The last couple of days have been filled with interesting castings. Ben Affleck’s signed on to be the new Batman, and now True Blood actor Stephen Moyer is set to star in NBC’s upcoming live broadcast of The Sound of Music. He’s joining the big production to star as none other than the strict and militaristic Captain Von Trapp.
The live Broadcast of The Sound of Music has been in the works for quite a while. NBC is basing the show on the original Broadway production, featuring the music written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, which later inspired the 1965 film starring Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. Smash’s Craig Zadan and Neil Meron were initially signed on to executive produce the big TV event, and while Smash may not have had the best TV trajectory, a musical-oriented producing duo is exactly what a large production like the live The Sound of Music broadcast will need. The event is a massive undertaking, and two directors have been signed on, Beth McCarthy-Miller and Rob Ashford to handle the workload.
Moyer should be a good fit for the role of Captain Von Trapp. He’s a stage veteran in the U.K, having appeared in various productions for various theater companies, including the National Theatre of Wales, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Oxford Stage Company and the Young Vic in England. Since 2008, he’s been a big presence on HBO’s series True Blood where he plays a vampire named Bill. Bill isn’t a particularly militaristic vampire, but Moyer’s experience with the TV gig and the theatrical work should both be helpful for the live event.
Moyer is the lastest big name signed on to the cast of The Sound of Music, but he isn’t the first. Back in November of last year, the network signed on American Idol winner Carrie Underwood to play Maria, the young governess who is signed on to take care of Captain Von Trapp’s seven children in the production. Underwood doesn’t have a ton of acting experience, but she does have plenty of experience performing onstage, and even onstage for television with her tenure on Idol. The story focuses on Maria and Von Trapp’s budding relationship, as well as what life is like living in Austria around the time of WWII.
Most of us are familiar with the story, but seeing it play out in a live broadcast could be more rewarding than revisiting the 1965 film, again. The live event is coming sooner rather than later and it honestly actually seems a little late in the game for Moyer to be signing on. After polishing the concept for more than a year, NBC has plans to air the live holiday production on December 5. The event will run for three hours on the network, and I’m sure NBC is hoping that plenty of people will tune in.
