we'll tell you what one member of the famous von trapp family is saying about the show this morning. ♪ doe, a deer a female deer ♪ >>> good morning, everybody. also coming up this morning, we're going to take you to south africa, where they are planning what may be the largest funeral the world has ever seen. >> amazing celebrations of mandela's life, popping up all over south africa, like this one you're seeing happening right now in johannesburg. a lot of people expected this day to come. we all did. but still a huge loss for the entire world. >> marked with mourning and celebration. it's interesting to watch what's happening there. we'll have much more coming up on the show. >>> first, we want to get right to the nasty weather, covering much of america this morning. there's the monster ice storm that caused death, damage and delay, in the middle of the country. and now, a new storm brewing in the northwest. at least 12 dead thus far. and it's not over yet. abc's meteorologist, ginger zee, is of course on the story. ginger, good morning. >> hey, dan. so many folks spent their week

i'm captain von trapp. >> hello, sir. yes. i'm fraulein maria.me from the abbey, and i know my dress is plain. >> as long as you're aware. let's not dawdle any further. time to meet the children. [ whistle chirps ] children! ♪ >> liesl >> friedrich. >> louisa. >> kurt. >> gretl. >> and i'm denise. >> den denise. denise. please get back in line, denise. denise! go! [ whistle chirping ]

that includes a member of the real von trapp family the musical is based on miles von trapp said hisaway in the lead role. >>> a correction now. on wednesday during a discussion on our roundtable about vice president biden i tried to make the point that despite his substantive work, the media perhaps too often focuses on his gaffes. in doing so, i did him and you the exact same ill service by not providing the proper context for a quick sound bite we aired. the vice president had been attending an event in japan aimed at highlighting efforts to reduce the percentage of japanese women currently at 60%, who quit their jobs after the birth of their first child. an important context for you to have known before we showed you the vice president asking some female workers there how their husbands like them working full-time. again, we were trying to make the point the v.p. deserved a more fair shake but i ironically, perhaps hypocritically, did the same thing. i regret the error and apologize to the vice president and to you, the viewer. make sure to follow me on twitter and also at thelea

i'm captain von trapp. >> hello, sir, yes, i'm fraulein marina.ey and i know my dress is plain. >> as long as you're aware. let's not dab el any further. time to meet the children. [ whistle ] >> children! >> liesl. >> friedrich. >> luouisalouisa. >> kurt. >>

the jacket and pants worn by christopher plummer, as captain von trap and five outfits worn by the von trapp children. an estimated price of $150,000 to $200,000. >>> in case you haven't realized it, the winter solstice arrived today bringing winter officially with it. with all of the severe weather we have been seeing, it might have felt like winter some time ago. this is the day the sun was lowest in the hemisphere, bringing with it the shortest day or longest night, depending how you like to think about it. >>> when we come back, inside a christmas classic for kids and grownups alike. >>> before we go tonight, many of us have a cherished childhood memory of receiving that one christmas gift you absolutely yearn for and spent countless hours dreaming of, and that's probably why a little film about a little boy and the air rifle he had to have has endured and become a christmas classic. tonight, kevin tibbles takes us to the home where "a christmas story" comes to life every day. >> reporter: this time of year they line up down the street to visit this sweet old house in cleveland, ohio. >>

. >> a lot don't realize the original maria von trapp was mary martin on broadway and not julie andrews. julie did the "the sound of music" movie. what you're going to see tonight is the actual musical, the book musical, that was from rogers and hammerstein. >> you may hear a song you don't know from the movie and may not hear some songs you heard in the movie on stage. anyway -- >> a lot of great broadway people that are also in the cast, so i'm reading some things that some of the broadway elitists are upset that carrie underwood is playing the role. first of all, this is not -- this is business and they needed a name and a great name and an extraordinary talent to front it. i just think she's sensational. she's going to be awesome. >> how well do you guys know the lyrics to "my favorite things." ♪ rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper petals and warm wool mittens packages tied up with strings these are a few of my favorite things ♪ ♪ girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes ♪ ♪ snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes ♪ ♪ silver white winters that melt

and aryan reinhardt plays the eldest of the von trapp family. >> you get a kiss in this. >> i do. >>y both been in productions of the sound of music. this is not the movie where you're used to, or the stage production. this is something a little special. what's different about it? >> it's the stage production but it's going to be televised. so the order of the songs is a little bit different than what you're used to with the movie. no one can remake the movie, julie andrews is an icon. we're going to bring the stage production to people's living rooms. >> this is live? >> yes. very, very live. >> i keep seeing the promotions for it. how do you put this on live? >> we haven't done it yet. so -- >> i know. our first performance is our preview opening and closing. >> that's a lot of pressure. that's exciting, though. we're used to doing live theater. so yes, it's different, because it's millions of people versus thousands of people. >> it's got to be different. i was reading an interesting article this weekend saying all the people working on the production, is the fact that you don't h

