In light of the recent end to the 150th whole school play ‘The Sound of Music’, I thought it was fitting to discuss this further given the musical was in fact based on a true story. What commonly springs to mind when this title is mentioned is the Julie Andrews film version released in 1965, not the original Broadway musical that first ran on the 16th of November 1959, which proceeded to run for more than 1,443 performances.
For those of you who didn’t come and watch it, here is a brief overview of the storyline in the play just performed: Maria Rainer, a postulant at Nonberg Abbey, is sent to be a governess to Captain von Trapp’s seven children. Maria shares her love of music with them, eventually warming all the family’s hearts (including the captain) since the death of their late mother. However, the political storyline could be said to take on a more prominent role, as this is all set when the Nazis annexed Austria in the 1930s. Although many of the characters in the play end up submitting to the Nazi rule, the Von Trapp family remains Austrian, which eventually forces them out of the country through the hills over the border into Switzerland in a truly dramatic and moving fashion with bags in hand.
Both the musical and film were based on the book published by Von Trapp in 1949 ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’, which tells the story of Maria Augusta Kutschera who was brought up as an orphan before entering the covenant as a novitiate, which the movie and musical both remain true to. One of the first differences is that, in real life, Maria was sent to tutor one of the children, but in familiar versions, she becomes the governess to all the children. Furthermore, the captain in the film and play is a detached and cold character, the patriarch of the Von Trapp family, whereas in real life he was a gentle, warm-hearted parent who enjoyed musical activity with his children prior to Maria coming along, again providing a stark contrast to the play where Maria teaches the children how to sing.
Maria’s character was also somewhat warped in the play, as John Gearin writes for the national archives that the real Maria “wasn’t always as sweet as the fictional Maria. She tended to erupt in angry outbursts consisting of yelling, throwing things and slamming doors.” It is clear to see from this description why the character of Maria was adapted for the enjoyment of audiences both on the screen and on stage. So overall, the movie and play do stick true to the general storyline of events, which makes it successful in portraying to audiences the danger and fear that the Von Trapps faced when fleeing from the Nazis.
Amy, UVI, Head of Company and one of the children in The Sound of Music Production
