Although well known for its extraordinary score -- the songs include Some Enchanted Evening, Younger Than Springtime, Bali Ha'i, There Is Nothin' Like A Dame, and A Wonderful Guy -- South Pacific is also a deeply felt drama. Its portrayal of Americans stationed in an alien culture in wartime is as relevant today as when it first thrilled audiences in 1949.
Now in its first Broadway revival, South Pacific won seven 2008 Tonys and has been playing to sold-out houses since the first preview in March 2008. Three time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara and acclaimed bass-baritone David Pittsinger lead the marvelous cast of 40 directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.
Lincoln Center Theater's revival of South Pacific is the high point of the spring season—exactly the passionate and bittersweet musical romance that I hoped it would be. Its story of American nurses, marines, and seabees becoming irrevocably changed by their time on an island in the South Pacific during World War II is deeply involving; the people we meet on this island—creations of James Michener by way of librettists Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II—are intensely human and we come to care about them very much. The craft of its story-telling—Logan and Hammerstein's book, Hammerstein's lyrics, and Richard Rodgers's score—is extraordinary. With director Bartlett Sher at the helm, South Pacific has been lovingly and beautifully realized on the stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, with Ted Sperling's 30-piece orchestra invaluably performing Robert Russell Bennett's original lush orchestrations.
What makes this Lincoln Center Theater revival of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II classic enormously satisfying is the extraordinary care given to the score of what is the most hit-filled show in the R&H canon. And that's going some since the competition also includes 'Carousel,' 'The King and I' and 'Oklahoma!' The fidelity starts even before the production begins as the Beaumont floor rolls back to reveal an orchestra of 30 musicians (a staggering number in these days of pit penny-pinching) and the first notes of 'Bali Ha'i' jump-start the overture. Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations have never sounded so good. Immediately, the audience is in the right frame of mind to embrace the story - twin romances set against the backdrop of the Second World War. Not only romance, but racism and a sense of duty in the face of fighting - and dying - for your country permeate the tale, based on a James A. Michener novel. They are big themes, most of which are still with us today, that theatregoers in 1949 saw as current events.
1949 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1950 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
1951 | West End |
London Production West End |
1955 | Broadway |
Unknown Broadway |
1967 | Off-Broadway |
Lincoln Center Revival Off-Broadway |
1988 | West End |
London Revival West End |
1994 | Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
Paper Mill Production Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
2001 | West End |
Royal National Theatre Production West End |
2005 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Concert Off-Broadway |
2008 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Revival Broadway |
2011 | West End |
Lincoln Center Revival [West End] West End |
2022 | US Tour |
Non Equity Tour US Tour |
2022 | West End |
West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Paulo Szot |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Bartlett Sher |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Danny Burstein |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Donald Holder |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | South Pacific |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design of a Musical | Michael Yeargan |
2008 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design | Scott Lehrer |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Paulo Szot |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Paulo Szot |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Christopher Gattelli |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Catherine Zuber |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Bartlett Sher |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Danny Burstein |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | 0 |
2008 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Michael Yeargan |
2008 | The Hewes Awards | Lighting Design | Donald Holder |
2008 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Loretta Ables Sayre |
2008 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Paulo Szot |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Christopher Gattelli |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Catherine Zuber |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Bartlett Sher |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Donald Holder |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Danny Burstein |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Paulo Szot |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Loretta Ables Sayre |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Kelli O'Hara |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Bob Boyett |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Lincoln Center Theater |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Michael Yeargan |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Michael Yeargan |
2008 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Scott Lehrer |
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