Original Broadway Cast - South Pacific [Original Broadway Cast]

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Ii's fourth musical, South Pacific, was based on several stories in James A. Michener's book Tales of the South Pacific, specifically two that dealt with wartime romances complicated by racial issues. Lyricist and co-librettist Hammerstein explored the relationship between an older French planter with two young half-Polynesian children and a young American nurse, and between an American lieutenant and a native girl. The cultural contrasts were supported by musical ones: The score veered between lush, operatic ballads ("Some Enchanted Evening," "This Nearly Was Mine") and earthy comedic numbers ("There Is Nothin' Like a Dame," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair").< Read More