Thoughts on Shows (March 6-9, 2008): SOUTH PACIFIC

Sounds like you had a great time! Looking so forward to seeing this.

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Ole, you really should have done some research about this show before you saw the revival. It seems you went in blind, which is not a good idea for SUNDAY.

i was somewhat familiar with it before i saw it- i knew the subject matter, ive seen clips here and there, but no i didnt know the score well at all. however, if the show was created such that you need to know the score before you see it...

i completely forgot about mary beth piel. she was quite good, though again, her song, Beautiful, was painfully boring. not this productions fault, or hers.

I guess I'll jump in with a bit of a review, as well. I saw this a couple of weeks ago.

Sunday's an interesting beast. With a slender, gorgeously wrought first act and a thick-legged, ponderous, prententious second (imho), Sunday poses a lot of problems for a director and cast.
It's like a seesaw with Calista Flockhart on one end and Bruce Vilanch on the other (no offense to either party...I like them both) - it just doesn't function that well.

I've had long debates about this with my partner who loves the show in its entirety and claims that the second act is necessary to the whole. Interestingly enough, this debate seems emblematic of discussions a lot of people end up having - many folks are split.

I do have to admit that the team at Studio 54 / London gave me the most believable second act I've seen. The gentle transition from past to "present" (read: slightly-less-past) and the wonderful character development made the second act tolerable.

Ultimately, to give this show a fair review (especially in its revival state) I have to forget that the second act exists. After all, when something is revived I don't think that it is completely fair to review it based on its fundamental components - those that make the show, the show - ie: music, script, etc.

So, the sets/lighting are amazing. The effects are stunning. Now, this alone would not function to create a good show, but thankfully, in the case of 54, the cast rises to meet these effects, creating a really superb ensemble piece.

The leads are wonderful! They both deserve Tony Noms. Both Evans and Russel managed to pull the roles away from Peters and Patinkin to create their own - and thank Christ. It could have been bad.

Interestingly enough, despite my hating the second act, Russel and Evans seemed their strongest there. They really seemed to live as these two individuals. Wonderful work!

Now to the music - to me, a major let down. While the Menier Chocolate Factory may be small, Studio 54 is not - at least not to the same extent.
The orchestrations seemed thin, and watery. The part of the French Horn was replaced by a Saxophone. To top it all off, the entire pit was located on the right side of the stage, creating a sense of lopsidedness.
I know that some folks will disagree completely - as did many papers - but I just did not think that the orchestra matched the level of the on-stage work.

Sooo, to sum it all up? Go see this because the effects and performances are glorious. I think Russel and Evans should be recognized by the Tony crew, but should they win? - I'm still out on that. I tend to think that Evans should get one. The difference between his act 1 and 2 choices are quite stunning. Russel was damn good, but I think there are better performances out there at the moment. If it were another year, she'd be a shoe in.
The second act is never going to be all that good...but you can't blame the current cast for that.
Does Sunday deserve the Tony for best revival? - again, I'm not so sure. South Pacific is a solid, expansive, and well-acted revival with some pretty inovative things going on. I tend to lean toward that for Revival - though Sunday is some stiff competition. It will be interesting to see what people think once both are on the table, officially.

see, i found the orchestrations thin and not as loud/powerful as id like- but the sound system was such that it didnt sound like it surrounded me/the theater. it felt like it was all coming straight from my right and when it got loud i just couldnt hear the actors. it was just so unbalanced.

i also have to disagree about evans. his second act was OK, but i could NOT understand him most of the time in the first and when he was behind the screen/painting...he was just not enough of a presence. one could NOT figure out what dot could have possibly seen in him which was the major weakness of the first act.

I thought the main problem was the total lack of anything even remotely resembling chemistry between the leads, and the way that none of the other cast members did anything to make their characters into people. They all faded into a blur of costumes.

