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The Shows Must Go On — a YouTube channel that since April has aired full-length recordings of Andrew Lloyd Webber and NBC musicals for free every Friday — will stream “The Sound of Music Live!” this weekend, according to Broadway World.
What’s going on
- As Broadway and theaters worldwide remain shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Shows Must Go On has been giving people their theater fix each week.
- Previously, the channel has streamed “Peter Pan Live!” “The Wiz Live!” “Hairspray Live!” “By Jeeves!” “Andrew Lloyd Webber – The Royal Albert Hall Celebration,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” the “Phantom” sequel “Love Never Dies,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” starring Donny Osmond, and the 2012 U.K. arena tour production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
- “The Sound of Music Live!” will stream starting June 26 at noon MT. The production will be available for 48 hours.
About ‘The Sound of Music Live!’
- Filmed in 2013, “The Sound of Music Live!” is based on Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical from 1959, according to Broadway World.
- When it premiered, “The Sound of Music Live!” drew more than 42 million viewers and gave NBC its “most-watched Thursday with non-sports programming since the Frasier finale in 2004,” Broadway World reported.
- “American Idol” winner and country superstar Carrie Underwood stars as Maria.
- The three-hour production also features “True Blood” star Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp, and Broadway legend Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess.
- In a visit to Utah last year, McDonald recalled her performance of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” for the 2013 NBC special.
- After singing “the big number” and walking offstage, McDonald said she immediately received the following text message from her oldest daughter: “Mom, where are the dryer sheets? I want to do some laundry.”
- “Without my family, none of what I do in the world is real to me,” McDonald said during a concert at Utah Valley University.
Raising money
- While the stream is free, viewers are encouraged to support the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Playbill.
- Proceeds from the streams have helped a number of organizations, including the Actors Fund, Acting for Others, Broadway Cares and Actors Benevolent Fund, the Deseret News previously reported.