. >> i was friedrick von trapp in the eighth grade. >> sing a little. >> so long, fairwell -- my voicewas 12. >> is it me or is that the weirdest thing you've ever heard? ♪ ♪ >> and now for the serious side of the news. >> right. hold on, i'm going come back again. the incredible thomas roberts wearing the same outfit again from two days ago. >> thank you, chris. >> thanks, chris. don't laugh at me. >> can the president win back skeptical millennials and get invested in the aca. chris matthews will join me for a preview of his exclusive sitdown. that interview with the president tonight. fast food workers at some of america's most popular fast food restaurants are walking out tonight to protest low wages. we'll speak to a woman on the strike line who works at mcdonald's and still needs food stamps to get by with her family. an american teacher killed in benghazi. what they're saying about benghazi. the details as we have them next. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® has an active naturals total soy formula that instantly brightens skin. and helps reduce the look of brown spots in just 4

who would have the fortitude the take on maria von trapp -- and axl rose.erself. >> absolutely. it's not easy to do something different. take on an iconic role. >> and fighting meanness with kindness. she just silenced her critics. >> i like the idea of doing different. and it was good to see kristen wiig on snl. >>> the latest high-tech twist on bouncy seats. newborns and babies can hop along while checking in on an ipad. abbie boudreau has the story. >> reporter: toy giant fisher-price is in the hot seat after unveiling a new taken to traditional bouncy seat. this high-tech newborn to toddler activity seat features a built-in ipad and it has parents rattled and up in arms. some calling it the worst baby product ever. >> a lot of parents are upset because it just feels like they're taking technology too far and introducing it too early. >> reporter: in a statement to abc news, fisher-price tells us we know the apptivity seat is not for everyone. the app times out after ten minutes. it's not an always-on feature. for parents who choose to opt out, the toy b

the actress received some backlash online for her portr portrayal of maria von trapp of what they cited. she tweeted "plain and simple: mean people need jesus. they will be in my players tonight" and a scripture, too. >> great reaction. have you ever tried to sing "the sound of music"? >> i try to do it all the time and alone, the only sound is in my apartment. >> i only sing in the shower when no one's around. >> don't we sound so much better? >> that's why. i think i'm whitney houston when i'm in the shower. >>> if you're trying to travel, i'm betting a lot of folks are upset they were stuck in airports when the big football sunday was happening, missing out on the action. >> hopefully they had tvs. they gave out free tickets in dallas and only 1,000 people showed up at the game, it was so cold, no one wanted to be there. that's how you know it's freezing there. the second system into the northeast and take a look we have the wintry mix out there, more moving in towards new england. we had a bigger threat out towards virginia. that is switching over to rain as a little bit of that war

. >> what's interesting is the original von trapp, kim, tweeted out, mystified and disappointed by thelove carrie underwood but this role is not right for her. she is lovely, her voice is beautiful but acting is wrong. and carrie underwood tweeted out this. >> she said plain and simple, mean people need jesus. ♪ [ male announcer ] at progresso, we lieve the second chapter of your life should be just as bold as the first. try the new bold flavors of heart healthy so from progresso. a a [ male announcer ] playing in the nfl is tough. ♪ doing it with a cold, just not going to happen. ♪ vicks dayquil powerful non-drowsy 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ no matter what city you're playing tomorrow... [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] ...you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. ♪ vicks nyquil powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ the ones that let you call for help. and i said, "that's not for me! that's for some old person!" but we finally talked my mom into calling adt. then, one day, i slipped and broke my hip. the pain was terrible, and i couldn't get to the phone. i needed an ambu

. >> and even kim carafe who starred as greta von trapp is slamming it.personally, i was disappointed in it because i'm a huge carrie underwood fan and she has a great voice. i had high inspectations. maybe part of it was my expectations were too high. i actually was disappointed in the production values. i thought sort of the gimmick doing it live was a disservice to the actors. obviously, i thought some line readings were off and would have benefitted from more takes. and i was surprised by some of the dialogue that had been added. those -- i mean, i had issues. >> did she like any of it? >> well, i don't know. can i point a few things out here? >> yeah, go ahead. >> one, are you are you going to remake a classic live in a way that everyone loves, right? >> that's true. >> just to take on a classic. "b," the ratings were unbelievable. 8.4 million people watched. the best thursday for nbc, nonsports, since the e.r. finale but it paid off in ratings. >> how many people were watching to see it would go wrong? >> do you think? >> i think when you see "the s

carrie underwood plays maria and steven moyer plays captain von trapp. this is not the movie.basically a broadway show televised live. >> it's spectacular. >> you were over there. you saw it. >> out of the furnace hits theaters. what is that about? >> he goes to jail and tries to rescue his brother played by casey afleck from a life of crime. both of those guy versus been nominated with oscars. you have to think, you know, is this oscar bait? we'll see. >> it's tough to watch. a lot of violence. >> a lot of violence. >> yeah. >> all right. let's move on to december 11th, kelly clarkson, she has a christmas special out. >> she does. a christmas special featuring songs from her christmas album which is now out. but it's a morality tale but co comedic take on one, blake shelton and jay leno. >> december 13th. great movies. a lot of buzz for american hustle. >> christian bale plays an excon recruited by the fbi but it's a reteaming of the silver linings play book team. bradley cooper, jennifer lawrence, robert deniro. it's set in the 70s and the music and hair and costumes are ins

. ♪ ♪ >> the country star played ma via von trapp in the three hour live spigsal.er thursday's broadcast. so she responded to the haters like this, by tweeting, plain and simple, many people just need jesus. they will be in my prayers tonight adding a bible verse there at the end. sounds like she's dealing with the haters by letting jesus take the wheel. >> she did three hours live on tv. >> what a task. >> anyone that can do that, i respect. >> including -- including the great janice dean. >> janice, could you do three hours of live television. >> by myself? >> no. >> singing? >> impossible. >> listen, no one can outdo julie andrews. that was probably one of the reasons why she got so much fire but i thought she did great. i love the sound of music. she was running up stairs and out of breath and trying to perform. i didn't think it was that great. >> she's awesome. >> you are 16 going on 17. >> you know that? >> wow. impressive. >> it's cross generational. great. >> very nice. >> i won't sing for you this morning because we have to do something very serious. it's