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South Pacific (musical)

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This article is about the 1949 Broadway musical. For the 1958 film, see South Pacific (film). For the 2001 film, see South Pacific (2001 film).
South Pacific
Original Cast Recording
MusicRichard Rodgers
LyricsOscar Hammerstein II
BookOscar Hammerstein II
Joshua Logan
BasisTales of the South Pacific
by James A. Michener
Productions1949 Broadway
1950 US tour
1951 West End
1958 Film version
2001 U.S. Television
2001 West End revival
2005 Carnegie Hall Concert
2008 Broadway revival
2009 US tour
2011 West End revival
AwardsPulitzer Prize for Drama
Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Original Score
Tony Award for Best Author
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical

South Pacific is a 1949 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its stories into a single plotline. The musical won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. The issue of racial prejudice was sensitively and candidly explored at a time when few musicals engaged in serious social commentary.

South Pacific is considered by some to be one of the greatest Broadway musicals.[1][2] Several of its songs, including "Bali Ha'i", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair", "Some Enchanted Evening", "Happy Talk", "Younger than Springtime", and "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy", have become worldwide standards. The Broadway production was nominated for and won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto. It is the only musical production ever to have won all four Tony Awards for acting. The show was a critical and box office hit and has since enjoyed many successful revivals and tours and spawned a 1958 film and other adaptations.

Background

The director Joshua Logan, a World War II veteran, read Michener's Tales of the South Pacific and decided to adapt it. He and producer Leland Hayward purchased the rights from Michener; they asked Rodgers to compose music for the work and Hammerstein to write lyrics and the libretto. Hayward would produce, and Logan would serve as director and producer. Rodgers and Hammerstein accepted, and they began transforming the short stories "Fo' Dolla" and "Our Heroine" into a unified tale. Since both stories were serious in tone, Michener agreed to include a third story about Luther Billis, a womanizing sailor.[3]

Hammerstein, according to the contract, was to write both the lyrics and libretto. However, he knew very little about the U.S. Navy in World War II or about Nellie's Southern dialect and culture. Rodgers asked Logan to help Hammerstein with the libretto and Logan helped Hammerstein write the book, asking to be credited as co-author. Hammerstein agreed to give Logan credit as co-author of the libretto, but added, "Of course, it goes without saying that you won't get anything whatsoever of the author's royalties."[3]

Rodgers received a telephone call from Edwin Lester of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. He had signed Metropolitan Opera star Ezio Pinza for a new musical, but the musical fell through and, according to his contract, Pinza had to be paid $25,000 regardless of whether he actually performed. Lester was searching for a new vehicle for Pinza, and Rodgers and Hammerstein eagerly signed Pinza to play Emile de Becque, the male lead.[4] Hammerstein had been particularly inspired by Mary Martin, having seen her wearing a gingham dress in the last scene of One Touch of Venus, and he wanted her to play Nellie Forbush, the female lead. Martin was playing Annie Oakley in the touring company of Annie Get Your Gun, but after Rodgers and Hammerstein auditioned three songs, "A Cockeyed Optimist", "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Twin Soliloquies", for Martin and her husband, Richard Halliday, she accepted the role.[5]

Synopsis

Act I

On a South Pacific island during World War II, two half-Polynesian[6] children, Ngana and Jerome, happily sing as they play together ("Dites-Moi"). Ensign Nellie Forbush, a naive U.S. Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas has fallen in love with Emile de Becque, a middle-aged French plantation owner, though she has known him only briefly. Even though everyone else is worried about the outcome of the war, Nellie tells Emile that she is sure everything will turn out all right ("Cockeyed Optimist"). Emile is also in love with Nellie, and each wonders if the other reciprocates his/her feelings ("Twin Soliloquies"). Emile then expresses his feelings for Nellie, recalling how they met at the officers' club dance and instantly were attracted to each other ("Some Enchanted Evening"). Nellie, promising to think about their relationship, returns to the hospital. Emile calls Ngana and Jerome to him, revealing to the audience that they are his children, unbeknownst to Nellie.

