The Sound of Music: a Critical Review of the Changes Made from the Original Stage Play

The movie version of Rodger's and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a classic example of how movies made from stage plays, although perhaps making some improvements, may tend to deviate too much from the original, so that the final product actually looses the intended force of the original.

The movie version of The Sound of Music played fast and loose with the original stage version, which I consider to be a masterpiece of musical Theater. Although I only saw the complete original version only once at a dinner theatre in St. Petersburg years ago I still have a tape of the original cast recording (I use to have the record but I sold it.).

First of all in the Play, "My Favorite Things" was sung by Maria and the Mother Superior at the Abby, as Maria tells her of her love for singing. It's seen as a song that both know and could sing loudly despite the rules of the Abby. The movie version leaves out the duet at the Abby and brings in an entirely new song by Rogers called "I Have Confidence" for when Maria arrives scared at the Captain's home. This is a nice song but it seems to me that since she was a nun, it should have some mention of her confidence in God although that is hinted at in the mention of the seasons. The next song in the play is Maria teaching the children to sing with "Do Re Me." Thus it comes earlier than in the movie.

On the plus side, the change in the storm scene seems to be an improvement from the play. When all the kids come running scared to Maria's bed, in the play they sing a song which apparently they had known before their father had forbidden music, "The Lonely Goatherd." Here is where the movie puts "My Favorite Things" and I must admit that it does work well the way they do it in the movie and that putting it here instead of "The Lonely Goatherd" makes more sense as an antidote to their fears. And, by putting it here, it made a natural opening for a new song for Maria's arrival, and thus the earlier inclusion of "I Have Confidence."