THE SOUND OF MUSIC Nuns Visit A Real Nunnery, Audra McDonald Included

The holiest of participants in the highly anticipated new NBC live TV production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic family-friendly musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring Carrie Underwood took a very special field trip this week in order to conduct some real-life research into their roles as women of faith.

The Mother Abbess herself, Audra McDonald, along with the starry assortment of supporting players assembled to essay the various sisters of the classic convent depicted in the Vienna-set tale even posed for a picture while on the excursion, which has since been shared via social media.

Of note, McDonald along with fellow nuns such as Elena Shaddow, Christiane Noll, Georgia Stitt, Ashley Brown and more attended the St. Walburga monastary in Elizabeth, NJ and can be spotted in the image.

Shaddow took to her Twitter account to share a candid group pic of the ladies posing with a real woman of the cloth, commenting, "A buncha fake nuns at a real nunnery. @SoundofMusic cast members at Saint Walburga monastery in Elizabeth, NJ"

Follow Elena Shaddow on Twitter here.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller and Rob Ashford, produced by Craig Zadan & Neil Meron, airs on December 5 at 8 PM on NBC.

See my 2013 InDepth InterView with Craig Zadan & Neil Meron about THE SOUND OF MUSIC and much, much more from earlier this year, available here.

View a larger version of the photo of McDonald, Shaddow and the rest of the nuns at the real nunnery below.

Photo Credit: Twitter