Meanwhile, the restless American seabees, led by crafty Luther Billis, the sailors' leading comic relief, lament the absence of women to relieve their boredom. Navy nurses are commissioned officers and thus off-limits to enlisted men. There is one civilian woman on the island nicknamed "Bloody Mary", a sassy middle-aged Tonkinese vendor of grass skirts, who engages the sailors in sarcastic, flirtatious banter as she tries to sell them her wares ("Bloody Mary"). Billis yearns to visit the nearby island of Bali Ha'i — which is off-limits to all but officers — supposedly to witness a Boar's Tooth Ceremony; the other sailors josh him, saying that his real motivation is to see the young French women there. Billis and the sailors further lament their lack of feminine companionship ("There is Nothin' Like a Dame").

U.S. Marine Lieutenant Joseph Cable arrives on the island from Guadalcanal, having been sent to take part in a dangerous spy mission whose success could turn the tide of the war against Japan. Bloody Mary tries to persuade Cable to visit "Bali Ha'i", mysteriously telling him that it is his special island. Billis, seeing an opportunity, urges Cable to go.

Cable meets with his commanding officers, Captain George Brackett and Commander William Harbison, who plan to ask Emile to help with the mission because he used to live on the island where the mission will take place. They ask Nellie to help them find out more about Emile's background, for example, his politics and why he left France. They have heard, for instance, that Emile committed a murder, and one opinion is that this might actually make him desirable for such a mission.

After thinking a bit more about Emile and deciding she has become attracted on the basis of little knowledge of him, Nellie tells the other nurses that she intends to spurn him ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair"). Emile arrives unexpectedly and invites Nellie to a party where he will introduce her to his friends. Seeing how much he cares about her, Nellie realizes she is still in love with him, and accepts his invitation. Emile again declares his love and asks Nellie to marry him. When she mentions politics, he speaks of universal freedom, and describes fleeing France after resisting a local bully and choking him to death in self-defense. After hearing this, Nellie agrees to marry Emile. After he exits, Nellie joyously declares her love for Emile ("I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy").

Cable's mission is to land on a Japanese-held island and report on Japanese ship movements. The Navy officers ask Emile to be Cable's guide, but he refuses their request because of his hopes for a new life with Nellie. Commander Harbison, the executive officer, tells Cable to go on leave until the mission can take place. Billis convinces Lt. Cable to take him to Bali Ha'i. There, Billis participates in the native ceremony, while Bloody Mary introduces Cable to her beautiful daughter, Liat, with whom he must communicate in French. Believing that Liat's only chance at a better life is to marry an American officer, Mary leaves Liat alone with Cable. The two are instantly attracted to each other and make love ("Younger Than Springtime"). Billis and the rest of the crew are ready to leave the island, yet must wait for Cable who, unbeknownst to them, is with Liat ("Bali Ha'i" (Reprise)). Bloody Mary proudly tells Billis that Cable is going to be her son-in-law.

Meanwhile, after Emile's party, Emile and Nellie reflect on how happy they are to be in love (Reprises of "A Wonderful Guy", "Twin Soliloquies", "Cockeyed Optimist", and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"). Emile introduces Nellie to Jerome and Ngana. Though she finds them charming, she is shocked when Emile reveals that they are his children by a native woman, now deceased. Nellie is unable to overcome her deep-seated racial prejudices and tearfully leaves Emile, after which he reflects sadly on what might have been ("Some Enchanted Evening" (reprise)).

Act II

It is Thanksgiving day. The seabees and nurses dance in a holiday revue titled "Thanksgiving Follies". In the past week, an epidemic of malaria has hit the island of Bali Ha'i. Having visited Bali Ha'i often to be with Liat, Cable is also ill, but escapes from the hospital to be with Liat.

As Liat and Cable spend more time together, Bloody Mary is delighted. She encourages them to continue their carefree life on the island ("Happy Talk") and urges them to marry. Cable, due to his family's prejudices, says he cannot marry a Tonkinese girl. Bloody Mary furiously drags her distraught daughter away, telling Cable that Liat must now marry a much older French plantation owner instead. Cable laments that Liat is no longer part of his life ("Younger Than Springtime" (reprise)).

