South Pacific 2008 revival

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 7:15pm

I was just watching the PBS recording of the Lincoln Centre revival of South Pacific and loved it! I was wondering, can anyone who saw the show live offer an opinion? The production looks beautiful and Kelli O'Hara is fantastic. I had tears in my eyes in the Act 1 finale.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 8:27pm

I enjoyed it much more on television cause I saw it with Laura Osnes. Laura was great in Bonnie and Clyde and Cinderella but was kind of a week Nellie Forbush. It was a beautiful production.

[sanda]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 9:24pm

One of my all time favorite experiences. The overture and Paul Sozt' singing "this nearly was mine" right in front me gave me goosebumps.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 9:39pm

I saw the national tour last year. I was surprised at how much I loved it.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 9:47pm

It was an excellent production. Saw it live with the original cast and fell in love with it.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 7/3/13 at 9:59pm

It was indeed a sensational production from Overture to Finale.

But..a question..why so many threads being started asking about recent revivals??

[Fan123]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 7:20am

Whatever happened to that DVD of Opera Australia's 2012 version of this production? It seems the show itself is having a return season in Australia, so perhaps they're withholding the DVD until that's finished... has there been any official news?

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 7:31am

I saw it in early previews. O'Hara was still finding the character then. By the time I saw the PBS broadcast, she was luminous. I had never heard of Paulo Szot, but I left that night enraptured by him.

Seeing that large, gorgeous production in that space, with that orchestra, was a privilege.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 10:29am

Seeing how this revival isn't that old, do a search for threads that discussed it when it was open.


It was the most perfect night I've ever had in a theater. I actually saw it twice, once with the original cast, and then again a few weeks before it closed. It was spectacular with the original cast.

I've always loved the show, but always found the true message (about racism) often lost. I sat in awe as I watched this production, without changing a thing, bring it all to the foreground. Again, I say, it was perfection.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 10:37am

One of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen in the theater, and I was lucky enough to get to see it twice (once with the original cast and once when Laura Osnes was Nellie). I liked Osnes much better than O'Hara (shocking, I know), Szot was wonderful both times, but the highlights for me were always Danny Burstein and Loretta Ables Sayre. They gave two of the most fully realized, heartfelt performances I've ever seen AND they were as strong and committed throughout the entire run.


(Was I the only one who wanted to die a little every time they were doing exposition in the maps room though? Those scenes were incredibly tedious to me, though clearly those weak points did very little to detract from the whole of the experience for me.)

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 11:05am

I also saw it twice and saw two different Emile's. Szot was fabulous of course but actually I loved David Pittsinger even more...partly because he looked older and more what I envisioned the part to be. While both had drop dead beautiful voicesm David was to me really the star of that performance. Danny, Kelli, Loretta were all fabulous too. But that orchestra was stunning with that beautiful music - a large orchestra which we don't get to see that often anymore that slid out from under the stage so the audience had full view. The whole evening was breathtaking.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 11:08am

When are they going to release the DVD of the Australian production? Have there been any recent updates on that?

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 1:20pm

Breathtaking! Interesting that Chris Gattelli received a choreography nomination. There is so little of it that Josh Logan choreographed the original production himself, credited as "Musical Staging." Just another indication of how dynamic this revival was.

[TBone]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 2:06pm

I saw the production several times and I have to say that I preferred Laura Osnes as Nellie, but both she and Kelli were really wonderful.

I have also been wondering about the Australian DVD. I google it every so often, and usually turn up with no new information.

[gchris11]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 2:56pm

Goldenboy WEEK??? Weak!!!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/4/13 at 4:58pm

On Facebook someone posted the original production's souvenir program (for the tour, I believe) and Logan goes on at great length about why he did the "musical staging" because he didn't want "BRoadway choreography" but wanted it to seem as realistic and spontaneous as possible. There's that B&W video of the complete London staging of the Logan production (with a slightly manic Mary Martin) and I was struck at how fluid the scene transitions were for their time--none of those awkward "in one" scenes, but much more cinematic.

