Carrie Underwood is doing The Sound of Music – those words probably send chills down a lot of people’s backs. After all, Underwood is a modern icon of country, The Sound of Music is a staple of musical theater and never the twain shall meet. Except they have and in fact, Underwood’s casting as Maria in the new adaptation for television makes a lot of sense. 

Sound of Music Cast Photo
Underwood does make a nice addition to the cast photo, at least.

Since winning American Idol in 2005, Underwood has gone on to win six Grammy awards and more than 100 other awards. Despite having only four acting credits to her name (mostly cameos) the country songstress has proven that she can pull off a great live show.

All of this makes her amply qualified to take on the role of the von Trapp family’s singing, dancing governess in NBC’s live broadcast this coming Thursday. Co-producer Craig Zadan spoke to Reuters about Underwood’s casting, saying: "She is the right type, the right age, she has the right vocal quality, she is beautiful and she has massive experience doing live performing. Carrie is the perfect person to play that character."

Zadan, whose name might sound familiar as one half of the team behind the 2013 Academy Awards, has enough experience with big budget live productions like this, to know what he’s talking about. The producer has also worked on a number of musical theater adaptations, like Chicago and Hairspray. Underwood herself is excited and nervous about the challenge.

Carrie Underwood, Sound of Music Rehearsal
The country singer has been hard at work rehearsing for the new challenge.

“It is just so different for me,” the singer-turned-actress told Reuters. “I have never done anything quite like this. This is first time anybody has done a live musical on TV like this in a very long time. People don't take on this kind of project any more so it's really new for all of us. I love the fact that it is live. Even with award shows, it's all smoke and mirrors and this is the opposite of that.”

Despite not having any formal dance or stage training, Underwood can definitely help the production in terms of publicity. If you’re interested to see how this unusual casting choice pans out, tune in to NBC on Thursday, December 5 at 8PM ET.

Carrie Underwood, Sound of Music Poster
The hills will be alive with the sound of music this Thursday.