For the final number of the Thanksgiving Follies, Nellie performs a comedy burlesque dressed as a sailor singing the praises of "his" sweetheart ("Honey Bun"). Billis plays Honey Bun, dressed in a blond wig, grass skirt, and coconut-shell bra. After the show, Emile congratulates Nellie and asks her to reconsider and try to overcome her prejudice. She insists that she cannot feel the same way about him since she knows about his children's Polynesian mother.

Emile asks Cable why he and Nellie have such prejudices. Cable, filled with self-loathing, replies that "it's not something you're born with"; yet is an ingrained part of their upbringing ("You've Got To Be Carefully Taught"). He also vows that if he gets out of the war alive, he won't go home to the United States. Emile imagines what might have been ("This Nearly Was Mine"). Dejected and feeling that he has nothing to lose, he agrees to join Cable on his dangerous mission. The mission begins with plenty of air support. Offstage, Billis stows away on the plane, falls out, and ends up in the ocean waiting to be rescued; the massive rescue operation inadvertently becomes a diversion that allows Emile and Cable to land on the other side of the island undetected. The two send back reports on Japanese ships' movements the "Slot", and American aircraft intercept and destroy the Japanese ships. When the Japanese Zeros strafe the Americans' position, Emile narrowly escapes, but Cable is killed.

Nellie learns of Cable's death and that Emile is missing. She realizes that she was foolish to reject Emile because of his children's mother's race. Bloody Mary and Liat come to Nellie asking where Cable is; Mary explains that Liat refuses to marry anyone but him. Nellie comforts Liat. Cable and Emile's espionage work has made it possible for a major offensive, "Operation Alligator", to begin. The previously idle sailors, including Billis, go off to battle.

Nellie spends time with Jerome and Ngana and soon comes to love them. While the children are teaching her to sing "Dites-Moi", suddenly, Emile's voice joins them. Emile has returned to see that Nellie has overcome her prejudices and has fallen in love with his children. Emile, Nellie, and his – soon to be their – children rejoice ("Dites-Moi" (reprise)).

Songs

Additional songs

  • "Loneliness of Evening"—sung by Emile in the original score but was cut before the first Broadway production. It appears as an instrumental on some LP versions and was also sung by the Prince (Stuart Damon) in the 1965 production of Cinderella.
  • "My Girl Back Home"—sung by Lieutenant Cable in the original score but was cut before the first Broadway production. It appears on some LP versions and is in the movie version. It was re-instated for the 2008 Broadway revival.
  • "Bloody Mary (Reprise)"—sung by Sailors, Seabees, and Marines, was included in the original libretto after "Bloody Mary" but was later cut.
  • Rodgers and Hammerstein discussed with Michener the possibility of removing the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" because of its biting comments about racial prejudice, but Michener replied that if they dropped the song, they would be eliminating the story's dramatic foundation.[7]
  • "Now Is the Time"—sung by Emile, was later replaced by "Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)". This song was included in the 2002 London revival of the musical.
  • "Will You Marry Me?"—sung by Emile, replacing "Now Is the Time", and was in turn replaced by "Some Enchanted Evening" (Reprise). "Will You Marry Me?" appeared in in the 1955 musical Pipe Dream.
  • "Suddenly Lovely"[8]—sung by Cable, was replaced by "Younger Than Springtime". The melody of this song was eventually re-used in "Getting To Know You" in The King and I.
  • "Now Is the Time (Reprise)"[8]—sung by Emile and Cable, was cut in favor of "This Nearly Was Mine".
  • Some LP versions feature a track of Ezio Pinza singing "Bali Ha'i", but he did not sing it in the stage version; nor was it written for his character (Emile). "Loneliness of Evening" and "My Girl Back Home" were recorded by Mary Martin, backed by Percy Faith's Orchestra, and released as a single in 1951. On some later CD versions of the cast album these two songs are included as bonus tracks along with Pinza's "Bali Ha'i".