I'm still mad that my DVR failed when this aired on PBS, and I never found a copy online--but even on TV it did look spectacular.

Givesmevoice, I agree that those scenes are kinda tedious, but they are necessary for the plot. (Logan opened them up for the movie by actually filming the action, but I find all that kinda out of place so late in the movie.)

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:33am

One night on the web, I discovered Oscar Hammerstein's personal film version of the London production at The Theatre Royal at Drury Lane in 1950. It's an actual 16mm transcription of the whole show in B&W with Mary Martin (and somewhere in the chorus, her son Larry Hagman) and the show is a carbon copy of the original Broadway show. Let's just say that we romanticize the original productions because in reality, they are pretty thin (as is Mary Martin's voice and performance. How on earth did she become a superstar?) The guy playing Emil de Becque is a total stiff.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:45am

O'Hara was out sick the night I went so I saw her understudy who was good but not great. Despite that, I thought Szot, Burstein and Loretta Ables Sayre delivered powerhouse performances and the whole production was fantastic. The 3 hours just flew by.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 12:53pm

One of my complaints about the PBS version is that they didn't film the Entr'Acte. Alan Alda was doing an interview instead. One of my favorite moments was when the orchestra stood up during the "Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" portion. I wish it had been captured for those who never got to see it at Lincoln Center.

I saw the show four times - I saw Osnes and O'Hara and Szot and Pittsinger. I fully understand the positive comments about Pittsinger though I prefer Szot.

The first time I saw it I was a little nervous because up until that point I had only seen the movie. It was one of those properties where I loved the score but didn't really care for the book (or the book as I knew it). I literally wept from the first note on that fabulous orchestra to the final bow. I was so moved and enchanted by the whole thing.

The biggest emotional moment for me was the Honey Bun reprise. Slowing down the tempo was the absolute correct thing to do. It drove home the fact that these characters we fell in love with (Luthor and to a lesser extent Stewpot and The Professor) are going off to battle and might not survive.

[gossipguy215]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:34pm

Where is this video of the London Production. I would love to see it - Mary Martin is an idol of mine.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:51pm

The biggest emotional moment for me was the Honey Bun reprise. Slowing down the tempo was the absolute correct thing to do. It drove home the fact that these characters we fell in love with (Luthor and to a lesser extent Stewpot and The Professor) are going off to battle and might not survive.

YES! That was such a powerful moment for me, too. I also loved how dark the mood was for "Happy Talk," almost like the whole thing was a febrile dream of Cable's.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 2:09pm

I wasn't as bowled over by it as most, but I did like it quite a lot. The beauty of the production was undeniable...it was truly breathtaking to listen to and watch. I thought O'Hara was phenomenal, but had issues with a few other cast members and a bit of a lack of chemistry between most performers.

But that overture, when the orchestra is revealed in ther tuxes and gowns, that was an absolutely stunning moment. Probably one of my favorite theatergoing moments ever.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 2:44pm

Alofmylife-that was the one I saw. Rumour is it was a rehearsal filmed just as a visual record for others to do the production which is one reason Mary is being so hammy as it wasn't a performance, but who knows for sure. For me the interest was in actually seeing the staging, which I thought was still pretty impressive, myself.

Gossip, there are two clips on youtube, but the entire thing can be fairly easily found in the usual circles... Here's the opening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGdp4nVItqM

Wash that man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5DiQsKpEkc

Wonderful guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdXXfp26i28

(Unfortunately these are not nearly as clear as the copy I've seen)

Here's

[allofmylife]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 2:57pm

There is a full audience throughout so I doubt it is a dress rehearsal.

I really miss that thread on tehparadox. It's a shame they killed it.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:09pm

Interesting you must have a version that I have yet to see--I just checked the DVD of my copy, there is absolutely zero audience applause or response.