Skin of My Teeth and Other Plays_ and _The Sea Gull,_ but _The Sound of Music_ is no more his than it is Rodgers and Hammerstein's. After all the years of performing the role, the only part of the original production for which he's still remembered is "The Lonely Goatherd." To most, the 1965 film, directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews, is more synonymous with _The Sound of Music_ than the original production. With nearly all of the original cast members reprising their roles, _The Sound of Music_ becomes a big-screen phenomenon that endures beyond its initial theatrical run, a phenomenon that has spanned countless television productions and three live versions, most recently in 2013. The _Sound of Music_ phenomenon has not been without its ups and downs, most notably when the film was released without final edited credits. That wasn't the only time the final credits were missing. The final credits did not appear in the film until November 1, 1964, which was a full two months after the final film had first premiered. After that was corrected, the credit for writing was originally awarded to a group that included Dorothy Fields and Harry Warren. The credit was later changed to the sole writer, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, but _Variety_ reports that they were not credited until January 1966. With such an extraordinary and unexpected success, some have wondered why Rodgers and Hammerstein never approached Julie Andrews again. The two did have one encounter after _The Sound of Music_ to discuss a new project, but it never came to fruition. In a 2009 interview with the _Daily Mail_ , Rodgers recalled that he and Andrews met at the Playwrights' Company in New York City to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a new musical. Although Rodgers liked the idea and thought they could produce something special, he was told that Julie was already signed to do _My Fair Lady_ and would not be available. As a result, they parted ways. On a different note, Stephen Sondheim is the only other person besides Julie Andrews to have performed in both the original Broadway production of _The Sound of Music_ and its 1965 film version. While Julie Andrews continues to be associated with _The Sound of Music,_ the sequel, _Mary Poppins,_ is as synonymous with Julie Andrews as _The Sound of Music_ is with Audrey Hepburn. With its star having left the musical, _The Sound of Music_ limped along for two months before closing its doors on March 7, 1966. A year later, Julie Andrews stepped out in a movie adaptation of her first best-selling book. _The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie_ had been written and produced by Terence Rattigan, a Tony Award winner for Best Play who died on the same day that he was awarded the honor. _Brooklyn,_ adapted by Ketti Frings from Betty Smith's autobiographical novel, followed soon after. Over the next few years, Julie Andrews reprised her role in several TV films including _The Girl Most Likely to..., My Fair Lady and Nunsense._ _The Sound of Music_ has maintained an active tradition and has launched many careers. It has not only launched a film career for Julie Andrews but also launched a new career for her husband, Blake Edwards. Edwards went on to direct some of Julie Andrews' greatest films, including _The Pink Panther,_ which received its own "Sound of Music" treatment in the 1968 film _The Return of the Pink Panther_ which served as the final film appearance of Peter Sellers. _The Sound of Music_ 's effect on Julie Andrews' career continues to be felt today. Like the film that launched her career, it catapulted her into a series of successful, groundbreaking roles, including her breakout role as Sandy Olsen in _Mary Poppins_ and Mrs. Doubtfire. # **Celebrity Spotlight** Julie Andrews Julie Andrews Julie Andrews Julie Andrews Julie Andrews Julie Andrews # **Theatrical Spotlight** Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, Writers of _The Sound of Music_ Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyricist of _Starlight Express_ Toni Morrison, writer of _The Bluest Eye_ Neil Simon, writer of _The Odd Couple_ and _The Goodbye Girl_ Richard Rodgers, lyricist of _The Sound of Music_ # **Television Spotlight** Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, Writers of _The Sound of Music_ (television) # **Film Spotlight** Julie Andrews, Actor in _A Passage to India, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music_ and _S.O.B._ (television) Julie Andrews, Director of _Mother Goose_ and _Jane_ (theatrical and television) # **The Broadway Spotlight** Original Broadway Production of _The Sound of Music_ at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1965-1966 New York Cast of the Original Production of _The Sound of Music_ # **Cast and Credits** Casting agency: Paul Hecht Casting, (323) 937-4004 Solicitor: Donald Altemus Casting, (212) 730-4370 Vocal Coach: Michael Bell Director: Julie Andrews Musical Director: Walter Scharf Stage Manager: Marjorie Pugliese Stage Manager: Mary O'Connor Sid the stage hand: Harold Prewitt Broadway Cast Fraulein Maria: Julie Andrews Sally Smith, Fraulein: Barbara Cook The Captain: Richard Kiley Max Detweiler: Theodore Bikel Wilhelm: Michael Kermoyan Brigitta: Marni Nixon The children: Susan Rethy, Margaret Hamilton, Mary Jane Croft, Mary Jane Blakely, Mary Jane Schill, Gail Fisher, Gail Kobe, Suzanne McEllhenny, Lynn Meredith, Wendy Phillips, Patsy Ann Miller, Barbara Bevan-Smith, Pamela Keaton, Patricia Prickett, Nancy Walker, Sandra Toll Sid and Sally (the stagehands) are played by the same person in each performance. In a production with no interval, Sid is played by the same person as Sid during the last set of songs in the second act. In the original Broadway production, these characters were played by Michael Bell and Jerry Orbach. # **Scenery and Costumes** Designed by Michael Levine and John C. Goodridge # **Music** Music arranged and adapted by Richard Rodgers and additional arrangements by Burton Lane The score was adapted from English folk tunes by Rodgers and Richard Frankel (not the same person as Richard Frankel who is credited as the composer of _The Scarlet Pimpernel_ ). Rodgers collaborated with Frankel on English folk tunes that were used in the film and on an off-Broadway musical called _Camelot_. The Rodgers-Richard Frankel collaboration (not the same person as Richard Frankel) also did the score to _Carousel_ (music and lyrics by Rodgers), _The King and I_ (music and lyrics by Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, II) and _The Sound of Music_ (music and lyrics by Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, II). # **Titles** Composer of songs: Harold Arlen (lyrics) Additional lyrics: Yip Harburg Lyrics and music: Richard Rodgers Copyright owners: Richard Rodgers, Inc., Music Publishers, and the estate of Oscar Hammerstein, II. The use of "Do-Re-Mi" is a courtesy of Edward B. Marks Music Company. # **Character Descriptions** FRAULEIN MARIA (JULIE ANDREWS) JULIE ANDREWS stands approximately 4 feet 11 inches tall. (Most fans remember her as petite, with an adorable curls and adorable curls.) She was born on December 8, 1935 in Jamestown, New York. She is five foot two inches tall and has blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a shy child but was never afraid to express herself creatively, from writing stories and poems to singing. Her first solo theatrical production was the off-Broadway play _The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker_ (1954). She first hit it big as Maria von Trapp in _The Sound of Music_ which helped land her a Golden Globe Award nomination. She had just finished doing _The Sound of Music_ in its first-ever national television broadcast when she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for _Mary Poppins_ in 1965. She is married to Oscar winner Burt Reynolds. SALLY JULIE ANDREWS has always been known as a performer who speaks her mind. She was an active supporter of _Free the Army_ and participated in a protest against Nixon. She is also known as a supporter of women's rights and was honored by Jane Fonda who gave her the Women's Rights March award