Going Dutch
Every once in a while, I’ve tracked down different productions – American and international – of The Sound of Music and posted their rendition of “Do Re Mi.” I like see how shows stage the number in their own way. I haven’t posted on for a long while, and though this isn’t exactly that, it’s a close enough cousin to present it here.
I’m also not 100% sure what this is, but I think I do. You may recall there a while back, there were a few TV shows about auditioning unknowns to star in new productions. There was one called “You’re the One That I Want” about finding leads for a production of Grease. Another was “I’d Do Anything,” done in England, to cast an actress to play ‘Nancy’ and young boy to play ‘Oliver’ in a production of Oliver! (Fun Fact: when they did this, the young girl who finished second was – and this is true – Oscar-winner Jessie Buckley! It’s what brought her to attention). And there also was “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” which was to find an actress to play the lead in, of course, The Sound of Music.
What I’m pretty sure is that this is a Dutch version of that TV show. Trying to find a ‘Maria’. And this is when they’ve narrowed the choice down to six finalists. And so, they’ve staged “Do Re Mi” with each woman switching off between the kids.
It’s very well done and a lot of fun. (The amusing thing is that, although this is about casting the woman, the kids switching between them may have the hardest job and are wonderful.)
Two other notes. There is one line that keeps getting repeated in the song which I swear, in Dutch, sounds like, “Fa, your father is in hell.” And clearly I’m not alone in that because one of the User Comments said the same thing, writing, “This is great, but all my American ears hear is ‘your father is in hellll...’” Somebody replies to this comment saying that in Dutch, the word “held” means “hero. Still, though, when you listen to this, tell me that I’m wrong…!!
And also, someone posted translations from Dutch what the ‘Do Re Mi’ lines mean in English. So, if you want to sing along --
Do, daar start en stop je mee (Do, that's where you start and stop)
Ree, een hertje in het veld (Roe, a deer in the field)
Mi, zijn noedels in 't Chinees (Mi, are noodles in Chinese)
Fa, je vader is een held (Fa, your father is a hero)
Sol, de Spaanse zon aan zee (Sol, the Spanish sun at sea)
La, dat zing je soms maar zo (La, you just sing that sometimes)
Tea, het Engels woord voor thee (Tea, the English word for thee)
En meteen terug naar DO (and immediately back to DO)
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