South Pacific (musical) - Wikipedia. South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1. Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,9. The plot of the musical is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize- winning 1. Tales of the South Pacific and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, would send a strong progressive message on racism. The plot centers on an American nurse stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II, who falls in love with a middle- aged expatriate French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed- race children. A secondary romance, between a U. S. The issue of racial prejudice is candidly explored throughout the musical, most controversially in the lieutenant's song, . Supporting characters, including a comic petty officer and the Tonkinese girl's mother, help to tie the stories together. Because he lacked military knowledge, Hammerstein had difficulty writing that part of the script; the director of the original production, Logan, assisted him and received credit as co- writer of the book. The original Broadway production enjoyed immense critical and box- office success, became the second- longest running Broadway musical to that point (behind Rodgers and Hammerstein's earlier Oklahoma! After they signed Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin as the leads, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote several of the songs with the particular talents of their stars in mind. The piece won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1. Especially in the Southern U. S., its racial theme provoked controversy, for which its authors were unapologetic. Several of its songs, including . Its original cast album was the bestselling record of the 1. The show has enjoyed many successful revivals and tours, spawning a 1. The 2. 00. 8 Broadway revival, a critical success, ran for 9. Tonys, including Best Musical Revival. Background. He was not sent to the South Pacific theater until April 1. Navy in the Pacific and was allowed to travel widely. He survived a plane crash in New Caledonia; the near- death experience motivated him to write fiction, and he began listening to the stories told by soldiers. One journey took him to the Treasury Islands, where he discovered an unpleasant village, called Bali- ha'i, populated by . Punctuated with profanity learned from GIs, she complained endlessly to Michener about the French colonial government, which refused to allow her and other Tonkinese to return to their native Vietnam, lest the plantations be depopulated. She told him also of her plans to oppose colonialism in French Indochina. Each stands independently but revolves around the preparation for an American military operation to dislodge the Japanese from a nearby island. This operation, dubbed Alligator, occurs in the penultimate story, . Many of the characters die in that battle, and the last story is titled . The stories are thematically linked in pairs: the first and final stories are reflective, the second and eighteenth involve battle, the third and seventeenth involve preparation for battle, and so on. The tenth story, at the center, however, is not paired with any other. It was the one that attracted Rodgers and Hammerstein's attention for its potential to be converted into a stage work. Pressed to marry Liat by her mother, Bloody Mary, Cable reluctantly declines, realizing that the Asian girl would never be accepted by his family or Philadelphia society. He leaves for battle (where he will die) as Bloody Mary proceeds with her backup plan, to affiance Liat to a wealthy French planter on the islands. World War 2 Medals - British and Commonwealth By Roy Bassett To be a collector of World War 2 medals awarded to British and Commonwealth Forces, you should be.Cable struggles, during the story, with his own racism: he is able to overcome it sufficiently to love Liat, but not enough to take her home. Michener tells us that . To her great relief, she learns that this woman is dead, but Nellie endangers her relationship with Emile when she is initially unable to accept Emile's . One introduces the character of Bloody Mary; another tells of a British spy hidden on the Japanese- controlled island who relays information about Japanese movements to Allied forces by radio. Michener based the spy, dubbed . The stories also tell of the seemingly endless waiting that precedes battle, and the efforts of the Americans to repel boredom, which would inspire the song ! Logan recalled that he then pointed it out to Hammerstein, who read Michener's book and spoke to Rodgers; the two agreed to do the project so long as they had majority control, to which Hayward grudgingly agreed. Mac. Kenna's half brother was Jo Mielziner, who had designed the sets for Carousel and Allegro. Michener states that Mielziner learned of the work from Mac. Kenna and brought it to the attention of Hammerstein and Rodgers, pledging to create the sets if they took on the project. Although playwright Lynn Riggs had received 1. Green Grow the Lilacs into Oklahoma!, Michener never regretted accepting one percent of the gross receipts from South Pacific. As Rodgers and Hammerstein began their work on the adaptation, Michener worked mostly with the lyricist, but Rodgers was concerned about the implications of the setting, fearing that he would have to include ukuleles and guitars, which he disliked. Michener assured him that the only instrument he had ever heard the natives play was an emptied barrel of gasoline, drummed upon with clubs. Concerned that an adaptation too focused on . The team decided to include both romances in the musical play. It was conventional at the time that if one love