The highly anticipated TV show “The Baroness,” which follows the lives of the von Trapp family from “The Sound of Music,” has been hit with controversy after writer Jaclyn Alexis Cruz allegedly attempted to take over the production. Myles von Trapp, the family member developing the show, claims that Cruz demanded that the family fire their head writer and hire her wife Ana Marie Cruz as the show’s head writer and runner. Additionally, the couple demanded that the von Trapp family sign over the full rights of their story to their production company. This demand caused a lot of drama, especially since the von Trapps had already given away their rights years ago, culminating in the 1965 movie.
The alleged attempted “Baroness” coup led to a massive blow-up between Jaclyn and Myles, with Jaclyn texting Myles that she did not need the von Trapp family for media or publicity. Myles replied that the von Trapp family said “f–k you” and wished Jaclyn good luck in business. Von Trapp fired Jaclyn from the project.
The von Trapp Family and Their Story
The von Trapp family has faced controversy before when Maria, Georg von Trapp’s wife, sold her memoir to German producers in the 1950s for $9,000 and inadvertently signed away all of the rights to the family story going forward. Rodgers and Hammerstein purchased the story to turn it into a Broadway show and sold the movie rights for the show to 20th Century Fox. The von Trapp family did not have much of a say in “The Sound of Music,” although Maria did receive royalties.
The von Trapps are proud of their history and are not willing to sell away their lives and story again. The family owns the Trapp Family Lodge and von Trapp Brewing in Stowe, Vermont, and the nearby cheese-making von Trapp Farmstead. None of the family members perform like their ancestors.
“The Baroness” is being developed by Myles von Trapp, who is Georg’s eldest child Rupert’s grandson. The show will follow three characters from three generations of von Trapps: Myles’s grandmother Henriette von Trapp, Myles’s mother Stephanie von Trapp Derbyshire, and Myles himself. The legendary Maria will be a supporting character, and her depiction will be a departure from the Julie Andrews version. Head writer Rebecca Eskries is still developing the show and has not been involved in the drama.
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