction

While The Sound of Music was generally based on the first section of Maria's book The Story of
the Trapp Family Singers (published in 1949), there were many alterations and omissions.
Maria came to the von Trapp family in 1926 as a tutor for one of the children, Maria, who was
recovering from scarlet fever, not as governess to all the children.

Maria and Georg married in 1927, 11 years before the family left Austria, not right before the Nazi
takeover of Austria.

Maria did not marry Georg von Trapp because she was in love with him. As she said in her
autobiography Maria, she fell in love with the children at first sight, not their father. When he asked
her to marry him, she was not sure if she should abandon her religious calling but was advised by
the nuns to do God's will and marry Georg. "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't
love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children. . . . [B]y and by I
learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."

There were 10, not 7 von Trapp children.

The names, ages, and sexes of the children were changed.

The family was musically inclined before Maria arrived, but she did teach them to sing madrigals.

Georg, far from being the detached, cold-blooded patriarch of the family who disapproved of music,
as portrayed in the first half of The Sound of Music, was actually a gentle, warmhearted parent who
enjoyed musical activities with his family. While this change in his character might have made for a
better story in emphasizing Maria's healing effect on the von Trapps, it distressed his family
greatly.

The family did not secretly escape over the Alps to freedom in Switzerland, carrying their suitcases
and musical instruments. As daughter Maria said in a 2003 interview printed in Opera News, "We
did tell people that we were going to America to sing. And we did not climb over mountains with all
our heavy suitcases and instruments. We left by train, pretending nothing."

The von Trapps traveled to Italy, not Switzerland. Georg was born in Zadar (now in Croatia), which
at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Zadar became part of Italy in 1920, and
Georg was thus an Italian citizen, and his wife and children as well. The family had a contract with
an American booking agent when they left Austria. They contacted the agent from Italy and
requested fare to America.

Instead of the fictional Max Detweiler, pushy music promoter, the von Trapps' priest, the Reverend
Franz Wasner, acted as their musical director for over 20 years.

Though she was a caring and loving person, Maria wasn't always as sweet as the fictional Maria.
She tended to erupt in angry outbursts consisting of yelling, throwing things, and slamming doors.
Her feelings would immediately be relieved and good humor restored, while other family members,
particularly her husband, found it less easy to recover. In her 2003 interview, the younger Maria
confirmed that her stepmother "had a terrible temper. . . . And from one moment to the next, you
didn't know what hit her. We were not used to this. But we took it like a thunderstorm that would
pass, because the next minute she could be very nice."
The Real von Trapps

Georg von Trapp, born in 1880, became a national hero as a captain in the Austrian navy during
World War I. He commanded submarines with valor and received the title of "Ritter" (knight), and
later baron, as a reward for his heroic accomplishments. Georg married Agathe Whitehead, the
granddaughter of Robert Whitehead, the inventor of the torpedo, in 1912. They had seven children
together: Rupert, 19111992; Agathe, 1913[2010]; Maria, 1914[2014]; Werner, 1915[2007];
Hedwig, 19171972; Johanna, 19191994; and Martina, 19211952. After World War I, Austria
lost all of its seaports, and Georg retired from the navy. His wife died in 1922 of scarlet fever. The
family was devastated by her death and unable to bear living in a place where they had been so
happy, Georg sold his property in Pola (now Pula, Croatia) and bought an estate in Salzburg.
Photographs from von Trapp Declaration of Intention documents

(Records of District Courts of the United States, RG 21)

Maria Augusta Kutschera was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1905. She was orphaned as a young
child and was raised as an atheist and socialist by an abusive relative. While attending the State
Teachers' College of Progressive Education in Vienna, she accidentally attended a Palm Sunday
service, believing it to be a concert of Bach music, where a priest was speaking. Years later she
recalled in her autobiography Maria, "Now I had heard from my uncle that all of these Bible stories
were inventions and old legends, and that there wasn't a word of truth in them. But the way this
man talked just swept me off my feet. I was completely overwhelmed." Soon after, Maria graduated
from college, and as a result of her religious awakening, she entered the Benedictine Abbey of
Nonnberg in Salzburg as a novice. While she struggled with the unaccustomed rules and
discipline, she considered that "These . . . two years were really necessary to get my twisted
character and my overgrown self-will cut down to size."