story in a musical was serious, the other would be more comedic, but in this case both were serious and focused on racial prejudice. They decided to increase the role played by Luther Billis in the stories, merging experiences and elements of several other characters into him. Billis's wheeling and dealing would provide comic relief. Harbison is one of the major characters in Tales of the South Pacific; a model officer at the start, he gradually degenerates to the point where, with battle imminent, he requests his influential father- in- law to procure for him a transfer to a post in the United States. Hammerstein conceived of him as a rival to Emile for Nellie's affections, and gave him a song, . As redrafts focused the play on the two couples, Harbison became less essential, and he was relegated to a small role as the executive officer to the commander of the island, Captain Brackett. Dinah, a nurse and friend of Nellie, is also a major character in Michener's work, and was seen as a possible love interest for Billis, though any actual romance was limited by Navy regulations forbidding fraternization between officers (all American nurses in World War II were commissioned officers) and enlisted men. Hammerstein eventually realized that the decision to wash Emile out of her hair had to be Nellie's. Only then did the scene have the dramatic potential for Nellie's emotional transition. In the final version, Dinah retains one solo line in the song. Hammerstein was having trouble due to lack of knowledge of the military, a matter with which Logan, a veteran of the armed forces, was able to help. The dialogue was written in consultation between the two of them, and eventually Logan asked to be credited for his work. Rodgers and Hammerstein decided that while Logan would receive co- writing credit on the book, he would receive no author's royalties. Logan stated that a contract putting these changes into force was sent over to his lawyer with instructions that unless it was signed within two hours, Logan need not show up for rehearsals as director. Some estimates say 3. But that percentage is not as critical perhaps as his knowledge of military lore and directing for the theatre, without which the creation of South Pacific would have collapsed during that summer of 1. A number of stories are told of the speed with which he wrote the music for South Pacific 's numbers. Legend has it he composed . Hammerstein's lyrics for . Feeling that the island of Bali Ha'i did not appear mysterious enough, Mielziner painted some mist near the summit of its volcano. When Hammerstein saw this he immediately thought of the lyric, . Lester had signed former Metropolitan Opera star Ezio Pinza for $2. There have been different South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904 to the present with a few breaks. South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on. Afghanistan’s Foreign Affairs to the Mid-Twentieth Century: Relations With the USSR, Germany, and Britain. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona. Mr. The show had not been written, and it never would be. Pinza had become bored as the Met's leading lyric bass, and having played the great opera houses, sought other worlds to conquer. Rodgers immediately saw Pinza as perfect for the role of Emile. When Pinza read the book, he told Lester, . It was unusual on Broadway for the romantic lead to be an older male. After Hammerstein and Rodgers saw her play in Los Angeles in mid- 1. Martin was reluctant to sing opposite Pinza's powerful voice; Rodgers assured her he would see to it the two never sang at the same time. While showering one day during rehearsals, she came up with the idea for a scene in which she would shampoo her hair onstage. When Martin essayed it for herself, she sang the final 2. Rodgers gazed down at her, . Never do it differently. We must feel you couldn't squeeze out another sound. The two roles which gave the most trouble were those of Cable and Bloody Mary. African- American singer Juanita Hall was cast as Bloody Mary; Logan recalled that at her audition, she took a squatting pose which proclaimed, . John, who under the name Betty Striegler had replaced Bambi Linn as Louise in Carousel, took the role of Liat. There was no formal chorus; each of the nurses and Seabees was given a name, and, in the case of the men, $5. West 4. 2nd Street. Don Fellows, the first Lt. Buzz Adams, drew on his wartime experience as a Marine to purchase a non- regulation baseball cap and black ankle boots. This allowed the musical to continue without interruption by scene changes, making the action almost seamless. South Dakota State University - Acalog ACMS. It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to stay abreast of current regulations, curricula, and the status of specific programs being offered. Furthermore, the University reserves the right, as approved by the Board of Regents, to modify requirements, curricular offerings, and charges, and to add, alter, or delete courses and programs through appropriate procedures. While reasonable efforts will be made to publicize such changes, a student is encouraged to seek current information from appropriate offices. South Dakota State University Non- Discrimination Policy. It is the policy of South Dakota State University (SDSU) to not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or Vietnam Era Veteran status in the offering of all benefits, services, and education and employment opportunities. Discrimination complaints on the basis of gender, including sexual harassment complaints, should be directed to the Equal Opportunity Office in Human Resources, SAD 3. Phone: 6. 05/6. 88- 4.
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