A luscious new production of one of Broadway's most endearing musicals, Rodgers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" will be presented by Lincoln Center Theater, in association with Bob Boyett and NETworks Productions, as the final production of the 2009-2010 season at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre, June 29 through August 22, 2010. The opening is set for June 30.
Bartlett Sher directs Rodgers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific," which was the first Broadway revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical since its 1949 premiere, and which swept the 2007-2008 theatre awards, winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival as well as the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards for Best Musical Revival.
Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Tales of the South Pacific," Rodgers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.
Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples – U.S. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque, and Navy Airman Joe Cable and a young local native girl, Liat, and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of the war and by their own prejudices.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" premiered at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949, and went on to enjoy a five-year Broadway run winning nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and countless other awards. Considered by many to be the finest musical ever written, the score's songs include such musical theatre classics as "Some Enchanted Evening," "Younger Than Springtime," "Bali Ha'i," "There is Nothin' Like A Dame" and "A Wonderful Guy."
The production features a cast of 40 with musical staging by Christopher Gattelli, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer and music direction by Ted Sperling. An orchestra of more than 20 musicians will perform the original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett and dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times said about the 2008 production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific," "I know we're not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I'm darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production."
Elysa Gardner of USA Today said, ". . . spine-tingling moments ensure that this gorgeous revival of 'South Pacific' doesn't just float; it soars." -- www.centertheatregroup.org
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