Tag: The Sound Of Music
RIP Christopher Plummer
I suspect that if an actor was asked about their career, they would not want to talk about just one role. But that doesn't mean that the audience feels the same way.
Canadian actor Christopher Plummer died yesterday. He was one of those actors who could never be typecast, the number of characters he played over 70ish years is as long as my arm. For most of us, we know him for one film: The Sound of Music.
Playing opposite Julie Andrews, his Georg von Trapp was a man held back by grief, initially unable to open up to his children. At the time, he was in his mid 30's, aged up to play a character a decade his senior. Though some might say the movie is sappy and sentimental (as Plummer himself put it), it is charming and thoroughly entertaining. It is no wonder that more than five decades later, it is a beloved classic that has been watched and memorized by generations of fans.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on February 6, 2021 Categories MoviesTags Captain Georg Von Trapp, Christopher Plummer, Julie Andrews, Rogers and Hammerstein, Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, The Sound Of Music3 Comments on RIP Christopher Plummer
I Understand The Reason, But Did The Administration Go Too Far?
The best writers have the ability to take a basic narrative with basic characters and elevate those elements into a story that the audience or reader is able to hook into easily.
The Sound of Music premiered on Broadway in 1959. It is based on the true story of Maria von Trapp, a young woman in Austria who takes a job as a governess before deciding if she will join the nunnery that she has called home. As she turns the hearts of the children under her care, she also turns the heart of their widower father. World War II is on the horizon and the family must make a choice. Stay and support the Nazis or leave with only the clothes on their backs. In the end, they escape with almost nothing except with the knowledge that they are not silently standing by and approving of the new regime.
Recently, LaGuardia High School (otherwise known as the real life New York City High School that Fame is based on) decided to put on a production of The Sound of Music. During the rehearsal process, school administrators decided to downplay the historical facts of play by removing the swastikas from the production.
While I understand where the administrators were coming from, I disagree with their decision. Rodgers and Hammerstein did not just write love stories. Their stories are about issues that we as a society have to deal with. In Sound of Music, the issue is do you follow your conscious and leave everything/everyone that you know and love or do you silently sit back while something that you disagree with continues on?
From my perspective, The Sound of Music is the perfect musical to put on in this political climate. Not just because it is one of the greatest musicals of all time, but it reminds all of us of the power of standing up for what is right, even when no one else is.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on December 17, 2018 December 17, 2018 Categories History, Movies, New York CityTags LaGuardia High School, Maria von Trapp, Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Sound Of Music, World War IILeave a comment on I Understand The Reason, But Did The Administration Go Too Far?
New Randy Rainbow Video-"Trump's Favorite Things! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody"
The ability to laugh in the face of uncertainty or fear is one of best coping mechanisms that human beings have.
Especially when it comes to politics.
Randy Rainbow released his latest video earlier today. Entitled "Trump's Favorite Things! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody", he uses the song and the mood from "My Favorite Things" from the The Sound of Music as a backdrop for the video.
Anyone who knows my blog knows that I adore Randy Rainbow. Every time that he releases a new video, it makes my day. I saw him perform live in August.
The man is brilliant, the man is funny and most of all, his videos alleviate the stress that goes hand in hand with state of American politics these days.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on December 5, 2018 Categories Movies, Music, Politics, Randy RainbowTags My Favorite Things, Randy Rainbow, The Sound Of Music, Trump's Favorite Things! - A Randy Rainbow Song ParodyLeave a comment on New Randy Rainbow Video-"Trump's Favorite Things! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody"
New Randy Rainbow Video-"She Was SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN (Roy Moore Was 32)"
In light of the Senate race in Alabama tomorrow and the fact Roy Moore, an accused child rapist could win the Senate seat, Randy Rainbow has put out a new video. Appropriately and hilariously adapted from the song "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" from The Sound Of Music, the song points how skin crawling it is that a man in his thirties would want to date underage teenage girls.
I would hope that in light of the multiple accusations that have been released, that the Alabama voters would vote with their heads. But hope often only springs eternal, especially in our current political climate.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on December 11, 2017 Categories Movies, Music, Politics, Randy RainbowTags Randy Rainbow, Roy Moore, sexual assault, Sixteen Going On Seventeen, The Sound Of MusicLeave a comment on New Randy Rainbow Video-"She Was SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN (Roy Moore Was 32)"
New Randy Rainbow Video-"How Do You Solve A Problem Like Korea?"
A new Randy Rainbow never fails make me smile.
His new video, entitled "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Korea?" is the mashup of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" from The Sound Of Music and the Elton John song "Rocket Man".
If there is one voice of sanity in this insane world of ours, it is Randy Rainbow.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on September 25, 2017 Categories Movies, Music, Politics, Randy RainbowTags Donald Trump, Elton John, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Korea?, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, Randy Rainbow, Rocket Man, The Sound Of MusicLeave a comment on New Randy Rainbow Video-"How Do You Solve A Problem Like Korea?"
Flashback Friday-Houseboat (1958)
Parenthood, especially single parenthood is never easy.
In the 1958 movie, Houseboat, Tom (Cary Grant) is a single father doing his best to raise his children after the death of his wife. Cinzia (Sophia Loren) has left the comfortable life and her overprotective father for a life of freedom and independence. She agrees to work for Tom, but as expected, things go, well not as expected.
The narrative is almost like The Sound Of Music, but downgraded. Despite the notable names of Cary Grant and Sophia Loren, the film is merely ok. The only thing that stands out in regards to Houseboat is the off-screen drama. Cary Grant was married at the time to Betsy Drake (who wrote the original screenplay and hoped to star opposite her husband). Infatuated with his co-star and having an affair with her, Grant had the screenplay altered, taking the screenwriting credit away from his wife and cast Loren instead of Drake in hopes of continuing the affair. While there was a happy ending on-screen, the ending off-screen was different. Loren returned to Italy and to the man who would become her husband, Carlo Ponti.
Author WritergurlnyPosted on July 28, 2017 Categories Movie Review, MoviesTags Betsy Drake, Carlo Ponti, Cary Grant, Houseboat, Sophia Loren, The Sound Of MusicLeave a comment on Flashback Friday-Houseboat (1958)