The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary -- Review and Giveaway


Win a copy of this cd! To find out how, keep reading....


Happy Thanksgiving! We didn't have Thanksgiving in the Philippines, were I grew up, but I'm well-versed in traditions. One tradition my family had was visiting my grandmother and aunt every Sunday and hunkering down in my aunt's dark, airconditioned bedroom after lunch, eating potato chips (which my parents never allowed) and watching movies on the VCR (it was a Betamax back then). For a long, long time my aunt owned only 2 video tapes: Star Wars and The Sound of Music.

So I guess you could say The Sound of Music is a family tradition. I'd have to say it's my favorite Broadway musical, not just because of the precious childhood memories I associate with watching the movie, but because the story is touching and the music is wonderful. I own the cd soundtrack of that movie, but I don't need to listen to it to sing along, because I already know all the songs by heart. Really, I do. Test me if you want.

So It's kind of weird for me to realize that none of my kids know the song Do-Re-Mi. They have never watched the movie and never learned it in school. They don't take music lessons so they don't know what Do-Re-Mi is. Thankfully, I was asked to review the original Broadway cast recording cd of The Sound of Music, as well as The Sound of Music: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up, so I've been able to rectify this glaring omission in their musical education.



The Basics
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary, Sony Music has released the 50th Anniversary Special Edition of the Original Cast Recording: The Sound Of Music along with Simon & Schuster’s beautiful The Sound of Music: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up. The 50th Anniversary cd features the original Broadway cast, starring Mary Martin as Maria.





The Bongga
Let's start with the pop-up book. If your child hasn't watched The Sound of Music movie yet, this book is the perfect way to introduce her or him to the story. The pop-ups are a feat of engineering! It's amazing -- a paper Maria twirls round and round while singing in the hills around Salzburg, and the architecture of the Salzburg cathedral is rendered in amazing detail. Seeing the pictures pop out in 3D really brought the story to life for them. Each page has a huge, intricate pop-up, and each page has an attached mini-booklet (where the story text is read) that contains simpler pop-ups.

The lyrics to the songs are included in the book, and they appear in the text right where they would have been sung in the play. Instead of just reading the lyrics out loud to my kids, I sung the songs to them, which they really enjoyed. Do-Re-Mi is so catchy and easy to sing that all three of them were able to stumble along to the words and tune. By the time we got around to the Lonely Goatherd, they all insisted I get the cd and play it. Rodgers and Hammerstein's music has proved as irresistible to them as it was to me! They want to watch the movie now, and it won't be long before they'll be able to sing right along with me, continuing the family tradition.

And what about the cd? Comparisons with the better-known movie version are inevitable. The movie versions are so firmly etched into my mind and heart that it felt almost disloyal listening to this broadway version. Obviously the voices are different, the accents are different (Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer have English accents, while Mary Martin has an American Accent and Theodore Bickel has a German accent). Even the phrasing and rhythm of the songs are a bit different since the artists are different. But once I let go of my loyalty to the movie version, I realized that this version is just as good! Mary Martin's voice is amazing, and when I listen to her sing I can almost see her on stage, guitar in hand, strumming and singing to the Von Trapp children. I'm quite happy to have both versions, especially since the broadway version has some songs in it that weren't included in the movie version.

The Blah
I have nothing bad to say about The Sound of Music. Nothing. And I warned Alfie, who hates musicals, that saying I hate The Sound of Music is not allowed in our household.

The Bottom Line
The Sound of Music is a timeless classic, and two great ways of passing that tradition down to your children are to get the 50th Anniversary edition of the oiginal Broadway cast recording, and new pop-up storybook. It's a guaranteed family winner: because if you love the sound of music, you've got to love The Sound of Music, right?


Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a copy of the Original Cast Recording: The Sound Of Music cd. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me a few of Maria's favorite things.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (leave a comment here with your blog URL).


2) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(leave a comment with your Blogger profile name).


3) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a Sound of Music original Broadway cast recording cd from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/yd5jmvy

Maximum of 4 entries per person. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on December 10, 2009; I will draw a winner at random on December 11 and post the winner's name on the comments section as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!



I received a sample book and cd download in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

53 Comments, Leave yours here:

moushka on November 27, 2009 at 7:23 PM said...

crisp apple streudels, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

moushka on November 27, 2009 at 7:24 PM said...

Follower!

Unknown on November 29, 2009 at 7:34 PM said...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, sleighbells and snowbells and warm, woolen mittens...

melanie(dot)myatt(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown on November 29, 2009 at 7:35 PM said...

i follow your blog through reader...

melanie(dot)myatt(at)gmail(dot)com

Jaime on November 30, 2009 at 9:42 PM said...

whiskers on kittens, brown paper packages wrapped up with string
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Jaime on November 30, 2009 at 9:43 PM said...

follower
copperllama at yahoo dot com

jillykat07 on December 3, 2009 at 9:42 PM said...

Raindrops on roses...
Whiskers on kittens.....

Jill Kathan
jillmsu@yahoo.com

jillykat07 on December 3, 2009 at 9:43 PM said...

I follow using jillykat07@gmail.com

Jill Kathan
jillmsu@yahoo.com

Abby on December 5, 2009 at 1:55 PM said...

raindrops on roses

whiskers on kittens

ajcmeyer at go dot com

Ken on December 5, 2009 at 4:24 PM said...