Productions

Original Broadway production

South Pacific premiered in out-of-town tryouts on March 7, 1949, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. After the first performance, Mike Todd, the Broadway and movie producer, told Mary Martin, who was playing Nellie, not to take the show to New York. She "could not believe her ears and asked him why", and Todd replied, "Because it's too... good for them!"[9] The show moved to Boston, where it was so successful that playwright George S. Kaufman complained (facetiously) that people in Boston were so excited about the show they shoved money under the doors of the Shubert Theatre. "They don't actually want anything", he joked. "They just want to push money under the doors."[9]

South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, at the Majestic Theatre, moving to the Broadway Theatre in June 1953. Rodgers and Hammerstein produced, in association with Leland Hayward and Joshua Logan, with direction and musical staging by Logan. The production ran for almost five years. At the time it closed on January 16, 1954, after 1,925 performances, it was the fifth-longest running show in Broadway history.[10] Also in the cast were Juanita Hall and Myron McCormick (both of whom won Tonys), as well as Martin Wolfson, and Betta St. John.

Although Forbush and de Becque were already fully developed characters in Michener's stories, at some point during the creation of South Pacific, Rodgers, Hammerstein, and Logan began to adapt the roles specifically to the talents of Martin and Pinza and to tailor the music for their voices.[11] The production won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Libretto, Best Director and all four acting awards.

In June 1951 Martha Wright replaced Mary Martin, and performed the role for the remaining 1,047 performances. George Britton took over the role of Emile de Becque in January 1952, remaining until the show closed in January 1954.[12][13] Actress Cloris Leachman, Martin's understudy, played Nellie for four weeks on Broadway after she impressed Logan, Rodgers, and Hammerstein while auditioning for the lead as a replacement in the national tour. Odette Myrtil replaced Hall as Bloody Mary.

Original London production

The original London West End production ran from November 1, 1951 to 1953, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Logan directed Mary Martin and Wilbur Evans and featured Ray Walston (Luther), Muriel Smith (Bloody Mary), Peter Grant (Joe Cable), and Ivor Emmanuel (Sgt. Johnson). Julie Wilson eventually replaced Martin.[14]

1988 London revival

A 1988 West End revival starred Gemma Craven supported by Emile Belcourt, Bertice Reading, and Johnny Wade, directed by Roger Redfern. It ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre from January 20, 1988 to January 14, 1989.[15]

2001 London revival

A new production with slight revisions to the book and score played in 2001 at the Royal National Theatre (Olivier Theatre) for a limited run from December 2001 through April 2002, timed to celebrate the centenary of Richard Rodgers' birth. Trevor Nunn directed, with musical staging by Matthew Bourne and designs by John Napier. Lauren Kennedy was Nellie and Australian actor Philip Quast played Emile.[16] A film of this production can be viewed at the V&A Theatre Collections reading room at Blythe House in Olympia, London.[17]

2005 Carnegie Hall concert

Baldwin, McEntire, and Mitchell, 2005 concert DVD cover

On June 9, 2005, a concert version of the musical, edited down to two hours, but including all of the songs and the full musical score, was presented live at Carnegie Hall. It starred Reba McEntire as Nellie Forbush, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile, Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis, and Lillias White as Bloody Mary, with a full supporting cast. The production used Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations, with the Orchestra of St. Luke's directed by Paul Gemignani. This production was taped and telecast by PBS on April 26, 2006. The DVD of this performance was released the spring of the following year. New York Times drama critic Ben Brantley wrote, "Open-voiced and open-faced, Reba McEntire was born to play Nellie", and that the entire production was performed "in a state of nearly unconditional rapture. It was one of those nights when cynicism didn’t stand a chance."[18]

2008 Broadway Revival

The first Broadway revival of South Pacific opened on April 3 at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Bartlett Sher directed, with musical staging by Christopher Gattelli and associate choreographer Joe Langworth. The opening cast starred Kelli O'Hara as Nellie, Paulo Szot as Emile and Matthew Morrison as Lt. Cable, with Danny Burstein as Billis and Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary.[19]

There had been two earlier revivals of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, one in 1967 produced by Richard Rodgers and starring Florence Henderson and Giorgio Tozzi (Rosanno Brazzi's singing voice in the 1958 film), and one by the New York City Opera in 1987, starring Justino Diaz and Susan Bigelow. The 1967 revival was issued on LP and later appeared on CD, but the 1987 one was not.

