I'm surprised to see some posts said that it's a live show so it's OK if the performance is not very good. Do you say the same when you go to a Broadway show? I'm not an American and I've never heard of Ms. Underwood or any other actors of the show before, so it's not that I have a prejudice against her or something. But I'm sorry that I must say: poor acting, not very good singing, for Maria and Captain. I couldn't help changing the channel. Even not comparing to the film 1965, the performance is far from good. Maria's voice is OK. She might be a good pop singer, but not good enough to be a Broadway singer. If I were her, I will NEVER take a role Julie Andrews once played. As for the Captain, his voice is not bad, but not good enough to cover his poor acting skill. Seeing him not to know where to put his hands really bothered me. Don't people have to take some acting classes before they act?If you want to do a live show, why not cast it from the Broadway? Is that because they just want some famous people to attract the audience without concerning the quality of the show?

First, kudos for creating a live television presentation.Please please please... more. I and I know many would flock to this kind of live performance. Next, too easy to do the comparison thing. But unavoidable... so must qualify this by declaring the obvious intimacy of film versus the live TV/stage adaptation. And there it is... intimacy of film. One is hard pressed to not draw those comparisons in spite of this. So let's... first Ms Underwood. Most excellent to give this a go. She is also not an actress. It was obvious. There is no substitute for having worked on stage, as an actress. There was a distinct lack of depth to the character. And the vocal performance that is markedly different from people with great voices as Ms Underwood has, and seasoned stage actors and actresses as for instance Ms MacDonald has. Ms Underwood hit her marks. And her voice is superb. But the performance lacked that *it* thing. If she would commit to doing more stage work, her depth would grow. As it was, it was a thin performance. All the other performances were serviceable, and some good. Or as in Ms Audra McDonald, she was superb. Ms McDonald of course is a trained stage actress, and it screams so. The production quality not the least of which was the musical production was top shelf. And choreography. Well done here. There was one huge mistake that overtook the entire production however. It must be pointed out. The lack of a live audience was a huge misstep. The 1965 version had the huge advantage of the intimacy of film. In choosing to do a live TV version, what would have bridged that difference would have been to honor what live stage productions have... and that is a living breathing audience. The energy, the ambiance, everything would have been greatly influenced by this. Not having it in my opinion crippled the experience. If there is a future attempt at a live TV production of anything.... do not make this same mistake. You must must must have the energy that a live audience brings to a production. This would have without question made a significant difference in this current production. Am not sure why there was a choice NOT to have a live audience.... Still, that this happened at all is big. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeze take on another one, and another one. As the ratings would show, this art, this craft, is alive and quite well. I give mega props for taking this on and hopefully the learning experience will go into future productions...

Maria Rainer, a free spirit, (Carrie Underwood) who is an aspiring nun, leaves the abbey to become a governess to seven all to obedient children of an Austrian Naval Captain named Georg Von Trapp. (Stephen Moyer) Maria teaches the kids to sing, and starts to fall in love with Georg, but Georg plans to marry Elisa Schrader (Elisa Benanti) What will Maria's reaction to that news be? And what will Georg, a fervent Austrian nationalist, do about the rising Nazi presence in Austria? Will he give in? Or will he stay true to his principles?I watched the original version of The Sound of Music when I was a kid and don't remember the storyline much. If I want to see holiday movies with Austrians, I'll watch Jingle All The Way. Anyway, I'm not going to do what a lot of critics did, which is pick on Carrie Underwood, she sang pretty well, and that's what she is, a singer. Her voice was a little thin, and she did have a tendency to over sing certain songs, but her singing was above average in my opinion. She had the unenviable task of following Julie Andrews in this role, which is kind of like following Lou Gehrig at first base. Andrews has an operatic voice and is a wonderful actress. Carrie Underwood is a good singer, and not a very good actress, and that's where this TV adaptation fell apart, she sounded like an American on holiday in Europe, and rushed all her lines, like she was nervous. Stephen Moyer has the opposite problem, he's a pretty good actor with a lousy singing voice, I say pretty good actor, because I liked him in True Blood, not because he was particularly good here. I say lousy singing voice because it was laughably bad. I could barely hear it at some points, it was weak and wavering, not worthy of a 6th grade recital, never mind a live stage show. Audra McDonald was very good, as the Mother Abess, her voice is incredible, and he acting is extremely good as well, if there was any justice, McDonald should have been Maria, but the world is not ready for a black Maria Von Trapp. In all, it's a good remake, it is impossible to think that anyone could fill the shoes of Julie Andrews in this role, so don't think that anyone can. It's something you can watch with your kids, and you will see it again because I'm sure NBC will replay it every year, because it was a ratings bonanza for the struggling network. If they want to do Broadway on TV, why not Wicked with Kristen Chenoweth, she's famous enough and boy can she sing, something to think about for next Halloween NBC.If this review is music to your ears, visit my blog, reviewswithatude.wordpress.com

I tried to like this production because I am all for live musicals on TV again. However, it just seemed clumsy and amateurish and not at all convincing. Though I am not a country music fan, I quite like Carrie Underwood. The year she won American Idol is one of the few years I actually watched and got involved. She is a lovely, engaging young woman, with an impressive voice. However, she was all wrong for Maria, just as Julie Andrews would be all wrong trying to sing country music. If she had auditioned for this part as an unknown, I doubt very seriously that she would have made it past the first cut. Those who say she sang it well don't understand the difference between "belting" and "singing" in a traditional, musical theater/operetta style. And I agree with a lot of other reviewers that having Broadway veterans in the show only pointed up the painful difference between being stage-savvy and being a novice. I do hope the networks will try again, but please use singers/actors who have proved their mettle first.