Bottom Line:
This DVD is extremely well done. It has a little different approach to it, as it isn't the actual musical, but rather a musical in concert. However, it was very entertaining to watch. The cast is excellent, and the orchestra is amazing. I think anyone who enjoys musicals will love this for the talent they have gathered on one stage and truly appreciate the show for what it is.
Putting Together a Stellar Production
South Pacific is one of the most recognized names when it comes to Broadway musicals. And on June 9, 2005, the Rogers and Hammerstein multiple Tony winning musical was presented in a concert format on the stage of Carnegie Hall. The show sold out within days of its announcement. Award Winner Walter Bobbie directed the concert. The Orchestra of St. Lukes provided the music under the direction of Paul Gemignani. The musical staging was under the direction of Casey Nicholaw and the script was adapted to concert form by David Ives. It was a mass effort on the part of many people to make this concert come together. Reba McEntire played the role of Nellie Forbush, chosen for the role because of her spectacular performance in the hugely successful Broadway Musical Annie Get Your Gun. One of the top leading men on Broadway, Brian Stokes Mitchell, stepped in the male lead as Emile de Becque. The supporting cast is just as stellar with major names filling the roles.Making a Musical Happen in Concert Form
The concert itself is excellent. It is the first time I've seen a musical in concert form and it did take a little getting used to, but was still spectacular. The characters are really not in costume for the most part although Nell does don a Naval uniform for a few numbers and Alec Baldwin in a coconut brassier is definitely something you won't forget soon. But there are no real sets and the cast is seated in chairs when they aren't performing. The performers carry books, movement is kept to a minimum and only those props that are absolutely necessary for the storyline are used. The lack of window dressings only leant more emphasis to the talent of the performers and their ability to make the story come to life onstage through dialogue and song. The setting is the South Pacific Islands in 1942. It mainly revolves around Nell & Emile as they find each other and work through her racial prejudices when she finds out he is the widowed father of two Eurasian children. Through song and various events she comes to realize that he is the love of her life and she can't let prejudice override happiness. The musical delivery is amazing and the presentation is excellent.Musical Numbers
- Introduction
- Overture
- Dites-Moi (Oh, and What is That Flower Over There)
- A Cockeyed Optimist
- So When You Joined The Navy…
- Twin Soliloquies
- One Waits So Long For What Is Good
- Some Enchanted Evening
- Dites-Moi (Reprise)
- Bloody Mary
- Say, Is That A Boar's Tooth Bracelet On Your Wrist?
- There Is Nothin' Like A Dame
- Ah, Hello…You Make Trouble For Me?
- Bali Ha'i
- Bali Ha'i (Reprise)
- So Tell Us, Nellie, What Did Old Ironbelly Want?
- I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair
- Hello, Is That A New American Song?
- Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
- Will You Come To My Party Friday?
- A Wonderful Guy
- What Should I Do, Captain?/Bali Ha'I (Reprise)
- You Wait, Lootellan…
- Younger Than Springtime (Reprise)/Bali Ha'I (Reprise)
- A Wonderful Guy (Reprise)
- This Is How It Feels - A Cockeyed Optimist (Reprise)
- Finale Act 1 - Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
- Entr'acte
- Happy Talk
- It Is My Great Pleasure To Bring You To Our Skipper
- Honey Bun
- You've Got To Be Carefully Taught
- This Nearly Was Mine
- Well, de Becque, I Take Off Pretty Soon For Marie Louise
- Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
- All Right, Let's Start Those Trucks…/Honey Bun (Reprise)
- Finale Act ii - Dites-Moi (Reprise)