However, her health suffered from not getting the exercise and fresh air to which she was
accustomed. When Georg von Trapp approached the Reverend Mother of the Abbey seeking a
teacher for his sick daughter, Maria was chosen, partly because of her training and skill as a
teacher, but also because of concern for her health. She was supposed to remain with the von
Trapps for 10 months, at the end of which she would formally enter the convent.

Maria tutored young Maria and developed a caring and loving relationship with all the children. She
enjoyed singing with them and getting them involved in outdoor activities. During this time, Georg
fell in love with Maria and asked her to stay with him and become a second mother to his children.
Of his proposal, Maria said, "God must have made him word it that way because if he had only
asked me to marry him I might not have said yes." Maria Kutschera and Georg von Trapp married
in 1927. They had three children together: Rosmarie, 1929 ; Eleonore, 1931 ; and Johannes,
1939.

The family lost most of its wealth through the worldwide depression when their bank failed in the
early 1930s. Maria tightened belts all around by dismissing most of the servants and taking in
boarders. It was around this time that they began considering making the family hobby of singing
into a profession. Georg was reluctant for the family to perform in public, "but accepted it as God's
will that they sing for others," daughter Eleonore said in a 1978 Washington Post interview. "It
almost hurt him to have his family onstage, not from a snobbish view, but more from a protective
one." As depicted in The Sound of Music, the family won first place in the Salzburg Music Festival
in 1936 and became successful, singing Renaissance and Baroque music, madrigals, and folk
songs all across Europe.

When the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, the von Trapps realized that they were on thin ice with a
regime they abhorred. Georg not only refused to fly the Nazi flag on their house, but he also
declined a naval command and a request to sing at Hitler's birthday party. They were also
becoming aware of the Nazis' anti-religious propaganda and policies, the pervasive fear that those
around them could be acting as spies for the Nazis, and the brainwashing of children against their
parents. They weighed staying in Austria and taking advantage of the enticements the Nazis were
offeringgreater fame as a singing group, a medical doctor's position for Rupert, and a renewed
naval career for Georgagainst leaving behind everything they knewtheir friends, family, estate,
and all their possessions. They decided that they could not compromise their principles and left.

refer to caption Enlarge

Passenger list of the SS Bergensfjord, dated September 27, 1939 (page 1). The von Trapp family
is listed at line 5. (Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85)
refer to caption Enlarge

Page 2 of the passenger list of the SS Bergensfjord. (Records of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, RG 85)
Traveling with their musical conductor, Rev. Franz Wasner, and secretary, Martha Zochbauer, they
went by train to Italy in June, later to London, and by September were on a ship to New York to
begin a concert tour in Pennsylvania. Son Johannes was born in January 1939 in Philadelphia.

When their six months visitors' visas expired, they went on a short Scandinavian tour and returned
to New York in October 1939. They were held at Ellis Island for investigation by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, apparently because when asked by an official how long they intended
to stay, instead of saying "six months," as specified on their visas, Maria exclaimed, "Oh, I am so
glad to be hereI never want to leave again!" The Story of the Trapp Family Singers notes that
they were released after a few days and began their next tour.

refer to caption Enlarge

This record of aliens held for special inquiry, dated October 7, 1939, notes that the family was to
clear up confusion about the von Trapps status. (Records of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, RG 85)
refer to caption Enlarge

Maria von Trapp's certificate of arrival into Niagara Falls, NY, on December 30, 1942,
authenticated that she arrived legally in the United States. (Records of District Courts of the United
States, RG 21)

In the early 1940s the family settled in Stowe, Vermont, where they bought a farm. They ran a
music camp on the property when they were not on tour. In 1944, Maria and her stepdaughters
Johanna, Martina, Maria, Hedwig, and Agathe applied for U.S. citizenship by filing declarations of
intention at the U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont. Georg apparently never filed to become
a citizen; Rupert and Werner were naturalized while serving in the U.S. armed forces during World
War II; Rosmarie and Eleonore derived citizenship from their mother; and Johannes was born in
the United States and was a citizen in his own right.

