Carrie Underwood has a little bit of experience with acting under her belt, and a lot more experience singing on live television, which should prove to be useful when the Grammy winner takes on the lead role in NBC's live telecast of The Sound of Music.
We learned last summer that NBC was planning a live broadcast of The Sound of Music, based on the original Broadway musical and that Smash producing team Craig Zadan and Neil Meron were on board to put this production together. At that time, all we could do was speculate over who might be cast in the leads. The first bit of major casting news has been announced, and it's a big name for a big role. American Idol winner and country music star Carrie Underwood will play the role of Maria von Trapp, a nun who takes on the role of caring for a widower's children and ends up falling for him.
Underwood has the voice for a role like this, but her acting experience thus far is limited to an episode of How I Met Your Mother and a part in Soul Surfer. This is not to say that I don't think she's up for the challenge of taking the lead in a televised live broadcast of a beloved musical. Just that there isn't a lot to go on to convince me that she's the right woman for the job, beyond what her name and musical talent brings to the table. Some might think that's enough (and NBC may be banking on that), but I'd think even a seasoned theater or film actor would find it challenging to follow in the footsteps of Julie Andrews, who played the innocent but charming Maria in the film, so consider me cautiously optimistic for now.
With that said, I'm still excited about this production. And there's plenty of time for Underwood to prepare for the part. NBC says the three-hour event is set to take place at some point near the holidays next year (2013). Now we just have to wait and see who's cast to play Captain Von Trapp and all of those kids!