I remember Robert Westenberg as the Soldier in Act One in the original production. He was very funny and oddly sad when he left his counterpart alone. The guy in the current revival comes off like a reject from American Idol in comparison.

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Updated On: 3/7/08 at 03:10 PM

Wow, thank you everyone for all of your thoughts! I guess I seem to be quite the loner in the orgy of praise for SUNDAY, but that's all good =)

So anyways, last night I had the oppertunity to see SOUTH PACIFIC at Lincoln Center, or even more specificially, the Vivan Beaumont Theatre. My parents and I sat in Row D (which is the 2nd Row) on the farthest left you could get, haha. I think these seats were pretty good- I mean we got them only about a month ago, and they were about as good as we could find. I'm sure many of the seats towards the center either sell out really fast, or go to a good many Lincoln Center subscibers and such. But yea, the seats were fine, but particularly in the beginning scene on Emile's terrace and "Happy Talk" we saw lots of backs, haha. I think its nice, though, that Lincoln Center shows are directed really to all sides of the stage, so you never really feel like you're missing out (this was the way it was for LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA which we also sat far to the side at).
But the show itself- very enjoyable. The quality of this production was outstanding, and you could really tell that the creative team spared no expense in the making. The costumes were lovely, all very nicely done and suitable to the time period. The costumes on Ms. O'Hara were particularly gorgeous, but she can't help being particularly gorgeous herself either, haha. The set pieces were amazing as well- I mean, a war aircraft, all those buckets of fuel or whatever, the telegrahs and such in the office, the shower stalls, and that HUGE stage for the Thanksgiving Follies? Everything looked spectacular, with lots of attention to detail. My only "quim" could be the backdrop of the sky- at least in the "Bloody Mary" and "There Is Nothing Like A Dame" scene, it just seemed such a harsh, strong blue. I don't know, I think a lighter hue would've looked a little more realistic. But it was lovely how they switched the colors of the sky in later scenes with sunsets and nighttime and so on. Oh, and I just wish the beach had a little more shrubbery besides the one palm tree that's all, haha. No big deal, though. But yeah, I've got to say some beautiful silhouettes were formed with the palm on the beach against the sky, and the lighting in general for the show was very beautifully done.
I think the pace of the show was fine, and I didn't really mind the 3 hours (with a 15 minute intermission included). I don't think there's much they could really cut, and I don't think they really should- it's a classic, I for one wouldn't tamper with it much, haha. I will admit a few scenes dragged a bit- most notably, though, "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" and "This Nearly Was Mine". I was zoning out a bit during those songs, especially since I couldn't understand a word of "This Nearly Was Mine" save for the last like 30 seconds of the song. I think the best numbers were the ensemble numbers- I really loved "There Is Nothing Like a Dame", the male ensemble was fantastic as the Seabees. "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "Wonderful Guy" both were a tiny bit flat for me, but Kelli O'Hara and the female ensemble both sounded glorious, so they made those 2 numbers some of my favorites. I don't know what it was, though, those 2 songs still didn't have that punch for some reason. "Happy Talk" was okay, but also was kind of flat for me- just not as enchanting and warm as I remembered it from the movie. "Honey Bun" was really a stand-out number, though- Kelli O'Hara was just as cute as a button here in her sailor garb, I loved it!
Onto the cast. Really, this is one of the strongest ensembles I've seen, both male and female. They all held their own, all had their own unique personalities, and really didn't just all blend in and seem the same. In their numbers they all sounded fantastic, and danced their butts off. So kudos to them. Loretta Sayre as Bloody Mary did a fine job- loved the "stingy bastard" bit, haha. She was funny, certainly not how I've always remembered Bloody Mary, but she was still fine. Again, "Happy Talk" find of fell flat for me, but the scene afterwards between her, Liat and Cable was well done. Uh, Matthew Morrison as Lt. Cable was you know, pretty good. I think he was a little weak in the beginning, but got stronger as it went on and more into his character. He has a great voice, but I had trouble hearing it during "Younger than Springtime". I