N.B.C. atttempts new live Do, Re, Mi.

NBC plans on airing a live version of The Sound of Music. Call me negative but this smells of disaster. Yes, Mr. Rodger's tunes are beautiful and Mr. Hammerstein's lyrics are wonderful, though dated by today's cynical standards. But the film was a huge success because of the cast, the scenery, the direction by Robert Wise. I can see it being a local success of musical theater because it's always fun to Maria going from being a governness to the love interest. But what can NBC possibly do to attract an audience of millions, especially if they plan to have commercials?  When I was at the museum of Broadcasting in New York ( I forget what they call it now) I saw original TV productions of Bloomer Girl, Brigadoon, Kiss Me Kate, Evening Primrose,  Damn Yankees, Wonderful Town and The Adventures of Marco Polo. All excellent. All with major stars of the time in the leads. And all shown when America was still in love with melodies and romance and old-fashioned Broadway shows. But times have changed. And while people still love the movie, I'm not sure they'll embrace a live tv version of The Sound of Music. Stay tuned. I will either say, "Boy was I wrong."or, "I told you so".