Georg died in 1947 and was buried in the family cemetery on the property. Those who had applied
for citizenship achieved it in 1948. The Trapp Family Lodge (which is still operating today) opened
to guests in 1950. While fame and success continued for the Trapp Family Singers, they decided
to stop touring in 1955. The group consisted mostly of non-family members because many of the
von Trapps wanted to pursue other endeavors, and only Maria's iron will had kept the group
together for so long.

In 1956, Maria, Johannes, Rosmarie, and daughter Maria went to New Guinea to do missionary
work. Later, Maria ran the Trapp Family Lodge for many years. Of the children, Rupert was a
medical doctor; Agathe was kindergarten teacher in Maryland; Maria was a missionary in New
Guinea for 30 years; Werner was a farmer; Hedwig taught music; Johanna married and eventually
returned to live in Austria; Martina married and died in childbirth; Rosmarie and Eleonore both
settled in Vermont; and Johannes managed the Trapp Family Lodge. Maria died in 1987 and was
buried alongside Georg and Martina.

The von Trapps and The Sound of Music

refer to caption Enlarge

Maria von Trapp s Declaration of Intention to become a U.S. citizen. (Records of District Courts of
the United States, RG 21)
The von Trapps never saw much of the huge profits The Sound of Music made. Maria sold the film
rights to German producers and inadvertently signed away her rights in the process. The resulting
films, Die Trapp-Familie (1956), and a sequel, Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika (1958), were quite
successful. The American rights were bought from the German producers. The family had very
little input in either the play or the movie The Sound of Music. As a courtesy, the producers of the
play listened to some of Maria's suggestions, but no substantive contributions were accepted.

How did the von Trapps feel about The Sound of Music? While Maria was grateful that there wasn't
any extreme revision of the story she wrote in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, and that she
herself was represented fairly accurately (although Mary Martin and Julie Andrews "were too
gentle-like girls out of Bryn Mawr," she told the Washington Post in 1978), she wasn't pleased with
the portrayal of her husband. The children's reactions were variations on a theme: irritation about
being represented as people who only sang lightweight music, the simplification of the story, and
the alterations to Georg von Trapp's personality. As Johannes von Trapp said in a 1998 New York
Times interview, "it's not what my family was about. . . . [We were] about good taste, culture, all
these wonderful upper-class standards that people make fun of in movies like 'Titanic.' We're about
environmental sensitivity, artistic sensitivity. 'Sound of Music' simplifies everything. I think perhaps
reality is at the same time less glamorous but more interesting than the myth."

***
Examining the historical record is helpful in separating fact from fiction, particularly in a case like
the von Trapp family and The Sound of Music. In researching this article, I read Maria von Trapp's
books, contemporary newspaper articles, and original documents, all of which clarified the
difference between the von Trapps' real experiences and fictionalized accounts. My impression of
Maria from Dinah Shore's show was the tip of a tantalizing iceberg: the real lives of real people are
always more interesting than stories.

While the von Trapps' story is one of the better known immigrant experiences documented in the
records of the National Archives and Records Administration, the family experiences of many
Americans may also be found in census, naturalization, court, and other records.

Note on Sources

The National Archives and Records Administration, Northeast RegionBoston in Waltham,

Massachusetts, holds the original records of the von Trapps' naturalizations as U.S. citizens.
Declarations of intention, petitions for naturalization, and certificates of arrival are in Petitions and
Records of Naturalization, U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, Records of District Courts
of the United States, Record Group (RG) 21. The passenger arrival list of the SS Bergensfjord and
the Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry are in Passengers and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving
at New York, New York, 18971957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication T715), Records of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85, and are held in many National Archives locations.

refer to caption Enlarge

Maria von Trapp s petition for naturalization as a U.S. citizen. (Records of District Courts of the
United States, RG 21)
refer to caption Enlarge

Back of Maria von Trapp s petition for naturalization. (Records of District Courts of the United
States, RG 21)
Readers looking for a first-hand account of the family's story should consult Maria von Trapp's The
Story of the Trapp Family Singers (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1949) and her autobiography Maria
(Carol Stream, IL: Creation House, 1972).

