Von Trapps Compare And Contrast

Still enjoying great success half a century after it’s first release, the Sound of Music franchise is an interesting phenomenon. Although it has roots in the von Trapp’s tale, the form was morphed beyond the facts and became an entirely new creation. Their story has been told through several mediums, most notable of which are music, theatre and film. As one of the most successful musicals of all time, the catchy tunes and deceptively simple lyrics played a pivotal role, augmenting the adaptations and providing the backbone for the works. The Broadway musical was the first popular portrayal of the von Trapps, and gave the franchise a boost to fame. The success of the altered version was due to the new story being based on truth and masterfully created, also reflected in the most well known adaptation, the Sound of Music film. Through …show more content…
The von Trapps never saw much of the huge profits the Sound of Music made nor had any creative input, because Maria sold the film rights to German producers and inadvertently signed away her rights in the process. The Germans then sold the rights to American Broadway producers Hayward and Halliday, who turned the story into a musical starring Halliday’s broadway actress wife Mary Martin. At first the producers were keen to use the original von Trapp repertoire and combine this with a few new songs by composer and lyricist duo Rodgers and Hammerstein. However, a complete integration of these distinctly different musical styles made Rodgers and Hammerstein uncomfortable, so they decided to write an entirely new score. They established a narrative driven show model where the song and dance numbers became an extension of and complimentary to the main narrative. It is here where the transformation of the von Trapp’s life story into the fictionalised version that is so well-known and loved today