This does not come as a surprise after NBC aired “The Sound Of Music Live!” and over 18 million viewers tuned in. It’s time to cash-in this Holiday season, so The Sound of Music Live! comes to DVD on December 17, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. A special live performance originally broadcast on NBC of the timeless Broadway sensation introduces a new generation to the von Trapp family. The DVD also includes the NBC special The Making of The Sound of Music Live! , giving fans an inside look at the creation of an instant classic sure to be embraced by the entire family. Filmed in New York Citywith a cast that includes Broadway royalty, the joyous and faithful adaptation of the original stage production brings all of the excitement of the theater home, allowing fans to fall in love with Maria and her adorable charges all over again.
Six-time Grammy® winning recording artist Carrie Underwood stars as Maria, the vibrant young governess who brings the joy of music back into the household of the straitlaced, but dashing, Captain von Trapp and his seven lively children. The Sound of Music Live! also stars Stephen Moyer (“True Blood,” The Starter Wife), five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald (“Porgy and Bess,” “A Raisin in the Sun”) and Tony Award® winners Laura Benanti (“Gypsy,” “Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown”) and Christian Borle (“Smash,” “Monty Python’s Spamalot”) as well as newcomers Ariane Rinehart, Michael Campayno, Sophia Anne Caruso, Peyton Ella, Michael Nigro, Grace Rundhaug, Ella Watts-Gorman and Joe West.
With music and lyrics by the legendary team of Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers ( Oklahoma , South Pacific, The King and I), The Sound of Music has been called the jewel in the crown of the American theater’s most esteemed musical team. The original stage play earned four Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, and inspired the unforgettable Academy Award® winning film of the same name. The iconic score contains some of the most treasured songs ever written for the stage, including “The Sound of Music,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and “Edelweiss.” The companion CD from Sony Masterworks, “The Sound of Music” – Music from the NBC Television Event, is now on sale online and in-stores.
Thursday’s live telecast of The Sound of Music Live! delivered hit ratings, averaging a 4.6 rating, 13 share in adults 18-49 and 18.6 million viewers overall to dominate the night for NBC. It was the network’s best Thursday average in total viewers, excluding sports, since the night of the “Frasier” finale in 2004, and NBC’s best 18-49 Thursday average, excluding sports, since the night of the “ER” finale in 2009. It was also the most watched non-sports Thursday for any network since Fox aired a Thursday “American Idol” in 2011.
