Why the Sound of Music is the best musical

 I was four-years-old when I first discovered The Sound of Music and one of my earliest memories was lamenting that I was younger than Gretl (who was 5). There are videos of me dancing to the 'Do-Re-Mi' sequence with my then baby sister trying to join in. I loved the Sound of Music so much; I nearly fainted with delight when my Dad said he might be able to meet Julie Andrews through his work. One of my all-time highlights was when I, along with sixty other people in my year, was cast as a goat (shout out to Rachael, April and Joanna) in the school's production of the film and we had to make our own goat masks. The fact that we were told to learn 'Do-Re-Mi' for homework filled me with delight. My video and tape of the Sound of Music are still ruined because of how incessantly they were played. It was twenty years ago when I went to a 'Singa-longa-Sound of Music' and I loved it.  You would have thought all this over-exposure of one 2hr and 51minute film would have made me sick by it. However, and according to Spotify, the Sound of Music tracks are still among my top played songs in 2021, shortly below The Beatles. 

So, what's the fuss about the Sound of Music even after all these years?

Firstly, it's the music that draws you in. Rodgers and Hammerstein were a perfect duo and literally transport you to another world from the first scene. And then of course there was Julie Andrews, the glue of the film. I was so devoted to Julie Andrews and outraged on her behalf that she wasn't cast as Eliza Doolittle that I refused to watch My Fair Lady for nine years (where upon watching it I became a die-hard Audrey Hepburn fan). The film was shot in both Austria (for its exterior scenes) and California (for the indoor scenes) and the scenes are just stunning - especially during the Do-Re-Mi sequence. Kym Karath, the actress who played Gretl, said of the sequence that it was the first music video of its time and so the scene is legendary. Also, it's an incredibly funny film with quotes such as 'The poor didn't want this one' and the seven children and Maria falling into the river. Julie Andrews, who should have won the 1966 Oscar for her performance in this film (she had won it the previous year for Mary Poppins) was perfect as Maria; she made her instantly likeable. And of course the storyline is gripping - as we follow Maria's journey to tutor seven children and how she befriends them and falls in love with their Father. So likeable that Maria is that the Baroness (who should have been the pitied party) is instantly disliked (with the organisers of the 'Singalonga Sound of Music' telling us to hiss whenever she appeared on screen). And the film ends with a triumph with the Von Trapp family escaping the evil Nazis with the help of the nuns! 

The Sound of Music was based on a true story; however the film changed multiple aspects. For example, the real Maria von Trapp was 22 years old when she went to look after a sick teenager (who was Louisa in the film) and was not hired as a governess for all the children. The eldest child was not Liesl (who sang 'I'm sixteen going on seventeen') but rather a chap called Rupert who became a doctor. By the time of the Nazi invasion of Austria (which occurred in 1938) Maria and Georg had been married for ten years and had had two more children together. And far from fleeing the Nazis via the nuns the Von Trapp family simply took a train to Italy and escaped by boat. 

The Sound of Music sugar-coats much of the original story; however, I wouldn't have it any either way. Its popularity as a Christmas film is enormous and I wouldn't be surprised if there are 75th and 100th anniversaries to celebrate the film (as there were 25th and 50th anniversaries). It only won 5 Oscars at the Oscars - it was nominated for ten and should have won all of them. The Sound of Music is definitely one of my favourite things.