'The Music Man': NBC will air a live version of the musical
NBC says it's planning to air a live production of "The聽Music聽Man."
NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said Monday the network has acquired rights for a TV version of the 1957 Meredith Willson聽musical.
The network had success with a live production of "The Sound of聽Music" starring Carrie Underwood and is following that with a live version of "Peter Pan" in December.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the producers for "The Sound of聽Music" and "Peter Pan," did a 2003 TV version of "The聽Music聽Man" with Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.
Greenblatt did not say if Zadan and Meron would produce the live "Music聽Man." An air date wasn't announced.
A 1962 big-screen version of the聽musical聽starred Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.
鈥淢usic鈥� also starred 鈥淭rue Blood鈥� actor Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp, five-time Tony winner Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess, and Broadway veterans 海角大神 Borle and Laura Benanti as the captain's friend Max Detweiler and the captain's love interest Elsa Schrader (otherwise known as the Baroness), respectively. Associated Press writer Mark Kennedy said the 鈥渁cting inexperience [of Underwood] was laid bare鈥� but praised the singer for taking on the project, writing that 鈥渇ull credit goes to Underwood for trying, though. She was not just dancing and singing live in front of millions in a medium she is a novice at, but she also was stepping into the role made famous by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.鈥澛�
Kennedy praised the performances of Borle, Benanti, and McDonald, writing that 鈥渢his is what these聽Tony Award winners do for a living and it showed."
No word yet on who will take on the roles of Peter, the Darling children, or Captain Hook in the planned December production of the story by J.M. Barrie, though Greenblatt stated that Peter will be played by a male performer and that singer Justin Bieber will not be taking on the role, according to聽.
