Carrie Underwood will play Maria in NBC’s ‘Sound of Music’ remake

If you’ve been wondering how Carrie Underwood looks in a nun’s habit, you’ll find out soon enough: The “American Idol� winner, five-time Grammy winner and country superstar has been cast as Maria von Trapp in NBC’s upcoming live broadcast of “The Sound of Music,� the network announced Friday.

“Speaking for everyone at NBC, we couldn’t be happier to have the gifted Carrie Underwood take up the mantle of the great Maria von Trapp,� said NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt in a news release. “She was an iconic woman who will now be played by an iconic artist.�

For you cretins out there unfamiliar with either the beloved Oscar-winning film starring Julie Andrews or the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on which it was based, “The Sound of Music� tells the tale of Maria, a rebellious young woman in pre-World War II Austria who leaves a convent to work as a governess for the family of a stern widower. Much singing, dancing and repurposing of curtains ensues.

While some die-hard fans of the original might be skeptical about Underwood’s involvement, Ted Chapin, president of Rodgers & Hammerstein, praised the decision to cast her as “exciting beyond words.�

NBC is partnering up with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, producers of “Smash� and the upcoming Oscars telecast, on the project. “The Sound of Music� will air sometime during the holiday season in 2013, though an exact date has not been set. In other words, it’s not too early to get fitted for those custom-made lederhosen you’re no doubt planning to wear to next year’s viewing party -- or to start wondering who will play Captain von Trapp.

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