Interviews consulted for this article appeared in The Washington Post (Jennifer Small, "Apparently,
Julie Andrews was too tame to do her justice"), February 26, 1978, p. A1; The New York Times
(Alex Witchel, "As 'The Sound of Music' returns to Broadway, the von Trapps recall real lives"),
February 1, 1998, p. AR9; and Opera News 67 (May 2003): 44.

[3/11/2016: The year of Rosmarie von Trapp's birth has been corrected to 1929. The year 1928 in
the original version of this article was based on a mistyped date on the naturalization record.]

[Updated 1/3/2017: Rupert died in 1992 in Vermont; Agathe died in 2010 in Maryland; daughter
Maria died in 2014 in Vermont; Werner died in 2007 in Vermont; Hedwig died in 1972 in Zell am
See, Austria; and Johanna von Trapp Winter died in 1994 in Vienna, Austria.]

[6/20/2017: Wording relating to Georg von Trapp's title of "baron" was updated.]

http://mentalfloss.com/article/61706/14-things-you-might-not-know-about-sound-music

With its iconic camerawork, catchy musical score, and great performances, its not hard to see why
so many people still love The Sound of Music, even after all these years.

1. Julie Andrews Kept Falling Over During The Mountain Scene.

The opening scene of Andrews twirling on the mountaintop may look effortless, but it was anything
but. Not only was it raining and cold throughout production, the helicopter kept knocking Andrews
over. This was a jet helicopter, she said. And the down draft from those jets was so strong that
every time the helicopter circled around me and the down draft just flattened me into the grass.
And I mean flattened. It was fine for a couple of takes, but after that you begin to get just a little bit
angry And I really tried. I mean, I braced myself, I thought, Its not going to get me this time.
And every single time, I bit the dust.

MORE FROM MENTAL FLOSS STUDIOS

Play
Unmute
Current Time 0:06
/
Duration Time 0:41
Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%

Fullscreen
POP CULTURE
Real Dragon Eggs
2. It Was The Last Rodgers And Hammerstein Musical.

The musical theatre partnership between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II yielded
Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and The King and I, among others. The Sound of Music, based on two
German films about the von Trapp family (as well as a memoir by Maria von Trapp), opened on
Broadway in 1959 to tepid critical reviews. In 1960, Hammerstein died from stomach cancer. The
last song he wrote was "Edelweiss."

3. Two Years Before The Movie, Julie Andrews Spoofed The Musical.

In the 1962 TV special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, Andrews and Carol Burnett parodied The
Sound Of Music in a skit called Pratt Family Singers. You can watch it above.

4. Andrews Almost Wasn't Cast.

Richard Rodgers knew that Julie Andrews would be the perfect Maria for the role after she
auditioned for one of his musicals in 1956, but she starred in My Fair Lady instead. No one felt that
the theater actress would work well on a movie screen in coloruntil Walt Disney showed William
Wyler the rushes from Mary Poppins, and everyone realized she was perfect. Except for 20th
Century Fox, who wanted a four film contract. Ultimately, it got haggled down to a two film contract,
and movie history was made.

And as for the story that Julie Andrews was worried about being typecast as a nanny after Mary
Poppins? She said, Having done the Americanization of Emily between Mary Poppins and The
Sound of Music, I hoped that would show I didnt only play nanny roles!

5. The Boat Scene Traumatized Gretl

The scene where the rowboat overturns and Maria and the kids fall into a lake was hard on Kym
Karath, who played 5-year-old Gretl. Since Karath couldnt swim, Andrews was supposed to fall
forward when the boat turned over and rescue her. Instead, Andrews fell backwards and couldnt
get to Karath in time. I went under, I swallowed a lot of water, which I then vomited all over
Heather [Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa], Karath said.

6. Christopher Plummer Hated The Movie.

Plummer, who played Captain von Trapp, hated the film so much that he called it The Sound of
Mucus. Because it was so awful and sentimental and gooey, he said. You had to work terribly
hard to try and infuse some minuscule bit of humor into it. He drank and ate away his sorrows in
Salzburg, which caused him to gain so much weight his costumes had to be let out. He also
admitted on the DVD commentary that he was drunk when filming the music festival.

