Georg von Trapp Was a Sought After Role
The early 1960s was filled with amazingly dashing leading men. This made the casting process rather difficult, with the likes of Sean Connery, Richard Burton and Bing Crosby in the running to play Captain von Trapp.
In the end only one man could be Georg von Trapp. That man was Christopher Plummer. He sure did nail it. While many couldn’t be happier over this choice, some critics took issue with certain abilities, or lack there of.
It Was Almost Never Called The Sound of Music
Long before the play and film got the title The Sound of Music, it was actually going to be named something completely different. That's right, according to Broadway.com, the classic story almost got the name, The Singing Heart.
The title that we all know and love certainly has a great ring to it.
Hammerstein's Last Work
The legendary musical that was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein sadly turned out be the last time their last collaborative work. Just nine months after the first Broadway premiere, Hammerstein died of stomach cancer.
It would be amazing if Hammerstein saw him stage hit succeed as much as it did on screen.
Is Christopher Plummer Actually Singing?
In a 2012 NPR interview with Christopher Plummer, the actor actually admitted that it was not entirely him singing. He said that for the longer passages it was dubbed by singer Bill Lee. "It was very well done. The entrances and exits from the songs were my voice, and then they filled in - in those days, they were very fussy about matching voices in musicals. And Julie, of course, had been - you know, trained since day one"
The actor talked about how hard it was to match Julie Andrews. "Tone perfect since she was in her cradle, which is an exasperating thing to admit. And it was awfully hard to match her and her sustained, long notes."
A Folk Song Classic
Songs from musicals are a specific genre. Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, there is no denying that they have that signature sound. The Sound of Music, being the classic musical that it is, is filled with them. Except for when it comes to one song, "Edelweiss".
The song was actually initially written for the original Georg von Trapp in the Broadway version. Hammerstein, who cast the famous folk musician Theodore Bikel, felt that his talents were being underused. The song was meant to be a beautiful folk addition to the play that would make Bikel shine. It sure did!