Come March 9, 1999, Broadway's The Sound of Music will likely have its third Captain Von Trapp. Michael Siberry was the first, opening the revival March 12, 1998; he was replaced by the current Von Trapp, Dennis Parlato, Nov. 4, 1998. Now Variety reports that Richard Chamberlain will take over, March 9, 1999 for a 17-week NY stint followed by a national tour.
A William Morris spokesperson confirmed the deal was in the works, though a Sound of Music spokesperson at Cromarty and Company said (Dec. 22) she knew only of very preliminary talks regarding Chamberlain's participation in the tour, and nothing of his replacing Parlato in the Broadway company.
Richard Chamberlain's last Broadway role was in another golden-age musical, My Fair Lady, opposite Melissa Errico. The "Shogun" star is also well-known in theatre circles for a show that never made it to a Broadway opening night: Bob Merrill's Breakfast At Tiffany's, with Mary Tyler Moore, Sally Kellerman and Larry Kert.
Parlato is a Broadway veteran of She Loves Me, Chess, and A Chorus Line.
The 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical tells the story of a singing would-be nun who transforms the lives of an Austrian widower submarine captain and his seven children through the power of goodness and song. She abandons the convent life to become the captain's wife -- just as the Nazi anschluss makes him a prime target for drafting into the German navy. Songs include the title tune, "Edelweiss," "My Favorite Things," "The Lonely Goatherd" and "Something Good." *
Also in Music news, cast members from the revival have laid down some holiday tracks along for a new CD entitled, "Simple Gifts: Carols From the Abbey." Among the participating cast members is the show's star, Rebecca Luker, along with the Nuns, Patti Cohenour and the "Von Trapp Children."
Tracks on the Huckleberry Records CD include: "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Simple Gifts/A Christmas Song," "I Wonder as I Wander," "A Merry Christmas Feeling," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Pastores a Belen," "Simple Things," "Good King Wenceslas," "This Little Light of Mine/Go Tell It on the Mountain," and, what holiday album would be complete without..."Silent Night."
"Simple Gifts" wil be sold in the theatre's lobby, by mail or by phone at (212) 840-0770, ext. 250. The CD is $20, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
* For tickets and information on The Sound Of Music at the Martin Beck Theatre call (212) 239-6200.