Although some critics had mixed reactions to the performances of O'Hara, Szot and Morrison, the production received mostly rave reviews.[20] Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times:

I know we’re not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I'm darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production. (Yes, the second act remains weaker than the first, but Mr. Sher almost makes you forget that.) All of the supporting performances, including those of the ensemble, feel precisely individualized, right down to how they wear Catherine Zuber's carefully researched period costumes.[21]

The revival won five Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical Revival, and garnered 11 Tony nominations, including best revival, director, choreographer, all four acting categories and all four design categories. It won best revival and six other Tonys. The late Robert Russell Bennett was recognized for "his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific."[22] The show closed on August 22, 2010, after 37 previews and 1,000 regular performances. Laura Osnes replaced O'Hara, and Szot alternated with David Pittsinger as Emile.[23]

The production, with most of the original principals, was taped and broadcast live in HD on August 18, 2010 on the PBS television show Live from Lincoln Center. Due to schedule conflicts, the role of Lt. Cable, originally played by Matthew Morrison, was played by Andrew Samonsky.[24] Kelli O'Hara returned to the production on August 10 and stayed through the closing performance.[25]

2011 London revival

A new production of the show, based on the 2008 Broadway revival, will open at the Barbican Theatre, London (home of the Royal Shakespeare Company), on August 15, 2011 and will close on October 1, 2011.[26]and then tour the UK.[27] The production team from the Broadway production is expected to repeat their acclaimed Tony Award-nominated designs, with Bartlett Sher directing. Paulo Szot, who won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Emile de Becque, is expected to reprise his role in the London production. Szot will be joined by Samantha Womack as Nellie Forbush and Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary.

Touring productions

A U.S. tour ran for almost five years in 118 cities from April 1950 through March 26, 1955.[28] Janet Blair starred as Nellie, followed by Jeanne Bal and Iva Withers. Richard Eastham, Webb Tilton, and Alan Gerard reprised Emile.[29]

A major new touring production of South Pacific opened at the Blackpool Grand Theatre on August 28, 2007. The tour was expected to finish at the Cardiff New Theatre in July 2008. The tour starred Helena Blackman as Nellie and Dave Willetts as Emile. Peter Frosdick and Martin Dodd produced the tour. Julian Woolford directed, with choreography by Chris Hocking. This production was most noted for its staging of the overture, which charted Nellie's journey from Little Rock to the South Pacific. On entering the theatre, the audience first saw a map of the U.S., not the theater of war.[30]

A U.S. national tour based on the 2008 Broadway revival began in San Francisco, California at the Golden Gate Theatre on September 18, 2009. Sher directed, and the cast includes Rod Gilfry (Emile), Carmen Cusack (Nellie) and Anderson Davis (Lt. Cable).[31]

Reception and success

Box Office and Awards

South Pacific opened on Broadway with $400,000 in advance sales. The New York Times and other newspapers published glowing reviews of the show; one critic called it "South Terrific". People were so anxious to obtain tickets that columnist Leonard Lyons wrote a column about the lengths people had gone to in getting them. Because "house seats" were being sold by scalpers for two hundred dollars or more, the attorney general's office threatened to close the show. However, the parties who provided the scalpers with the tickets were never identified, and the show ran without interference. The production grossed $2,635,000, with a $50,600 weekly gross, and ran for 1,925 performances. The national tour began in 1950 and grossed $3,000,000 in the first year making $1,500,000 in profit. The long-playing original cast album, priced at $4.85, sold more than a million copies.[32]

The original production of South Pacific won ten Tony Awards, including best musical, best male performer (Pinza), female performer (Martin), best supporting male performer (McCormick), best supporting female performer (Hall), best director (Logan), best book, and best score. In 1950, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. However, the Pulitzer Prize was given to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein only; Joshua Logan was not recognized for his work on the libretto until later.[9] The 2001 London revival garnered a Laurence Olivier Award for Philip Quast (Emile). The 2008 Broadway revival won numerous theatre awards including Tony and Drama Desk Awards for best revival of a musical, director, leading actor (Szot) and for sound and set design. It also won Tonys for costume and lighting design, as well as nominations for choreography and for O'Hara, Burstein and Ables Sayre.