7. Andrews Kept Giggling During The Love Scene.

When Maria and Captain von Trapp declare their love in the gazebo, Andrews and Plummer had to
stand close together and sing Something Good. But the romance was interrupted when the lights
above them made rude noises that caused Andrews to giggle. Christopher would be looking into
my eyes and saying 'Oh Maria I love you,' and thered be this awful raspberry coming from the
lights above us, Andrews said. Finally, director Robert Wise turned the lights off and filmed the
scene in silhouette.

8. Heres Mia Farrow Auditioning For Liesl.

Farrow was one of many actors who tested for Liesl, but in the end, the part went to Charmian
Carr.

9. Carr Injured Herself During Sixteen Going On Seventeen.

While filming the song Sixteen Going On Seventeen, Carrwho, incidentally, was 21 years old at
the timefell through the glass in the gazebo and injured her ankle. In the scene, shes wearing a
bandage covered with make-up on her leg.

10. Friedrich Grew Six Inches During Filming.

Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich, grew from 5-ft. 3-in. to 5-ft. 9-in. during the six months
of shooting. Since Friedrich had to be shorter than Liesl but taller than Louisa, the growth spurt
posed a continuity problem. At the start of the film, Hammond had lifts on his shoes; by the end, his
shoes were off, and Carr had to stand on a box.

11. Julie Andrews Yodeled With The Real Maria Von Trapp.

When the real Maria von Trapp popped up on an episode of The Julie Andrews Hour, she told
Andrews that the actress was "absolutely wonderful" in the film, but her yodeling was not quite up
to parwhich led to this little duet.

12. The Von Trapps Didnt Escape Over A Mountain.

In the movie, the von Trapp family escapes the Nazis by crossing over the mountains into
Switzerland. In real life, the von Trapps took the train to Italy. If they had gone over the Austrian
mountains, they would have ended up in Germanyright by where Hitler had his mountain retreat.

13. Overall, The Movie Is Historically Inaccurate.

For instance, there were 10 von Trapp children, not seven. The real Maria von Trapp left the
convent to tutor one child, not to be governess to all the children. She and Georg von Trapp were
married 11 years before the Nazis took over Austria, and by all accounts, Georg was a kind man,
not the harsh disciplinarian from the film. Most surprisingly, Maria wrote that she didnt love him
when she married him: "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I
loved the children, so in a way I really married the children.

14. The Movie Saved 20th Century Fox.

After the financial failure of Cleopatra, 20th Century Fox was close to bankruptcy. Luckily, The
Sound of Music was so successful, it surpassed Gone With The Wind as the number one box
office to date and went on to win five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Today,
adjusted for ticket price inflation, The Sound of Music is the third highest grossing film of all time.
Its considered the most successful musical ever on film.

http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-and-culture/160388-west-side-story-sound-of-music-
manila

MANILA, Philippines The international cast of Wicked just started their Manila run, but there are
more productions to look forward to this 2017 West Side Story and The Sound of Music are
coming to Manila!

Lunchbox Theatrical Productions Chief Executive James Cundall announced the news to the press
at a media call for Wicked on Friday, February 3.

The American production of West Side Story will open on August 10 at The Theatre at Solaire.

Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story follows two rival teenage gangs in
1950s New York.

The musical, known for songs like "Maria," "Tonight," and "I Feel Pretty," hit Broadway in 1957 and
has since been adapted into an Oscar-winning movie.

On the other hand, the London West End production of The Sound of Music is coming to Manila on
October 3, and it will also be staged at The Theatre at Solaire.

Set in Austria at the onset of World War II, The Sound of Music follows Maria, a governess who
changes the lives of the Von Trapp family through music.

The 1959 Broadway play was later turned into a movie starring Julie Andrews, and is popular for
songs like "Do-Re-Mi," and "My Favorite Things.

https://narrativefirst.com/articles/the-sound-of-music-making-history-meaningful
The Sound of Music: Making History Meaningful

Some Authors find themselves inspired by a bit of character, a few lines of dialogue, or a genre
that they themselves wish they could explore. Others find their muse within the real life actions of
those who overcame insurmountable odds.

