'The Sound Of Music Live!' Will Be Adorable

Wednesday night's The Making of The Sound of Music Live! whetted my appetite for the Dec. 5 live show. I'm not being facetious. The Sound of Music Live! looks SO GOOD. The promo called the telecast an EVENT, and I believe it. It will be an unmissable, lovely EVENT. Have I seen The Sound of Music? Nope. Wait… I don't think I have. I can't remember. So why am I bugging out over this special? I really like live television. And I really, REALLY like live television when the program is something that's typically prerecorded (e.g., the 30 Rock live episodes). Keeps me on edge.

So yes, The Making Of pumped me up for the Live! telecast. I thought I was excited before I watched it. Now I'm totally invested. Carrie Underwood was charming and brilliant behind the scenes, so I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that she'll be charming and brilliant during the live telecast. The rest of the cast (a mix of veterans and newbies) is wonderful, too. So much talent! So much adorableness! Everyone's anxious about the live show (uh, totally understandable), but in the words of Underwood: "If you're not nervous, if you're not getting butterflies, it might mean you don't care." Aw, they're only nervous because they care!

I assumed Live! would happen in a theater or an auditorium. Nope. I was wrong. That'd be too simple for this EVENT. The musical won't be performed on a normal stage with rotating backdrops/props. They built real sets for this. I mean, they're TV sets, so they're not real-real. They're TV soundstage-real. TV soundstage-real sets that are conducive to a live taping. They don't look like high school theater sets. They look like MAGIC. That forest set? With the mountain? Get out of here!

There were multiple montages of kids auditioning for the roles of the Von Trapp children. All of the kids were amazing. ALL OF THEM. ALL. OF. THEM. Casting director Bernie Telsey said that out of 600 kids, 12 were "definitely special" and brought those 12 in for a round of call backs. And then they whittled 12 down to seven. HOW DOES HE DO HIS JOB?! I would be like, "Hey, change of plans. I can't decide on only seven, so there will be 600 Von Trapp children. This is what happens when you make me make decisions."

And the adults in the ensemble? Ugh. They're just the best. I can't wait to hear Audra McDonald and Underwood sing "My Favorite Things" again. So unreal. Stephen Moyer has to play guitar during the show, and he remarked that he hasn't played guitar in years. I would think that'd be very stressful. I'll be nervous on his behalf. And yes, Bill Compton can sing. As if those three weren't enough, Broadway star Laura Benanti and Smash's Christian Borle will be there, too! What a CAST. What an EVENT.

When Underwood said, "I think at 7:59 on Dec. 5, I'll be ready," I shouted, "YOU'VE GOT THIS, UNDERWOOD! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Do you think she heard me?

Image: NBC