Critical reception

Reviewers gave the original production warm reviews. The New York Herald Tribune review declared South Pacific "a show of rare enchantment. It is novel in texture and treatment, rich in dramatic substance, and eloquent in song, a musical play to be cherished. Under Logan's superb direction, the action shifts with constant fluency.... [He] has kept the book cumulatively arresting and tremendously satisfying. The occasional dances appear to be magical improvisations. It is a long and prodigal entertainment, but it seems all too short. The Rodgers music is not his finest, but it fits the mood and pace of South Pacific so felicitously that one does not miss a series of hit tunes. In the same way the lyrics are part and parcel of a captivating musical unity."[33]

The New York Daily Mirror critic wrote, "Programmed as a musical play, South Pacific is just that. It boasts no ballets and no hot hoofing. It has no chorus in the conventional sense. Every one in it plays a part. It is likely to establish a new trend in musicals." The review continued: "Every number is so outstanding that it is difficult to decide which will be the most popular."[33] The review in New York World-Telegram found the show to be "the ultimate modern blending of music and popular theatre to date, with the finest kind of balance between story and song, and hilarity and heartbreak."[33]

Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times especially praised Pinza's performance: "Mr. Pinza's bass voice is the most beautiful that has been heard on a Broadway stage for an eon or two. He sings ... with infinite delicacy of feeling and loveliness of tone." He declared that "Some Enchanted Evening", sung by Pinza, "ought to become resonably immortal."[33] Richard Watts, Jr. of the New York Post focused on Mary Martin's performance, writing, "nothing I have ever seen her do prepared me for the loveliness, humor, gift for joyous characterization, and sheer lovableness of her portrayal of Nellie Forbush ... who is so shocked to find her early racial prejudices cropping up. Hers is a completely irresistible performance."[33]

Critic John Simon later[when?] noted: "Many are the knowledgeable and discriminating people for whom Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, brilliantly co-written and staged by Joshua Logan, was the greatest musical of all." [citation needed]

Rick Ayers has criticized South Pacific for its Orientalist and Western-centric storyline riddled with stereotypical characters. Ayers notes that Lieutenant Joe Cable engages in child prostitution with Liat, who "speaks not a word in the whole musical, only smiles and takes the Yankee to bed." Despite this critique, Ayers goes on to say that the tale straddles a complicated and nuanced mission of appealing to its major audience as well as portray positive South-Asian characters.

Former Marine and writer Robert Leckie wrote his World War II memoir "Helmet For My Pillow" After watching "South Pacific" with his wife, and walking out. Robert Leckie stated "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn’t a musical."

Recordings

Columbia Records recorded the overture and most of the songs from the original production in 1949, using members of the cast including Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin. Drawn from the original masters, Columbia released the album in both the new LP format and on 78-rpm discs.[34] When Sony acquired Columbia, a CD was released from the previously unused magnetic tape recording from the same 1949 sessions in New York City. The CD includes the bonus tracks: "Loneliness Of Evening" (recorded by Mary Martin, later used in the second TV version of Cinderella); "My Girl Back Home" (recorded by Mary Martin); "Bali Ha'i" (cover version by Ezio Pinza); and Symphonic Scenario for Concert Orchestra (original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett).[35] The film soundtrack was released on the RCA Victor label on March 19, 1958.[36]

Masterworks Broadway released a recording of the 1967 Lincoln Center production starring Florence Henderson as Nellie, Giorgio Tozzi as Emile, David Doyle[disambiguation needed] as Luther Billis, Justin McDonough as Lt. Cable, Lyle Talbot as Capt. Brackett, and Irene Byatt as Bloody Mary.

In 1986 José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa made a studio recording of South Pacific, the sessions of which were filmed as a documentary, similar in style to Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story documentary a year earlier which featured the same stars. It also featured Sarah Vaughan as Bloody Mary and Mandy Patinkin as Lt. Cable.

The 2001 Royal National Theatre's revival cast album was recorded in 2002 on First Night Records with Philip Quast as Emile, Lauren Kennedy as Nellie, Edward Baker-Duly as Lt. Cable, Sheila Francisco as Bloody Mary and Nick Holder as Luther Billis, and included the cut song, "Now Is the Time".