don't know, he wasn't anything special, not in any way bad, though. Danny Burnstein was brilliant as Luther- really a highlight of the show for me. He was inredibly hilarious, had such a great prescense, and had so much energy when he was onstage. Hearing his rendition of "Bali Ha'i" was hysterical. Um, Paulo Szot (who played Emile) had a spectacular voice. It is very obvious he has done quite a bit of opera, and it pays off. He has a booming bass voice, and hits some very powerful notes at the end of "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine". His acting, though, left quite a bit to be desired. Or not quite a bit, I don't know- you can tell, though, he's really in this production mainly for his vocal skills. He just didn't build much of a character, and I honestly didn't feel for him or anything, he almost was just saying his lines. I don't know, great voice though. A
And now, onto the star of the evening, Kelli O'Hara. There is a reason she is my favorite theatre actress of our time, and really, that I have had the privilege of seeing. Most everything about her is perfect, in my eyes. She really glows up there, and just exudes this energy and charisma like no other. Not to mention her gorgeous figure- even with wet hair all suddy with soap or an over-sized sailor's outfit, she always looked marvelous. Great body! But seriously, from the moment she opens her mouth she has me. Her voice just soars, and she sings everything with such ease, and hits all kinds of notes, and goes up and down the musical scales with ease. And though at times I had a hard time hearing her (mainly because of that extremely loud orchestra which drowned her out), she hit some lovely money notes, especially in "Wonderful Guy" and "Honey Bun". Her acting was also fantastic, and even when not speaking, you can always tell how she's feeling thru her lovely facial expressions. Just watching her in general- doing a little jig, dancing around with a towel on her head, or simply just running along the beach or walking across the stage- she just has such a prescense, I can't get over it. Kelli O'Hara has this real classic star quality, and you honestly can't keep your eyes off of her when she's onstage. This is yet another top-notch performance from Ms. O'Hara, and I sincerely hope she is at least recognized with a Tony nomination this season. She is well worth the trip to Lincoln Center!
Alright, so finally onto my problem with the show, one that I really hope is adjusted during previews. The sound. Maybe it was just bad acoustics sitting on the far left side of the stage or something, but I had a lot of trouble hearing, as did my parents. The main problem was how the orchestra drowned out not just a few certain actors, but pretty much everyone up there at some point in time (some more than others, though). Even at one point I had trouble hearing the female ensemble with such a loud orchestra. Yes, I love the full orchestrations and full sound, but when it takes away from the performers onstage, something needs to be changed. Either the orchestra mad softer, or the actor's microphones louder. Or do they even have microphones, I'm not sure. But really, the sound crew or whoever just needs to balance out the sound between the orchestra and the actors, which I'm sure should not be a huge problem. Yeah, that was really the only thing that dampered my trip to SOUTH PACIFIC.
In conclusion, great production, and I'd love to see more classic shows be revived like this with such scope and talent!
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Anyways, between SOUTH PACIFIC and SUNDAY, I'd have to say I suprisingly enjoyd SUNDAY more, oddly enough. Yeah. It's a tough call, though.

Well yea- so tonight I see GYPSY, which I am very excited about! And yesterday my mom and I scored 2 tickets for IN THE HEIGHTS in 4th row of the orchestra for the matinee this afternoon, which I am also quite stoked about. And before I am attacked, BroadwayWorlders, yes, I have plans to see AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY this summer, no worries. =)

Have a good day!

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DRG We saw SP on Wednesday afternoon (5th) and it was just perfect. We had no issues with the sound and were sitting dead centre of the LOGE in row A. These were fantastic seats and there were no sound balance problems. It is also wonderful to watch the pit open up during the overture revealing the massive orchestra..... very exciting.

I have to disagree about THIS NEARLY WAS MINE which was one of the highlights of the show for me. Probably the best performance of this song I have ever heard.

Easily the fastest 3 hours I have every enjoyed at the theatre.

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