The South Pacific Broadway show comes under the category of the best musicals of this industry. And this history-making production is here in your city at the Vivian Beamont Theatre! Their official opening is on April 4, 2008. The last time this musical was shown was in 1949 at the Majestic Theatre. From there, it moved to Broadway Theatre in 1953. It ran for over 5 years and gave 1,925 performances! In fact it’s the fifth longest running show in the history of Broadway!
The songs of this musical are powerful. Some of them like "Some Enchanted Evening," "Bali Ha'i," A Wonderful Guy," and "Younger than Springtime" have become true classics across the world!
The original star cast included Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush and Ezio Pinza (opera star) as Emile de Becque. Juanita Hall as well as Betta St. John was also in the musical. The latest version of the musical has Kelli O’Hara as Nellie and Mathew Morrison as Lt. Joe Cable. Both are renowned artists of Broadway.
The music has been given by Richard Rodgers and lyrics are by Oscar Hammerstein II, who has also co-written the book with Joshua Logan. The musical is inspired by two short tales extracted from the book “Tales of the South Pacific” by James A. Michener. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the year 1948. The musical was also presented with Pulitzer Prize for Drama in the year 1950!
Sensitive issues like racism are freely discussed in this book and are shown in the musical too. At that time, touching such topics was precarious. According to sources, James had confessed that he was forced to request Rodgers and Hammerstein to cut the number “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught,” as it contained some pungent remarks about racism.
In 2005, there was a live presentation of concert version of “South Pacific” at the Carnegie Hall. It was edited to two hour duration. However, it contained all the songs and the complete musical score. This version starred Reba McEntire in the role of Nellie, Brain Stokes in the role of Emile, Lillias White playing the role of Bloody Mary, and Alec Baldwin playing Luther Billis. There was a complete supporting cast in this version. It also featured the original orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett.
It’s time to watch history being created again after 60 years! Call yourself a theatre fan, eh? Then you gotta be there at Vivian Beamont theatre! The box office is already teeming with dedicated fans that have lined up to book their seats at the theatre. Don’t be lazy or you’ll be left without tickets!
Don’t wanna stand in the long line of the box office? Don’t worry. There are ticketing services that can arrange for tickets and even deliver them at your doorstep! Call them or book online.
South Pacific Broadway is here once again to incite your emotions. It’s a war-love story. What wins – war or love? Watch for yourself! Al Is a writer for a New York City guide to entertainment and resources for the South Pacific Broadway show, which includes reviews of the production and some interesting facts as well as the best ways to get South Pacific Broadway tickets online.
