After 54 years, 'South Pacific' is back on Broadway

The muscial 'South Pacific' is enjoying a revival on Broadway at the Lincoln Center, with mostly very good reviews. The Washington Post called the production 'intoxicating' and the New York Times reviewer stated "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."

The last time 'South Pacific' was performed on Broadway was in January 1954 - the final month of its original 5-year performance run.

The production features a 30 piece orchestra - quite large in today's day, so I can only imagine how good songs such as 'Bali Hai' will sound.

If you live near New York City, or are planning a trip to the city, by all means try to get tickets for this show. It is truly one of the main inspirations for the rise of Polynesian Pop culture in the 1950's, and I do consider seeing 'South Pacific' a must-do activity for anyone who is into the tiki culture. I was fortunate to see a wonderful production here in the DC area that also impressed me, and now I've found a big reason to visit New York.

The show is currently selling tickets through January 2009 - order your tickets early, splurge for the best seats you can (top prices are $120 per ticket).... chances are you won't regret it.

Vern

WoooohooooooOOOOooooo! That means we may see it in Los Angeles sometime in the near future!!! I saw a performance of South Pacific at Saddleback College last year and it was almost like a "tiki booster shot"!!! Definitely read the book before you see the play. It will make the whole show experience better!

A pack of us here in NYC are going next Tuesday!

There were some very good reviews of the play in the papers over the weekend. Very excited here.

I posted this in the thread, "Tiki radio interviews and stories"
( http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=21621&forum=1&15 )
a few days ago. Good audio pertaining to this event on NPR.

From NPR.org:
**
All Things Considered, April 3, 2008 · One of the most popular musicals of all time — Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific — gets its very first Broadway revival tonight. It's been close to 60 years since the show opened, but the cast and creative team of the new production say they find South Pacific as resonant as ever.
**
Page w/ story in text and audio, extra audio (songs), etc., here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89309296

R & H's SOUTH PACIFIC

Arena Stage in Washington, DC had a production of SP a number of years
ago, it was terrific! IMO the song quality in SP is the key, everyone's
a "TEN"!

The orignal 1949 Broadway cast recording with Mary Martin & Enzio Pinza
is still the best IMO. Its great to know SP is THE Tiki musical!

Thortiki

Hawaii's own very talented Loretta Ables Sayre is playing the role of Bloody Mary. Would love to hear her sing Bali Hai.

I was also one of those who saw the Arena Stage production of 'South Pacific' in DC. It was a great show, and a well-received revival. And there is a good story about tikis and the show.

About 5-6 weeks before the show opened in DC, I went to attend a lecture/forum that was hosted by Arena Stage - the director, the actress who played Nellie, the Choreographer, and a few other people were there to talk about the upcoming show. They had a Q and A session - and I asked whether they were going to have any tikis in the show. The director, Molly Smith, said she wasn't exactly sure of what a tiki was, but as far as she knew, there were not going to be any in the show.

The evening I saw the show, there was the scene where LT Cable and Liat spend the night together This 'theatre-in-the-round' production featured a center platform that rose from the floor, and at the end of the scene, petals that floated down from above. And there, standing at two corners of the stage, where stood tiki figures, looking over the entire scene. I'd like to think that my query planted the tiki idea in her head, and perhaps she later went and talked to the set designer, who was able to construct a tiki figure.

After the show was done, I contacted Arena Stage, inquiring about purchasing one of those stage prop tikis - and they agreed to sell me one. This tiki now stands proudly in my tiki room, a great souvenir from a great show ... here is a picture taken several years ago.

I'm hoping that the Lincoln Center production will feature some tikis too!

Vern

Ikitnrev,

Cool, glad you were able to snake one of those Tiki stage props
for your place. We were not Arena Stage subscribers, but I wasn't
about to pass up on seeing a highly rated production of my FAVORITE
Broadway show within very easy access.

The Nellie/Emile leads were terrific, but had wished the sailor chorus
was larger for "Bloody Mary" & "There Ain't Nothing Like A Dame" to give it
more ommmphh!!! Thats minor it was a 1st class production all the way.

Thortiki

Thanks for the heads up Vern, and congratulations on the cool score!!

To see South Pacific on Broadway would be my wife's ultimate gift!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2008-04-10 17:55 ]