The latter describes the motivation that led to The Sound of Music. Inspired by the historical
escape of the von Trapp family from Nazi encroachment at the dawn of World War II, Ernest
Lehman (from a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) endeavored to give meaning to that
Austrian familys life story.

No easy task, mind you, especially in light of the fact that life can have several meanings
depending on how one looks at it. Deciding how to frame historical events, what to leave out and
what to emphasize, becomes the tenuous task of the purposeful writer. Sometimes, in the effort to
capture it all, one ends up creating a long, involved final work.

Why the Film Is so Damn Long

Why is that so many people turn the TV off once the Captain and Maria get married? Are audience
members that insensitive to the plight of Austrians under Nazi rule or do they simply have better
things to do? Could there be a more interesting structural explanation for this all too common
behavior?

Turns out people arent that heartlesstheyre simply more interested in the first story, rather than
the second.

The Complete Story Unit

What does it mean when someone refers to a complete story? Arent all stories equally complete
when the Author puts the pen down?

No.

The Four Perspectives

When speaking of completeness in the context of story structure, one refers to a piece of narrative
fiction that looks at the storys central problem from every angle. This is how a story becomes more
than simply a telling of events: by allowing an audience member to experience the efforts to solve
a problem both objectively and subjectively at the same time, a work of fiction creates meaning.
We cant do this in real life. Sorry to say, but life has no meaning unless we create some objective
context within which to appreciate it (religion, politics, story structure, etc.). To be perfectly
accurate, said objective context is only subjective as we can never know what is going onbut
such matters are probably best served elsewhere. Suffice it to say, complete stories deliver an
experience of meaningbut only if they cover every viewpoint.

There are four contexts with which one can look at a problem: I, You, We, and They. Those four
cover every angle. Those four cover a problem completely. And those four are the only four. Our
present understanding of the universe does not allow for anymore.

A story examines these four perspectives through four throughlines: the Overall Story Throughline,
the Main Character Throughline, The Relationship Throughline and the Influence Character
Throughline. The correlation between these throughlines and the perspectives they take should be
obvious. The Main Character represents the I perspective, the Overall Story takes the objective
They perspective and so on. The Relationship Throughline takes a look at the problem between
the Main Character and the Influence Character, as in We have a problem.
For a story to be complete, for the problem to be throughly examined, a work of meaningful fiction
must have all four throughlines and must have them throughout the entire story. Kung Fu Panda
2 abandoned its Relationship Throughline (between Po and Tigress) halfway through. That is why
the film feels broken in two. The Nightmare Before Christmas didnt even get that far. Jack and
Sally have their own throughlines but never fully develop a relationshipwhich is why that film
feels so cold.

The Sound of Music, on the other hand, had so much to say about what happened that they
created two complete stories in one work.

Making the von Trapp Family

The first story covers the area most people cherish and remember: the romance and eventual
wedding between Maria (Julie Andrews) and the Captain (Christopher Plummer). The romance
takes care of the Relationship Throughline, or the We perspective. The conflict between the two
grows from the disparity between how each thinks. They know how they feel about each other, or
at least can sense it, but how to make it all work becomes an entirely different matter.

The wedding, on the other hand, takes care of the Overall Story Throughline, answering the
question: what do we have to do to make the von Trapp family whole again? Because this
throughline represents the perspective of They, it covers a more objectified look at the characters.
Instead of the heartfelt romance, here we see the commandant father, the chaotic kids, the
governess, the baroness and so on. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer as players fulfill roles
in both the Relationship Throughline and this more objectified Overall Story Throughline. Seeing
both throughlines at the same time speaks to that ability of a story to manifest meaning from the
objective and subjective.

If their romantic relationship encompasses the heart of this first story, then it only follows that one
of them will be the Main Character and the other the Influence Character. Clearly Maria represents
the audiences eyes into the story, with the strict rules-oriented Captain as the Influence Character.
Marias personal problems center around her status in lifeis she a nun or isnt she? The Captain
has issues of his own surrounding his former wifecan he forget his love once and for all, or is he
to be always reminded of what she was like and how happy his family used to be?

