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!
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.
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."
Producers Preferred Grace Kelly
One cannot imagine Julie Andrews not being the fresh leading face of The Sound of Music. There was a point in time however when it was highly likely. According to Inside Edition Magazine, producers could not see Andrews in this type of role. Mary Poppins had not come out yet so they were not sure if she had that sort of star power to attract the audiences. Producers in fact almost cast Grace Kelly instead.
Author Tom Santopietro told INSIDE EDITION, "People were uncertain whether Julie Andrews would actually translate onto film because Mary Poppins hadn't been released yet. For the role of Maria, they considered Grace Kelly and Doris Day."
The Most Hated Sound of Music Tribute Ever
The 87th Academy Awards celebrated that 50th anniversary of The Sound Music. While many rejoiced at the occasion, others were horrified at the performance Lady Gaga put on. The starlet sang a tribute that simply horrified musical director master Stephen Sondheim.
Lady Gaga still gets criticism for that to this day, and that was in 2015! Move on people!