Thursday, December 15, 2011

Girls, Are Any Of Them Still Alive???????????????




Just who are these people, darlings???????? When it comes to "The Sound Of Music," they are the Forgotten Ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who are they? From left to right, in order of their ages, they are--

Lauri Peters (Liesl)
William Snowden (Friedrich)
Kathy Dunn (Louisa)
Joseph Stewart (Kurt)
Marilyn Rogers (Brigitta)
Mary Susan Locke (Marta)
Evanna Lien (Gretel)

If the actors' names aren't familiar, their stage names certainly are--those are the Von Trapp Children in "The Sound Of Music." And the actors listed here are the ones who originated those roles when the show first opened on Broadway at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre the night of November 16, 1959!!!! (Just two days till my fifth birthday, darlings!!!!!!!!! I know I should have been in it, but even then I was too young!!!!!!!!!)

Why should this come to mind? It seems I did something of a post on them awhile back. But I recently recalled a 45rpm I had as a child, which was the song "Do Re Mi" sung by Mitch Miller (whose variety show, "Sing Along With Mitch" was very popular at the time), and, once I could read, underneath, the words "and the Children from "The Sound Of Music." Since this preceded the film, it was the Children from Broadway.

Now, as my girls know, once the film came out, those children eclipsed these!
After all, Angela Cartwright was well known prior, thanks to "Make Room For Daddy," and, as the film became a blockbuster and then a Classic, the screen children, who became a tightly knit, sibling-like group themselves, became almost promoters of the film, which they still do. Eldest daughter Charmian Carr even penned her memoir of the experience, entitled "Forever Liesl."

So, in the shuffle, the Broadway Children became kind of forgotten, which always made me wonder how they felt about all that. After all, they were the first, and there they are on the Original Cast album; in many ways singing better than their screen counterparts, because they all COULD sing, whereas most of the film Children were dubbed or accentuated.

You can see the Broadway Children on a YouTube excerpt from "What's My Line?" when they were the Mystery Guest. At the time, their ages ranged from 17 to 9. When I did the math, that comes out today to between 61 and 69.

Lauri Peters is still alive; may in fact still be in town. She has been known for teaching the Meisner technique at NYU. Hey, Lauri, if you get wind of this, comment on here, and let my girls and I know what is up, what happened to the others, do you all keep in touch, etc.

Unfortunately, my search led to the discovery that one of the group, Marilyn Rogers, passed on last year, in Miami Florida, at the age of 63. She was the original Brigitta. And like the film Brigitta, Angela Cartwright, I think she may have had some credits prior to, as she is billed on the cover of the cast album.

I would love to know about the boys in particular, William Snowden, and Joseph Stewart. What we all want to know is--Darlings, how did it feel being boys, and nominated for a Broadway TONY in the category of Best Supporting ACTRESS In A Musical???? Does that haunt you to this day??????????

So, kids, if you are out there, let me know on here. Or if you know one, or know someone who does, feel free to comment on here!!!!!!! Look at the photo, depicting how the departure from Austria was achieved onstage. How theatrical!!!!!! Quite a contrast to that spacious end shot in the film!!!!!!!! I understand onstage there were wet eyes every night, and when Act One ended, with Patricia Neway as Mother Abbess hitting the final note of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," the rafters and chandeliers shook nightly!!!!!!!!!

A toast to the Broadway Children of "The Sound Of Music"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is about time you got the credit you deserve!!!!!!!

Auf Wiedersehen , adieu, darlilngs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

25 comments:

  1. Mary Susan Locke and my sister were best friends in grammar school and continued through the production on Broadway of the Sound of Music. They lost touch in their early teens and my sister would love to reconnect with her if possible.

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  2. How exciting! Did your sister also appear in the show during its Broadway run?

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  3. I found this post in the process of trying to investigate exactly the question which you ask. I played the Broadway album out (actually, several of them) when I was growing up, and had a scrapbook dedicated to the kids in the original cast. I have always wondered what happened to all of them. I know that Kathy Dunn starred in a movie, "Thirteen Frightened Girls," sometime around 1964. She was gorgeous and have a beautiful singing voice. Whys she didn't end up a star, I don't know. I was very sad to learn that Marilyn has passed away. I believe she first appeared in "The Music Man" on Broadway, prior to "The Sound of Music," and was also in a low-profile movie. I have read that Evanna is married and living in Colorado. Thank you for bringing up this topic, and I only wish that the response had been better. To me, the original Broadway cast children will always be the names which I associate with the Von Trapp roles.

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  4. Cynthia--
    Thanks for the added info. I was aware that Marilyn had passed, and was sad. Had no idea she was in "The Music Man," but that makes sense. I bet she played Amayrillis. The choral singing of these kids on the title tune still takes my breath away. I was five when the show opened on Bdway, so I could have seen it; I was pretty aware of things then. Too bad my parents did not take me

    Thanks so much for your response!

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  5. I thought that I was the only person in the world who still remembered these kids! Thank you so much. Yes, you are right, Marilyn Rogers did play Amayrillis in "The Music Man," and in investigating this further, discovered that at that time she went under the name of Marilyn Siegel. Being as she was waaayyyy too young to be married in 1959, I wonder why her last name was changed to Rogers. Perhaps it had something to do with Richard Rogers. We will probably never know!

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  6. Thanks for the update, Cynthia. I did not
    know Marilyn had used the name Siegel. And
    you are right, the Rogers may be a connection to
    the composer.

