The Sound of Music

Story

Restless Maria leaves the nunnery to take a job governess to a family with seven children. Her employer, Captain von Trapp, runs his house with strict rules but Maria brings joy and music to the household and wins the hearts of first the children and then their father. Set in 1938 the story finishes as the Nazis march into Austria and the family are forced to flee.

Why we chose it

The award winning musical remains an audience favourite today with a number of high profile revivals all over the world. The film is equally well-loved with sing-a-long showings proving hugely popular.

Where it came from

This musical is based on a real family, whose lives were recorded by Maria von Trapp in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949). The German film The Trapp Family (1956) was based on the memoir and the Broadway musical based on the film. The musical opened in 1959 with Mary Martin as Maria. It was the last musical created by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Where it went next

The musical won five Tony awards including Best Musical. It first came to London in 1961. In 1965 a hugely successful film version of the musical was released starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. It went on to win five Oscars and is still popular today.

The musical itself has been revived a number of times by companies world wide In 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber staged a new production at the London Palladium, finding the actress to play Maria via a television reality show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria. Carrie Fisher was chosen for the role.

A television musical The Sound of Music Live was broadcast by ITV in 2015

Associated stories

Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a number of hugely successful musicals in the 1940s and 50s. Their first was Oklahoma in 1943. Others include Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and Me and Juliet.