Rodgers and Hammerstein's the Sound of Music

Often dismissed as kitsch sentimentalism, The Sound of Music (1959) has proven enduringly popular and surprisingly influential, both within the field of musical theatre and the wider world. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards, the London production became the longest-running West End musical, and the movie version became the highest-grossing film of all time. Over sixty years it has become a cultural icon, with wildly shifting significance in different cultures, but the stage musical has often been eclipsed and altered by the popularity of the film.

In this series of short essays, the stage musical is re-examined from seven different perspectives, revealing the ways in which it continues to impact the twenty first century. Julian Woolford examines how the musical heralded the end of an era on Broadway; its reinvention of history and biography; how the film version has influenced future stage productions and the ways in which it put child performers centre stage paving the way for modern musicals such as Billy Elliott and Matilda.

The final three chapters consider how, nearly 60 years after its stage debut, the musical has a direct impact on the modern world, through its recent iterations as event (television casting shows, ‘sing-a-long’ versions), through Salzburg’s recent embracing of the musical after years of ambivalence, and finally looks at The Sound of Music in the Middle East, where it has become a symbol of antifundamentalism.

Julian Woolford is Head of Postgraduate Musical Theatre at the University of Surrey and has worked extensively as writer, theatre director and lecturer.