Raindrops on roses
Whiskers on kittens
Crisp apple strudel
brown paper packages tied up with string

Please accept my entry. Thank you.

Krista on December 5, 2009 at 5:27 PM said...

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
silver white winters that melt into spring

Amber on December 5, 2009 at 5:33 PM said...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens!
Thank you for the giveaway :)
hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

A few of Maria's favorite things are brown paper packages tied up with strings and wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings. Thanks for the contest.

jesusfreak1116(at)juno(dot)com

Robert Lamb on December 6, 2009 at 7:26 PM said...

Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

Molly C. on December 6, 2009 at 8:22 PM said...

raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens

Tammy on December 7, 2009 at 3:11 PM said...

Raindrops on roses,Whiskers on kittens

Daniel M said...

whiskers on kittens - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

ehhogan on December 9, 2009 at 7:15 AM said...

bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens


ehhogan at bellsouth.net

erma on December 9, 2009 at 8:44 AM said...

She likes raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

Nickolay on December 9, 2009 at 10:12 AM said...

Brown paper Packages Wrapped Up With String and Whiskers on kittens

jason(at)allworldautomotive(dot)com

Mysharona on December 9, 2009 at 11:02 AM said...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Anonymous said...

Schnitzel with noodles and Sleighbells!

theyyyguy@yahoo.com

guettel78 on December 9, 2009 at 1:55 PM said...

A few of Maria's favorite things are doorbells, sleigh bells, and wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings. Thanks!

gkaufmanss@yahoo.com

guettel78 on December 9, 2009 at 1:57 PM said...

I'm following your blog: guettel78

gkaufmanss@yahoo.com

guettel78 on December 9, 2009 at 1:58 PM said...

I tweeted: http://twitter.com/guettel78/status/6509996834

gkaufmanss@yahoo.com

Renee G on December 9, 2009 at 9:38 PM said...

warm woolen mittens and brown paper packages tied up with string.

rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com

Melanie Montgomery on December 9, 2009 at 9:59 PM said...

raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens! now i have julie andrews' lovely voice singing in my head!


clarkmurdock@yahoo.com

Pamela S on December 9, 2009 at 11:17 PM said...

My favorite are "whiskers on kittens", "wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings", and "brown paper packages tied up with string". Thanks so much! pamelashockley(AT)netscape(DOT)net

LINDA said...

raindrops on roses
whiskers on kittens

joahsgrandma on December 10, 2009 at 6:15 AM said...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, cream colored ponies and warm woolen mittens, wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings ... and lots more

joahsgrandma on December 10, 2009 at 6:19 AM said...

I'm a blogger follower (joahsgrandma)

joahsgrandma on December 10, 2009 at 6:21 AM said...

Tweeted! http://twitter.com/slmiresse/status/6532370721

Deborah Wellenstein on December 10, 2009 at 7:55 AM said...

Snowflakes that stay on my nose & eyelashes
Whiskers on kittens
Raindrops on roses
Schnitzel with noodles

packerfantimmy on December 10, 2009 at 8:09 AM said...

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things"
titletowntreasures(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

packerfantimmy on December 10, 2009 at 8:10 AM said...

Blogger follower-packerfantimmy
titletowntreasures(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

packerfantimmy on December 10, 2009 at 8:12 AM said...

Follow on twitter & tweeted... http://twitter.com/packerfantimmy/status/6535486991
titletowntreasures(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

john ferris said...

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens.
john ferris
guapo1317@live.com

Maja on December 10, 2009 at 12:51 PM said...

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Unknown on December 10, 2009 at 2:28 PM said...

Whiskers on kittens is one.

hafner611{AT}gmail{DOT}com

pms3237 on December 10, 2009 at 4:57 PM said...

Crisp apple struedel/whiskers on kittens

mail4rosey on December 10, 2009 at 6:21 PM said...

Bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens. I LOVE that song!

msurosey@yahoo.com

Jayfr on December 10, 2009 at 9:09 PM said...

How about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens?

cman on December 10, 2009 at 10:42 PM said...

Whiskers on kittens :)

LuckyTJG on December 10, 2009 at 11:02 PM said...

"raindrops on roses", "bright copper kettles"
LuckyTJG@cs.com

disneyfanheather on December 10, 2009 at 11:18 PM said...

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes"

disneyfanheather on December 10, 2009 at 11:18 PM said...

Following your blog!@

disneyfanheather on December 10, 2009 at 11:18 PM said...

I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/_HeatherAnne_/status/6560026896

disneyfanheather on December 10, 2009 at 11:19 PM said...

I have your button!

07violet on December 10, 2009 at 11:39 PM said...

raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, warm woolen mittens

alterna7 at hotmail dot com

07violet on December 10, 2009 at 11:39 PM said...

following

alterna7 at hotmail dot com

Unknown on December 10, 2009 at 11:42 PM said...

Bright Copper Kettles, Raindrops on Roses and Snowflakes on my nose are a few of Maria's favorite things. garrettsambo@aol.com

lilyk on December 11, 2009 at 12:49 AM said...

One of Maria's favorite things is kittens with whiskers.

bonggamom on December 15, 2009 at 9:29 AM said...

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winner: #55, lilyk!

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