Live theater broadcasts on TV make sure that a wider audience is able to enjoy the experience of watching live theater. But is this a good idea for all performances? Recently “The Sound of Music” was broadcast live . The performance about the vocally talented Von Trapp family during the Nazi regime was made up of a star-studded cast, 17 cameras as well as three sound stages. This beckons the question, is it necessary for theater to blindly ape cinema with the latest technology?
Kara Tointon who played the eldest Von Trapp daughter Maria had a part in the musical’s most famous song which took place in a wooden garden set. The set managed to move from the abbey at the beginning of the musical to the Von Trapp house and finally to the theater where the Von Trapp family performed for the singing festival seamlessly without any technical glitches. Even then a cramped feel seemed to appear as the set appeared to be too cramped while viewing the musical on TV.
Still, Kara Tointon was a fresh breeze and added grit to Maria . Her vocal cords made an impression on the viewers as well. Captain Von Trapp was played by Julian Ovenden who managed to show off his singing skills. Mel Giedroyc’s comic performance had perfect timing and complimented the other character quite well. Fans of the original movie had an issue that the songs in the musical seemed to appear out of order, particularly My Favorite things
At the end of the day, the musical can be labeled a more of a success than a failure, even though it failed to capture the intimacy that a live theater show brings to the plate. Only time will tell if there will be any more live theater broadcasts after this particular episode.
