The original stage production of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II’s "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontane Theatre on November 16, 1959. It was a huge hit even before
anyone thought about transforming it into a film. The Broadway revue featured Mary Martin as Maria, Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp, and Patricia Neway as Mother Abbess.
Of equal success was the London production, which premiered at the Palace Theatre on May 18, 1961, and ran for 2,385 performances, closing in 1967. It featured a completely different cast, starring
Jean Bayless as Maria, Roger Dann as Captain von Trapp, and Constance Shacklock as Mother Abbess. This release presents both the Broadway and London recordings in their entireties.
Many songs from the musical have become standards, such as “Edelweiss”, “My Favorite Things”, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, “Do-Re-Mi”, and the title song. As a bonus, 14 versions (both vocal and
instrumental) have been added of songs from the play, performed by such stars as Benny Goodman, the Paul Smith-Barney Kessel Quartet, Sarah Vaughan, Mitch Miller, Mark Murphy, and the Hi-Lo’s,
among others.