Arguably the most well-known and loved leading lady of them all, Julie Andrews is adored the world over for her roles as Mary Poppins and Maria in “The Sound Of Music”. Andrews’ voice, at its peak, was silvery, pure, clear as a bell, and instantly recognizable, and it continues to beguile generations of children (and adults) to this day on screen and in recordings. And even though she hasn’t worked that much on Broadway, she serves, as David Cote noted, as an “icon for the old-fashioned joys of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe.”

Andrew’s massive successes in “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music” coalesced in the public mind the character of a sweet-voiced Englishwoman ready to soothe childhood traumas by crooning about "A Spoonful of Sugar" or "My Favorite Things." Following these roles, she spent decades alternately conforming to and rebelling against the prim and proper, wholesome image they had bestowed upon her.

In this On and Off the Record podcast, part of the “Great Interpreters Goes Broadway!” series, Adriaan Fuchs takes a closer look at the life and career of Dame Julie Andrews.