Who did the real-life Von Trapps want for 'Sound of Music's' Maria?

Who did the real-life Von Trapps want for ‘Sound of Music’s’ Maria?

By Patrick Kevin Day

Dec. 6, 2013 1:01 PM PT

A lot of viewers and critics were not fond of Carrie Underwood’s performance in NBC’s live production of “The Sound of Music” on Thursday night. Now, it turns out members of the real-life Von Trapp family weren’t thrilled about her even before cameras rolled.

Speaking to ABC News, Myles von Trapp Derbyshire, the great-grandson of the real-life Maria (played by Underwood in the musical), stated that his family was not thrilled with Underwood’s casting.

“Although her voice is amazing, she doesn’t have acting experience,” Derbyshire said. “It’s just the overall image, she’s a country star, she won ‘American Idol,’ she’s very public in kind of a tabloid way.”

So who would the Von Trapp family have preferred? Anne Hathaway, it turns out.

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“Here’s someone who just won an Oscar for a similar situation,” the 28-year-old Derbyshire said of Hathaway. “She was able to act and sing.”

In a strange coincidence, Hathaway co-starred with Julie Andrews, who played Maria in the 1965 film version of “The Sound of Music,” in the two “Princess Diaries” films.

Andrews gave her blessing to Underwood while speaking with Zap2It earlier this year, saying, “I do hope it works for Carrie, because she’s lovely and I’m a fan. I wish her well.”

Derbyshire isn’t the first Von Trapp to criticize Underwood’s casting publicly. A year ago when the production was first announced, Francoise von Trapp wrote a blog post raising reservations about Underwood.

“One thing is for sure, the news has created quite a stir on Facebook among the von Trapp cousins of several generations,” she wrote. “While opinions are mixed, it seems most of us don’t think Carrie can quite fill Dame Julie Andrews’ dirndl; or Mary Martin’s, for that matter.”

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