海角大神

After Carrie Underwood performed聽the 鈥�The Sound of Music鈥� in a live broadcast last night, the von Trapp family and mine found we couldn鈥檛 solve a problem like awful acting. Hopefully Ms. Underwood鈥檚 performance won鈥檛 make the next generation take the musical off their list of 鈥渇avorite things.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 just upsetting that this could potentially be the final broadcast of our story,鈥� Myles von Trapp Derbyshire told ABC upon first hearing that Underwood would play his great grandmother Maria, originally played by Oscar-winner Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, "The Sound of Music." One can only imagine what he thought of the actual performance.

鈥淎nd although her voice is amazing, she doesn鈥檛 have acting experience,鈥� Mr. Derbyshire told ABC 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the overall image, she鈥檚 a country star, she won 鈥楢merican Idol,鈥� she鈥檚 very public in kind of a tabloid way.鈥�

It was hard for me to tell exactly what聽my 10-year-old son was saying with the couch pillow over my head, but it sounded like, 鈥淐an we make this stop now?鈥�

I have to add that while I absolutely adored Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp, for both his singing and acting talent, it was not lost on my kids that it was 鈥淰ampire Bill鈥� from HBO鈥檚聽鈥�True Blood.鈥�

It was a distraction that proved impossible for them to overcome when watching the show.

As they say in聽鈥淭rue Blood,鈥� it all added up to 鈥渢he true death鈥� of a family tradition at our house.

For me and my family,聽鈥淭he Sound of Music鈥� offers聽a soundtrack that has played through many scenes in our lives.

I grew up singing every song from the film score, particularly, 鈥淗ow do you solve a problem like Maria?鈥� when the nuns at the abbey lament the capricious ways of the main character.

Quin, 10, has been singing,聽鈥淒o-Re-Mi鈥� since he took his first music class in school.

During each and every thunderstorm of my childhood my mother sang 鈥淢y favorite things鈥� to me and in turn I sang it to each of my four sons when we lived aboard a sailboat and the thunder was upon us.

When the dog bites,

When the bee stings,

When I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.

It鈥檚 just a shame that we couldn鈥檛 sing that song while Underwood was acting the scene because singing it just reminded us of Underwood acting the scene.

At age聽16,聽"Sixteen Going on Seventeen" was my favorite song.

When one of my kids asked me what yodeling was I taught them 鈥淭he Lonely Goatherd鈥� song.

My first born was a聽colicky聽baby and the song that I crooned every night was聽"Edelweiss."

I am notorious for chirping an overblown campy rendition of the "So Long, Farewell" song at my kids when they resist bedtime. I even wave each one聽off, just like in the movie. You never saw a kid run for the cover of his bed so fast!

So, here was the golden opportunity to share one of my favorite things with my youngest and while Underwood鈥檚 voice was lovely, the acting was so cringe-worthy that my son can鈥檛 even hear one of the songs without groaning today.

I was humming the opening theme as I made French toast this morning and Quin shouted, 鈥淧lease not聽鈥楾he Sound of Music.鈥� I just want it out of my head.鈥�

Perhaps the solution, as with so many of childhood鈥檚 upsetting moments,聽is to turn the record over by taking the family out to a 聽movie experience.

Movie goers聽at a sing-along are each issued a bag of props that are used on cue as the audience participates in the film. Sort of聽a family-friendly, Rocky Horror Picture Show-style experience.

Meanwhile, we can rent the Julie Andrews version and continue to weather the storm while trying to forgive and forget by recalling our favorite things about Ms. Underwood.