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"A concert performed in a state of nearly unconditional rapture...Those fortunate enough to attend this one-night only benefit for Carnegie Hall had the privilege of experiencing the emotional force of SOUTH PACIFIC." -- Ben Brantley, New York Times
Now everyone can experience "the emotional force" of that evening when Decca Broadway releases the concert cast recording of SOUTH PACIFIC on April 18, 2006. Recorded live at New York's Carnegie Hall on June 9, 2005, SOUTH PACIFIC stars country music and TV superstar Reba McEntire as Nellie Forbush, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile de Becque, and Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis. Paul Gemignani conducts the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the Decca recording has been produced by multi Grammy Award winner Jay David Saks.
SOUTH PACIFIC at Carnegie Hall was one of those legendary events that was a thrill for audiences and critics alike. The New York Times' Ben Brantley raved of Reba McEntire: "Ms. McEntire is a natural for musicals…Open‑voiced and open‑faced, she was born to play Nellie." His praise for Brian Stokes Mitchell was no less enthusiastic. Of his performance it was declared that "...His place in the pantheon of romantic musical leads is now guaranteed." Alec Baldwin's comic turn as sailor Luther Billis was applauded by Daily Variety, stating: "'Honey Bun' [featuring Baldwin and McEntire] was one of the concert's high points...Baldwin proved himself a great sport in the number, donning coconut bra and grass skirt and doing a few woozy hula moves."
Considered one of the greatest musicals from Broadway's post World War II "golden era," SOUTH PACIFIC is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. With a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan, based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Tales of the South Pacific, the musical boasts a superlative score by the superlative team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It includes: "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa My Hair", "A Cockeyed Optimist," "Bali Ha'i," "There is Nothin' Like a Dame," and the showstopping ballads, "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine."
Set during World War II, SOUTH PACIFIC is the story of Navy Ensign Nellie Forbush (Reba McEntire), who falls in love with French planter Emile de Becque (Brian Stokes Mitchell). Alec Baldwin also stars as Luther Billis, a comically enterprising enlisted man, and the cast is rounded out by beloved Broadway favorite Lillias White as the exotic islander Bloody Mary, and Jason Danieley as the doomed American soldier, Joe Cable.