The 2005 Carnegie Hall concert version was released on April 18, 2006 by Decca Broadway with Reba McEntire as Nellie, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile, Lillias White as Bloody Mary, Jason Danieley as Lt. Cable and Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis, and includes most of the dialogue used in the live performance.

The 2008 Broadway revival cast album was released on May 27, 2008 by Masterworks Broadway.[37]

Film and television versions

South Pacific was made into a 1958 film of the same name, that topped the box office that year and the 65 mm Todd-AO cinematography (by Leon Shamroy) was nominated for an Academy Award. The film was also nominated for and won the music-adaptation-and-sound award.

An American television network contacted Michener proposing the he introduce an anthology series with the title of the book, but Michener discovered that he no had sold title rights to the playwrights.[38] He did provide his name to the 1959 Adventures in Paradise American television series.[39]

An Australian television production was made in 2001. It starred Glenn Close and Harry Connick, Jr. This version omitted the well-known song "Happy Talk" and cut "Bali Hai" in half, among other changes. The film was criticized because of the liberties it took: it changed the order of the songs; Rade Šerbedžija, unlike previous Emiles, did not have an operatic singing voice; Nellie Forbush was conceived as a young and inexperienced woman, fresh out of nursing school. Glenn Close was felt by many to be too old to play the role of someone who describes herself as "immature and incurably green". [citation needed]

As of 2010, a new film is potentially in the works, with Ileen Maisel and Bob Balaban producing, as reported by Variety. Balaban said, "Our movie will be a tougher, more realistic retelling of the same classic story of two very different people whose love for each other transcends their enormous cultural differences. We think there's a whole new audience just waiting to fall in love with its magical score, epic romance, and exotic locale." [40]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway (1949)

1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Tony Awards
  • Best Musical (winner)
  • Libretto (winner)
  • Best Original Score (winner)
  • Best Actor in a Musical (Ezio Pinza) (winner)
  • Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Martin) (winner)
  • Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Myron McCormick) (winner)
  • Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Juanita Hall) (winner)
  • Producer (Musical) (Hammerstein, Rodgers, Hayward, Logan) (winners)
  • Best Director (Logan) (winner)
  • Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner) (winner) (awarded in 1949 for a number of productions)

2001 London revival

Laurence Olivier Awards
  • Best Actor in a Musical (Philip Quast) (winner)

2001 Television film

Emmy Awards
  • Outstanding Music Direction (Paul Bogaev) (nominee)
  • Outstanding Single Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie (Guntis Sics) (Rick Ash) (Joe Earle) (Joel Moss) (nominee)

2008 Broadway revival

Drama Desk Awards
Outer Critics Circle Awards
  • Outstanding Revival of a Musical (winner)
  • Outstanding Director of a Musical (Sher) (winner)
  • Outstanding Choreographer (Christopher Gattelli) (nominee)
  • Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical) (Yeargan) (nominee)
  • Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) (Catherine Zuber) (winner)
  • Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Szot) (winner)
  • Outstanding Actress in a Musical (O'Hara) (nominee)
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Burstein) (winner)
Tony Awards

