Mitzi at South Pacific

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 11:15am

What a gorgeous lady she is! It looked like Danny and Kelly each had their South Pacific movie memorabilia ready for autographs. I'd love to have been back stage for that visit!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 11:16am

I wonder if her eyes ever close.

[CONAries]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 11:16am

Looking great, but the tan, ohhhh, somebody's been tangoed!

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 11:19am

We know more about the dangers of the sun now than we did when she was younger. Still, it's nice to see a lady of that age wearing her age so well. I don't know if she's ever had a little surgery, but it doesn't look it.

[Anastasia_Beaverhausen]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 12:25pm

Paulo Szot is SO FLIPPIN HOT!!!!!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 12:27pm

"Paulo Szot is SO FLIPPIN HOT!!!!!"

I agree 100%. Gorgeous.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 12:27pm

Remember kids...
You can't iron leather!

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 12:29pm

meow!

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 12:55pm

A link would be helpful.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 1:34pm

On the right side, right under BWW News Desk.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=33998

[gogogreg]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 2:02pm

Updated On: 10/10/08 at 02:02 PM

[gogogreg]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 2:03pm

She does wear her age well, Mamie.
I had the great fortune of touring with Mitzi in the 80's as one of her "Boys" for over 6 months. She is one of the most generous, sincere, and lovely women that I have ever met.Every week, a different city, and every week, without fail, she would take all of us out to dinner on Opening Night. I remember her standing in the wings, when not on stage, and watching and cheering us on. a true "Star". She is the epitome of "Old Hollywood Class". Cheers Mitzi!.......

[fflagg]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 2:11pm

There is nothing like that dame. . .

[monestere]

Posted: 10/10/08 at 6:49pm

With all the postings about the current revival of SOUTH PACIFIC and this one on Mitzi Gaynor attending a performance of the new production, I am surprised that no one has noticed or mentioned that March 19, 2008 marked the 50th Anniversary of the premiere of the 1958 film version of SOUTH PACIFIC. This film was incredibly popular and ran for years in its original 70mm road show engagements. In London the film version of SOUTH PACIFIC ran continuously for an unprecedented 5 years. Fox Video did release a commemorative 2 DVD edition of the restored uncut Road Show version of the film last year along with the more familiar general release version. But so far nothing in the way of a new, and hopefully expanded, release by RCA of the best selling soundtrack album has surfaced.

Regardless of what has been said of the film’s flaws, the colour filters & dubbing, and
some who have a problem with Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie, the abominable Glenn Close TV version proved that SOUTH PACIFIC could be done a lot worse. While it would have been great to preserve Mary Martin’s Tony Award-winning performance as Nellie, she was too old (45) to play the part by the time of the film’s shooting and while 26 year old Mitzi Gaynor’s Nellie comes across a bit too spunky, I think this was director Joshua Logan’s doing more than Gaynor, who demonstrated herself as an excellent dramatic actress a year earlier in “The Joker is Wild”. If she had been given more freedom to interpret the role I think she would have been remembered as the definitive Nellie Forbush. Vocally, Gaynor, the only principal who did her own singing, was superb, superior in my opinion to Kelli O’Hara in the revival recording. As far as the dubbing of the other principals is concerned, the soundtrack album, separated from the film itself, features vocal performances that are better by giant leaps than any stage recording, including the new 2008 revival one, except perhaps the 1949 original with Mary Martin & Ezio Pinza. The expanded song orchestrations for the film by original stage orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, played by a 65 piece orchestra with many exotic instruments used for colour, plus superb musical and choral direction by Alfred Newman & Ken Darby, far surpass any stage version. Richard Rodgers himself hand picked the singers for the film. He had no problem with the dubbing and anyway on an album this doesn't matter much unless you judge the soundtrack as a mere souvenir of the film and not for its musical value away from the film. The 1958 soundtrack, recorded in 6 track stereo, sounds better than ever on the new Fox DVD.

Richard Rodgers wrote the liner notes for the RCA Victor soundtrack album of the 1958 film and said on behalf of himself and Oscar Hammerstein II: “In common with most authors and composers we are inclined to be hypercritical when our songs are being performed. We make this confession in order to add weight to our endorsement of these sound track performances. If we could have this whole score re-recorded, the corrections we would suggest would be negligible. We are very happy to have in our possession an oral document of “South Pacific” so complete and so satisfying as we find this one.”

The 1958 soundtrack recording is the most atmospheric of all SOUTH PACIFIC albums and is superbly played and sung, showcasing Mitzi Gaynor’s flawless vocals as Nellie, Bill Lee’s still unsurpassed vocals as Lt. Cable, Muriel Smith’s definitive vocals as Bloody Mary and Giorgio Tozzi’s moving performances of Some Enchanted Evening & This Nearly was Mine (although regrettably, the song was shortened for the film). In my opinion, if Richard Rodgers were alive he would be greatly impressed with the new 2008 revival and cast album of South Pacific, but he would still prefer the 1958 soundtrack as the best representation of his and Oscar Hammerstein's score. Let’s hope that this 50th Anniversary does not go unnoticed by whoever owns RCA and that the Rodgers & Hammerstein organization will sanction a new expanded release of this classic album for the music buying public in the near future.

Updated On: 10/10/08 at 06:49 PM