This last throughline tells of the genius behind the Authors of this piece. That bittersweet song the
Captain sings during the final concert, the song of the Austria he remembers and will always
remember (Edelweiss), resonates so strongly because it is a bridge between the first story and
the second. Reminded of how happy his family once was, the Captain carries this over into his
realization that he is losing his bigger family, his country. The first story ended in Triumph, the
family came together and Maria found peace beyond the sisterhood. But that song feels
bittersweet and not at all triumphant for a reason, and that reason has everything to do with how
the other story comes to a conclusion.

The Rise of the Nazis

Ooohhhh, sounds scary. But that is what the second story is all about. Instead of taking an
objectified look at the efforts to create a family, this story takes an objectified look at how the
characters deal with the rise of Nazism. They deal with a specific mindset, one based on certain
expectations as to how one should act. The Captain sits at the center of this conflict. Maria was the
Protagonist in the first storydriving the efforts to make the von Trapps whole again. The Captain
is the Protagonist in the second storytrying to stop his countrys knee-jerk response into fascism.
The bittersweet feeling that comes at the end comes as a direct result of his failing as a
Protagonist, the Nazis take Austria.

But he isnt the Main Character of this second story.

Instead, one need only look to Liesl, and her budding romance with Rolfe for the heart of this
second story. Here, Liesl fulfills the Main Character role and the strapping young lad takes over the
role as Influence Character. Their love story parallels the more adult romance in the first story, both
in structure and in song, yet finds itself dissolving into a far more tragic ending.

The Importance of the Second Story

The story of the von Trapp family is an historical one. As mentioned before, real life events
unfortunately dont have meaning. Thats why we have Authors. In order for the entirety of the von
Trapp story to unfold and to unfold well, this second story needing crafting. To continue on after the
wedding, as they did in real life, without an actual story to support it would have secured The
Sound of Musics place in film history right beside Youve Got Mail or the countless other
forgettable films that end their stories 30-45 minutes before the credits start to roll. The von Trapps
ascent into the Alps would have been a yawn-fest.

Luckily for us, the Authors knew the importance of a complete story.

Weaving Two Stories Together

Again, addressing the relative talent and genius of these Authors, this second, more dramatic
story, does not simply begin when the first ends. Instead it weaves its way into the first, like a fine
tapestry of meaning, inserting little tidbits of the story to come. From there it is the first story that
occasionally makes its presence known, tidying up any loose threads and offering any meaningful
commentary (such as the Captains song) on the events that unfold.

While handing off the reigns of problem-solving from the first to the second, the Authors were
careful to make sure that they didnt infuse the wedding with a bombastic Thats All, Folks! sort of
moment that one finds at the end of Star Wars or Top Gun. They made sure they resolved the first
inequity, but did it in such a way that the two stories, the story of the von Trapps, feel like one
continuous piece.

But try as they did, they simply cant fool the human mind.

Because stories function according to the minds problem-solving processes, when a problem
loses that energy (i.e., the problem resolves) so too does the audiences interest in a work of
fiction. This is why, if youre ever watching a film or TV show with children, they start to get squirmy
before the credits even roll. Instinctively, their minds know the problem at hand has come to an
end. They dont care who worked on it!

And this is why many abandon the von Trapps in their time of need. Sure, its great to see them
cross that mountaintop threshold, but the story most care aboutthe story of what to do with
Maria, and the romance with the Captain, and the wedding that brings them all togetherthat story
ended long before the curtain dropped.

Bringing meaning to the meaningless requires setting up the dynamics of a complete story. It
means placing actual events within the context of the four throughlines. If one cant cover said
events within one set, the work as a whole demands another story. If not, the creators risk losing
their audience and diminishing the importance of the history they were so inspired by.

Advanced Story Theory for This Article

The Dramatica theory of story is the only known understanding of story that calls for all four
throughlines. Recently there have been some paradigms that have felt it appropriate to adopt
these concepts without proper credit. Prior to 1994 this understanding was only instinctively known
by the great writers of old.