The “vast complex” where scientists built the Apollo lunar lander will be the setting for Austria when NBC broadcasts a live version of the Broadway musical, Sound of Music, on December 5, according to the New York Daily News.
Carrie Underwood stars in the production as Maria Von Trapp.
Producers are foregoing a typical New York soundstage or theater and opting instead for a huge complex on Long Island, that once housed projects for aerospace giant, Grumman. A massive production, needs a massive stage, as an NBC official explained to the Daily News:
“There is no live audience and no proscenium,” as in a conventional theater,” an NBC official said.
“Instead, the show will look like a film with all the action played live and in sequence.”
For example, a scene might be performed in the von Trapp family’s living room, shot with multiple cameras. As the action proceeds, the actors will move to the next set off-camera and walk into the next scene, which will be filmed by a second camera crew, the official said.
“Major set or costume changes will be made during commercial breaks, but several changes will happen instantaneously during the filming. If something goes wrong in the live filming, that’s the way it will be broadcast,” NBC officials said.
“All of the singing will be live, and the music — using a 40-piece orchestra — will be prerecorded in order to ensure the best mix of the instruments.”
The show will feature a a cast of 61, including four understudies and the six von Trapp children.
The production will be the first live network TV telecast of an entire Broadway show since Cinderella in 1957. It’s a huge risk. But that’s the thrill of live TV–that anything could go wrong at any time. And it probably will! I’m really looking forward to this production.
