South Pacific

I would have liked to have seen Karen Ziemba do it. However, if they wait much longer, she'll be too long in the tooth to do it.

I think any production of Rodgers & Hammerstein is going to need some rethinking. The recent revival of The Sound of Music suffered because there was not enough reason for anyone to revisit it. And the casting was uninspired. However, the revival of Carousel gave us some glimpses of how the material could be played in a different way. (Carrie as a shrew expertly played by Audra; Heaven presented as a Puritanical environment) But I think the recent Glenn Close tv version hurts the chances of a revival. Whatever revival of the show is done, it has to be different.

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Ziemba is younger now than Close was when she did it, I believe.

Edit: according to IMDB, there is ten years difference between the two.

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Updated On: 12/29/04 at 11:36 AM

Exactly, Gotham. I had no desire to tune in to Close as Nellie - I don't enjoy her singing at all. And you're right - no way would Ziemba be cast in that role - she's not money.

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Updated On: 12/29/04 at 12:12 PM

I just don't want ti to be stunt casting. I'd rather have someone other than Lohan.

Does anyone have any scoop on the unorthodox staging that was done of this recently (it was mounted in a soldiers hospital ward)? Don't know where this was done, but the R&H office supposedly closed it down.

I agree, this show is LONG overdue for a revival.

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I don't consider Lohan stunt casting at all. Sure, I think she could sell a house, but I also think she is a good actress and singer and right for the part.

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As much as I love MEAN GIRLS and think Lindsay Lohan is a talented and hot actress, she would be out of her league in SOUTH PACIFIC. Nellie Forbush isn't supposed to be an 18 year old girl. Even though Lohan played that sort of shy character in MEAN GIRLS, her undeniable "star power" would cause her performance to suffer - and plus, she can't really sing that score. There's no way I would buy into an 18 year old Forbush and a 50 year old DeBecque. It just wouldn't work for me - not one bit.

Although when looking at just the writing and form of SOUTH PACIFIC, it is brilliant in it's own right. I can't help but have a jaded opinion of it, because I was involved in a mediocre production and can't listen to the soundtrack seriously anymore. As much as I can't bear to sit through the show or even let myself enjoy it anymore, I would LOVE to see a new production of this show. Like OKLAHOMA and CAROUSEL, I had always thought they were great shows, but had always been bored by them, due to the bland movies and dry, uninspired productions I have seen of them. Skeptical about seeing them on Broadway, I went anyway and the two recent revivals of those shows reminded me of why they're so brilliant. Watching them was like a revelation - like it was the first time I was discovering these beautiful shows. CAROUSEL was leagues better than OKLAHOMA, yet OKLAHOMA's fresh staging and bright, bold, unmistakable Mackintosh flare entertained me more than I ever thought I would be at an old R&H musical. SOUTH PACIFIC needs to do the same, and stay away from all tradition staging. We need bright new orchestrations, and an amazing new cast that actually would give peopel a reason to revisit the show, and make them all in love with it all over again.

As much as people might cringe at my suggestion, I see Tom Hewitt as a possible Emille. Given strong direction (unlike DRACULA,) he could be brilliant. I would also love to see Michael Cerveris tackle the role. HE's a brilliant actor.

How about Erin Dilly as Nellie? Or am I just saying that because she played the role before? Did she play the role before? I'm not quite sure why she came to mind. As much as people might cringe at my next suggestion - and keep in mind that I am not a Chenoweth or WICKED fan - I think Kristin would be a fantastic Nellie. It's something she has never done before. It would surely advance her career and draw young people in to see a classic musical they might not have ever been exposed to.

Actors that can play Cable are a dime a dozen. Norbert Leo Butz, Patrick Wilson, Hunter Foster, Stephen Buntrock, Cheyenne Jackson, Chad Kimball, Mark Kudisch, Matthew Morrison, Joey McIntyre, even maybe Michael Arden or Carey Shields.

Anne Duquesnay is a wonderful performer, but she's all wrong for Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary is polynesian, not African American. She doesn't have the right look - shje needs to be a short, fat woman. The person playing bloody mary doesn't need to be a broadway name - just a fun performer.

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Its funny, munk, I almost posted my wish that Chenoweth play Nellie.

I love her, but she REALLY needs to get away from the sexless cutesey roles that she's specialized in and play a woman who falls in love and has her heart broken.

And you are right - if she played Nellie, you'd have one very hot ticket.

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One key thing about casting these two roles is that they need to look different in age. 10 years apart is too close and that would remove another conflict from the debate about whether these two ought to get together. Maybe 20 years difference.

Nellie is a naive little hick from Arkansas (her own words not in that order) in the early 1940s. She needs to be in her early 20s. De Becque is early 40s.

However these two ooze romanticism. They want each other and they want it bad. Nellie however is a "good girl" of the time, but they need to play it that they can barely contain themselves. Not physically though--with the eyes and the songs.

"Once you have found her, never let her go...." = I have found you and I want you to stay with me, now, tonight, every night, for the rest of our lives.

Jodi Long, Madam Liang in the recent Flower Drum Song, would be a terrific Bloody Mary.

Whoever plays Cable has to be able to describe the first sexual experience of his buttoned up life when he sings Younger Than Springtime. Its all subtext.

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In Michener's short stories, Nellie Forbush is described as a "pretty young nurse of 22" and Emile DeBecque as being in his "mid-forties." The "December-May" romance is one of the unique aspects of SOUTH PACIFIC and needs to be cast accordingly, especially since Nellie's change of heart at the end of the story is in part dependent on the flexibility of her youth.

The orchestrations, by the way, are already brilliant and no contemporary revival of any Rodgers and Hammerstein musical has ever succeeded in surpassing the original Russell Bennett or Don Walker orchestrations.

It had lots of WW2 footage in it, so it wasn't so lovely. my only problem with it is people are soooo in love. My fav Hammerstein/Rogers is always CHAROUSEL (sp), but alas, in the 10 minute love scene, they fall in love

Lauren Kennedy was a delightfully goofy Nellie, I thought, and I wouldn't mind seeing her in the role again. I have trouble picturing Tom Hewitt as Emile, but it could work in some strange way. He'd probably be more sauve than Quast, who was kind of rumpled and shambling in the role.

Just please keep Robert Goulet far, far away from the show.

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