Carrie Underwood will be playing Julie Andrews' character Maria von Trapp in a live TV version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic 1965 musical The Sound of Music next week, and apparently not everyone is happy about it.
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In fact, the live three-hour event, which will air on Thursday, December 5 at 8PM on NBC, is not a remake of the movie starring Andrews, 78. The show will instead be an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical, and therefore, the music will be slightly different from the movie.
"We're doing the play, not the movie, but we're not doing it on a stage in front of an audience -- we're doing it on movie sets on a soundstage," executive producer Craig Zadan told EW, adding there will be "no second takes."
However, The Sound of Music to air on NBC will feature the same plot of an aspiring nun who leaves the abbey and becomes a governess for the widower Captain von Trapp's seven children. Set in pre-WWII Austria, Underwood's character falls helplessly in love with the Captain played by True Blood star Stephen Moyer and his tight-buttoned kids.
Underwood, 30, was reportedly the producers' "first choice for the role" and had the script memorized on her very first day of rehearsal. The country singer even told EW it was easy to get into character because she finds similarities between herself and the iconic Maria.
"She had this love for nature and this love for the things that God made, this beautiful outside, the mountains, the music, and I feel that," said the Oklahoma native.
Although Underwood taking on the role of Maria has upset some die-hard fans of the movie, Andrews herself told Zap2it she completely supports the country star's attempt to revamp the classic tale.
"Fifty years later, it's time somebody had another crack at it," Andrews told Zap2it. "I had the best time of my life doing it, and it did wonderful things for me. I think it's great that it's being done again, but doing it live must be so daunting for Carrie."
Added Andrews, "I know they're not doing the movie, though. They're doing the Broadway show -- that's what they have the rights to -- and I don't know whether it will resonate similarly. In the movie, we cut some things from the stage version and added some songs."
In addition to Zadan, Neil Meron is also producing the theatrical broadcast. Both men are behind the TV series Smash and films Chicago and Hairspray.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