    I had a 45 RPM when I was that age, at that time,
    which had theses kids, with Mitch Millers' singers,
    doing the song "Do Re Mi." Which is how I learned
    the song before I ever really heard of "The Sound Of Music!"

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  7. This has been such a fun conversation! I am so happy to have met you. I didn't know about the Mitch Miller piece until the release of the commemorative 2009 CD, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the show. They included it as an extra. I love it! If I ever learn anything about the whereabouts of these "lost children," I will post it here. In the meantime, auf wiedersehen!

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  8. Thanks so much, Cynthia! It has been
    a pleasure at this end, too! Wishing you
    the best!

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  9. Re: Kathy Dunn ... alive and well!!

    Here you go!

    http://mathewscf.org/profile_bob_and_kathy_roper.htm

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  10. Marie,

    Thanks so much for the info. Glad
    to see Kathy is still with us!

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  11. I saw SOM on Broadway in the early sixties. I was about 14 going on 15 and Mary Martin had left the show. After the performance (it was a matinée), we went to the HoJo's on Times Square. While we were there, the kids from the cast came in. I got everybody's autographs. If I still have them, I don't know where they are. The only name I remember is Evanna Lien. She had started as the youngest girl. When I saw the show, she had moved up the line and was playing one of the older ones.

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  12. Yes, I knew Evanna Lien originated the role of Gretl,
    but I did not know she stayed with the show long enough
    to play one of the older girls. She had quite a run
    in it, then !

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  13. I agree, RQ. I always preferred the Broadway cast. They didn't ham it up. And I liked those songs that didn't make it to the movie: "There's no way to stop it" and "How can love survive?". Although I did notice, when we watched the movie on TV last night, that they used the music from "How can love survive?", about love for the 1%, in the dance scene.
    Patricia Neway, who played the mother superior, was a classical opera singer, who, I believe, had sung at the Met. Stunning. And Marion Marlowe as the Baroness and Kurt Kasnar as Max were just made for their roles.
    Those were truly the golden years of Broadway. And if anyone questioned their sexual orientation, they had only to extrapolate from their love of Broadway musicals to find the answer.
    Thanks for the blog, RQ,
    Lawrence

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  14. Lawrence,
    You're welcome. Iknow people who saw the original on Broadway,
    and said, when Neway hit the final note on "Climb Ev'ry Mountain,"
    the chandeliers shook! It took me several years of viewing to
    recognize "How Can Love Survive?" in the party sequence. I was
    5 when it opened on Bway; wish I could have seen it!

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  15. Yes, Marilyn Siegal originated the roleof Amaryllis in The Musuc Man in 1957. I tookover that role when she left to do The Sound of Music. I was sorry to hear she had passed.

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  16. Unknown,

    Thanks for your comments.
    I posted one yesterday about it
    being the anniversaries of the oopenings
    of SOM and "Merrily We Roll Along."

    Was it fun, playing Amaryllis? And
    were Robert Preston and Barbara Cook
    still with the show when you did it?

    Sad losing Barbara this year,

    I was also sad to have discovered Marilyn's death.

    I think that is her, on Preston's shoulder, on
    the original Playbill cover.

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  17. I'm not sure if this will work or not, but here is a photo with Evanna as Marta and Mary Susan as Brigitta http://mathewscf.org/profile_bob_and_kathy_roper.htm

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  18. That was the wrong link - sorry - ! Try again

    I'm sorry, I can't figure out how to post a photo :(

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  19. Lisakay,

    Thanks for the info. Maybe I
    can use it to figure out how to
    find the photo you mentioned.
    I would love to see it.

    Thanks for posting!

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  20. just watched a 1960 what’s my line with the cast of children. youtube, wonderful

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  21. Linda,

    I too saw that You Tube video.
    Fabulous. Thanks for sharing!

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  22. I have known Kathy Dunn since she was in Sound of Music. In 1962 while she was still in SOM she began dating Robert Roper, same age. Several years later they wed. They split their time between Colorado & Florida. ...have 2 kids & grandkids. After SOM she did some theatre in NJ, & was on a NY soap for years. Left the biz after marrying. Happy & healthy....long, happy marriage. RARE!- Nancy Barr-Brandon. (email: catrescue@monmouth.com or Nancybarrbrandon@gmail.com On Facebook, too.
    PS: THere's a video on YouTube of Evanna Lein today, teaching DO RE MI on vocals/piano to small children via Miller Music Studio School.

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  23. Thanks so much fort
    the info on Kathy and Evanna.
    I am happy for them both. it
    is nice to hear show biz does
    not ruin all children!

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  24. Concerning Marilyn Siegel, her achievements are kind of amazing. How many people got to be in the original cast of three iconic musicals? (The Music Man, The Sound of Music, and The Fiddler on the Roof.) I was trying to research her out and found nothing after high school. She went to the Performance High School in Manhattan. She can be found at IMDB where it shows a few Hollywood works for her. There is a YouTube video of her on What's My Line with the rest of the Von Trapp players. She gives her name as Rogers. (On IMDB it's spelled Rogers as in Roy and not Rodgers as in Richard.) If she was trying to push her career, a name change would not be uncharacteristic. So, why did she disappear just before adulthood?

    Searching based on her death in 2010 only finds an announcement in Florida. What passes for a obituary online doesn't reveal any details.

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  25. Rusty Runner,

    Until your post, I had no idea she
    was in the Original Cast of "Fiddler
    On The Roof." I knew about "The Music
    Man," and, of course TSOM, but what
    a legacy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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