“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”, chances are you just sang that in your head. Even if you’ve never seen The Sound of Music (guilty) you probably recognize the words. Or you would know the melody if someone was humming it. Most of the songs from The Sound of Music have become ingrained in American culture. The story of the noble family that had to escape the Nazi’s and became a singing sensation in America has captivated us for decades. The fact that it’s a true(ish) story only makes it that much better. But just how much of it is true? And how did the Von Trapps’ feel about having their very personal story made into a public spectacle? Turns out that they weren’t as thrilled as some might think. In Maria, Michelle Moran shares Maria Von Trapp’s feelings about the musical based on her life, as Maria tells Fran, Hammerstein’s assistant, the true story of what happened in Austria all those years ago.
[Warning: My review of Maria contains some spoilers!]
Turns out, there were problems with The Sound of Music
The Von Trapp family is a real family. They really lived in Austria, they really all sang, and they really had to escape the Nazis. Eventually, Maria wrote an autobiography about their lives, and that book was turned into a movie in Europe. The movie made some changes to their story though, and it was the movie, not the book, that Rodgers and Hammerstein based their famous musical on.
The family was rather upset about some of these changes too. Especially when it came to the temperament of their dad and Maria. According to them, their father was a wonderful, kind, fun-loving man. But the movie portrayed him as a strict disciplinarian with little warmth, until Maria melted his frozen heart with her love and goodness. Understandably, no one was very happy with that change. Who wants the world to think their father is a jerk when he’s actually a great guy? Then there’s Maria. While she is by no means a monster either, in reality she had quite a temper and was rather strict with the children. In all honesty, it sounds like they switched their personalities. And I get why they did. A story about a sweet young girl who tames a cantankerous old man was a much better seller at that time than a story of a severe woman who won over a kind man by taking care of his children.
I will say that to her credit, Maria was just as upset about the misrepresentation as the kids were. She may have got the better end of the stick, but she still wanted the world to know that The Sound of Music is the basis of Moran’s story in Maria.
Michelle Moran’s Maria is a fiction that aims to right the wrongs of a fiction
Maria focuses on Fran, Hammerstein’s assistant, and her meetings with Maria Von Trapp in the days leading up to the premiere of The Sound of Music. Maria came all the way to New York City from her lodge in Vermont to try and persuade the famous writer to be fairer to her husband. Hammerstein didn’t have the time to talk to Maria personally, but he didn’t want to just dismiss her, so he passed the task along to Fran (a fictional character). Over the next few days, Maria shares her story from age 8 until the family falls apart after arriving in America. After a few meetings, her youngest daughter, Lorli, joins them and helps to give a fuller picture of her mother.
Overall, it is a story that starts off much the same as The Sound of Music, but ends rather differently. There are some minor differences that aren’t that problematic, but there are some things, like the father’s personality, that are drastically different.
After Fran listens to Maria’s story, she passes all her notes on to Hammerstein. It’s really too late to make any changes to the show, we knew that nothing was going to change going in because in the real world The Sound of Music was released decades ago, that story is set in stone. But Fran and Maria didn’t know that, so they had hope (well Maria did, Fran didn’t really think anything would change) that Hammerstein would do Georg justice. And he does offer Maria a compromise that seems to placate her without upending the whole show. And the rest is history.
Maria is an ironic concept
I found it rather funny that Maria is trying to correct the misconceptions caused by a fictionalization of real events by fictionalizing real events. Moran did her research so Maria’s story, while dramatized, is still mostly factually correct. But just like The Sound of Music, Moran created characters that didn’t exist to facilitate her storytelling. And since she never personally met Maria, it’s possible that her version of Maria and her personality isn’t quite right either.
Still, I get what she was doing. The book may be called Maria, and it might be told through Maria’s eyes, but it’s not about Maria. Not really. It’s about redeeming Georg in the collective consciousness. He got a bad rap through The Sound of Music, and it’s only fair that the truth finally comes out. Seeing that Maria herself wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows was nice, too. On the one hand, it made her more real. Instead of being a perfect saint, she’s a woman with real shortcomings.
It’s sad how the real story turned out. The break-up of the family after Georg’s death is regrettable, but in light of Maria’s controlling and demanding nature, not surprising. There is a light at the end of Maria. Maria Von Trapp attends the premiere with some of her children, and there is the suggestion of reconciliation. I’m not sure if they ended up reconciling, and I’m honestly not sure if she deserves it. But I do see after reading Maria that she was doing her best with what she had. And in the end, that’s all any of us can do.
Maria shows us there’s still something to The Sound of Music over 70 years later
The Sound of Music is one of those shows that has become more than the sum of its parts. It took hold of American hearts in a way that few things can. And it continues to enchant new fans every year as parents and grandparents introduce the next generation to this beloved story. And just as Maria fears in Maria, it has replaced the truth.
No one knows about Rupert, her actual oldest stepson. The years between the fall of Austria to Germany and the Von Trapps flight to America have disappeared. And no one knows that Georg was actually the sweetie of the couple, not Maria. Moran sets out to right these wrongs in Maria. She may have taken a few artistic liberties of her own, but overall, she does exactly what she sets out to do. She sets the Von Trapp record straight. The real story might not be as polished as The Sound of Music, but it’s a better story, and one that deserved to be told. Thank you, Michelle Moran, for introducing us to the real Maria!
Rating: 9/10
Maria by Michelle Moran is now available where books are sold. Let us know what you think about it on social media @mycosmiccircus.
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