South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for more than five years. It is generally considered to be one of the greatest musicals of all time[1] [2] and a number of its songs, such as Bali Ha'i, Younger than Springtime, and Some Enchanted Evening, have become worldwide standards. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. The play is based upon two short stories by James A. Michener from his book Tales of the South Pacific, which itself was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948. The original cast starred Mary Martin as the heroine, Nellie Forbush, and opera star Ezio Pinza as Emile de Becque, the French plantation owner. Also in the cast were Juanita Hall, Myron McCormick, Betta St. John, and William Tabbert. The music was by Richard Rodgers and the lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. At the time it closed, after 1,925 performances, it was the fifth-longest running show in Broadway history. [3]
References
- ↑ 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." http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=533001
- ↑ http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical012.html "With South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein rose to new towering heights of success, both commercially and artistically, following their triumph with Oklahoma! and Carousel. There was hardly any question in anybody's mind at the première performance of South Pacific that this was a classic of the musical theatre of the stature of Oklahoma! and Carousel. 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'."
- ↑ The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1966, page 137
Sources
The World Almanac and Book of Facts, New York, 1966, New York World-Telegram