Notes

  1. ^ Critic John Simon writes: "Many are the knowledgeable and discriminating people for whom Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, brilliantly co-written and staged by Joshua Logan, was the greatest musical of all."
  2. ^ The veteran producer Arthur Hammerstein called it the greatest musical show Broadway had ever seen, perfect in every respect. The critic Richard Watts, Jr., described it as "a thrilling and exultant musical play, an utterly captivating work of theatrical art."
  3. ^ a b Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time, pp. 300-03. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-57912-390-2
  4. ^ Rodgers, Richard. Musical Stages: An Autobiography. Da Capo Press, 2002. p. 259
  5. ^ Nolan, pp. 178-83
  6. ^ Although Hammerstein's script for the play calls them half-Polynesian, some productions, including the 2005 Carnegie Hall concert and the 2008 Broadway revival, cast the children as half-black, and some or all of the other islanders as black as well. This is consistent with Michener's original book, which refers to Emile's wife (mistress in the book) and children as black (Nellie considers them "niggers," particularly in contrast to the Javanese and Tonkinese; pp. 138, 141). Michener's story takes place in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), which is part of Melanesia, whose native inhabitants are black-skinned, and Michener repeatedly refers to the island natives as "black." The choice of casting the islanders as black-skinned may also be to make the play more relevant to 21st-century audiences. Bloody Mary, who is Tonkinese (Vietnamese) in the book and the play, can still logically be cast as non-black even when those native islanders are cast as black.
  7. ^ Lewis, David H. Broadway Musicals: A Hundred Year History, pp. 61-62, McFarland, 2002
  8. ^ a b "Richard Rodgers" (2003), Geoffrey Holden Block, p. 136, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-09747-6
  9. ^ a b c Nolan, pp. 190–95
  10. ^ The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1966, p. 137
  11. ^ South Pacific history at R&H Theatricals
  12. ^ Time Magazine, June 6, 1955
  13. ^ Shanley, J.P. New York Times, "Gossip of the Rialto", January 3, 1954, p.XI ("Wright will have played the part 1040 times, according to her own estimate.")
  14. ^ Green, Stanley. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, p. 398, New York: Da Capo Press, 1976 ISBN 0-306-80113-2
  15. ^ Broadway World excerpt
  16. ^ National Theatre archive
  17. ^ V&A Theatre Collections archives at Blythe House
  18. ^ Brantley, Ben.New York Times theater review of 'South Pacific' concert; "Sultry City Night Is Transformed Into an Enchanted Bali Ha'i", June 11, 2005
  19. ^ playbill.com article, March 7, 2008, "Sher to Discuss South Pacific at Vivian Beaumont March 26"
  20. ^ Fick, David."South Pacific Review Roundup". Musical Cyberspace, February 6, 2010
  21. ^ Brantley, Ben.The New York Times, April 4, 2008
  22. ^ Announcement of Tony Award nominations, 2008 tonyawards.com
  23. ^ "South Pacific to End Record-Breaking Run at Lincoln Center on August 22, 2010". Broadway.com, February 18, 2010, accessed May 4, 2010
  24. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/08/18/2010-08-18_bway_on_pbs_a_bali_hai_point.html
  25. ^ Hetrick, Adam.O'Hara Will Return to 'South Pacific' in Time for "Live from Lincoln Center" PBS Broadcast, June 1, 2010
  26. ^ "'South Pacific' at the Barbican Theatre" london-theatreland.co.uk, accessed April 12, 2011
  27. ^ Shenton, Mark."Paulo Szot to Reprise Tony-Winning Performance in London 'South Pacific'" playbill.com, April 11, 2011
  28. ^ R&H Theatricals history
  29. ^ Green, Stanley. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (1980), Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80113-2, p. 399
  30. ^ monstersandcritics Article on South Pacific UK tour
  31. ^ Hetrick, Adam.South Pacific Tour to Play Chicago; Itinerary Revised". Playbill.com, September 21, 2009
  32. ^ Nolan, Frederick. The Sound of Their Music, p. 195
  33. ^ a b c d e Suskin, Steven. Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre, pp. 639-43. Schirmer Books, New York, 1990. ISBN 0-02-872625-1
  34. ^ masterworksheritage "1949 history", masterworksheritage.com
  35. ^ "Columbia Masterwords listing", broadwaymasterworks.com
  36. ^ ASIN: B00004ZDXK
  37. ^ Gans, Andrew and Hetrick, Adam. "'South Pacific' Company Records CD April 14; Recording Due in May", playbill.com, April 14, 2008
  38. ^ Hayes, John Michael James A. Michener: A Biography, p. 158; Bobbs-Merrill 1984
  39. ^ Hayes, p. 159
  40. ^ http://www.cinematical.com/2010/07/09/south-pacific-to-push-the-waves-of-love-again/

References

  • The World Almanac and Book of Facts, New York, 1966, New York World-Telegram
  • Bauch, Marc. The American Musical. Marburg, Germany: Tectum Verlag, 2003. ISBN 3-8288-8458-X described here
  • Bauch, Marc. Themes and Topics of the American Musical after World War II. Marburg, Germany: Tectum Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-8288-1141-8 described here
  • Nolan, Frederick. The Sound of Their Music: The Story of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, New York, 2002. ISBN 1-55783-473-3
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