There are quite a few good reasons to see the new revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. One is Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot, a transfuge from the opera world who emits a veritable glow of old-fashioned virility as plantation owner Emile de Becque. Another is hearing Richard Rodgers’s score and Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestrations delivered by a 30-piece orchestra. With producers saving costs by scrimping on musicians nowadays, this size has become very rare in contemporary theater, and so we’ve progressively forgotten how spectacularly lush American musicals can sound.
In the current production of South Pacific, the players are in a pit under the movable stage; during the overture, said stage retracts so the audience can see them. It’s an exhilarating moment, confirmed by the orchestra taking a bow at the end of the overture. read more
One of my favorite places in New York is the New Victory Theater, located on West 42nd Street, smack in the middle of what has to be the gaudiest block in the entire city. I’m glad to see it included in this Sunday’s show, because the New Vic is one of the few institutions to actually regularly fulfill its mission statement’s goals: “We seek out sophisticated, thought-provoking, professional productions that are as artistically rich as they are stimulating and entertaining.” And yet the New Vic doesn’t get enough recognition—for you see, it also is “New York’s first and only theater for kids and families.” But don’t let that fool you: It’s introduced more daring shows that many institutions presenting supposedly adult fare. read more
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