Zadan/Meron THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Air on NBC, Christmas 2013?

According to Deadline.com, a live broadcast of The Sound of Music, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Smash), will likely air during the Christmas season in 2013.

"I think we are close to finding our Maria," said NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, "and as soon as we have that in place we will announce it with great fanfare."

Read the original report here.

The live broadcast of "The Sound of Music," based on the original Broadway musical, set in pre-WWII Austria, is originally based on the romantic true story of Maria von Trapp, an aspiring nun who leaves the Abby to become a governess for the widower Captain von Trapp's seven children and finds herself falling in love with her employer and questioning her religious calling.

It premiered on Broadway in 1959, where it broke box office records and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Today it is an evergreen classic - as popular in opera houses and outdoor amphitheaters as it is in high school auditoriums.

"The Sound of Music" features a libretto by Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse and a score by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) that includes "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Edelweiss," and "So Long, Farewell."

Zadan and Meron are the producers of highly-regarded and award-winning feature films, television movies, series and Broadway productions, including NBC's critically-acclaimed series "Smash" (beginning in February), "Steel Magnolias," and the Lifetime hit series "Drop Dead Diva." All totaled, their films and television movies have garnered six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, 11 Emmy Awards, and two Peabody Awards. For their work in television, their movies have amassed 69 Emmy nominations. Their work in theater has received 12 Tony nominations, including two wins. They also have received five Grammy nominations, including one win.

Their feature film credits include the Oscar winning "Chicago," "The Bucket List," the feature-film musical "Hairspray," and most recently, 2011's "Footloose" (the original film, starring Kevin Bacon, was Zadan's first feature-film production).

Other television event presentations include: Meredith Willson's "The Music Man," starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth, which received five Emmy nominations; "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadow," starring Judy Davis; "Annie," starring Kathy Bates, which won two Emmys and a Peabody Award; "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," starring Whitney Houston and Brandy, which received 7 Emmy nominations; "Gypsy," their first television movie event, starring Bette Midler, which received 12 Emmy nominations; "Raisin in the Sun," with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, which was nominated for three Emmys; and "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story," starring Glenn Close, a landmark movie which won three Emmys and a Peabody Award.

Recently, Zadan and Meron were represented on Broadway with a Tony-winning hit in the 50th-anniversary revival of the Frank Loesser musical comedy, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. The revival was nominated for eight Tony Awards (winning one), four Astaire Awards, three Drama League Awards, five Outer Critics Circle Awards and five Drama Desk Awards.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.