A South Pacific Reunion

The surviving stars of the film version of SOUTH PACIFIC (1958), Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr and France Nuyen, attended the Los Angeles premiere of the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC on June 2nd.

Shirley Jones, the star of the film versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA! (1955) and CAROUSEL (1956), was also in attendance.

Playbill has a photo gallery. There's a wonderful photo of John Kerr with the actors who have played Lt. Cable in the Los Angeles and Broadway productions.

The show is receiving rave reviews. I intend to see it this summer at the Los Angeles Music Center, where it is playing until July 17th -- or, at the very latest, this fall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

SOUTH PACIFIC is considered by many to have been the most effective Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on Broadway, where it won the Pulitzer Prize in addition to many Tony Awards. Ironically, it is the weakest of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals on film, due in part to the odd color filters used to photograph the movie, but it still has a great many pleasures, including superb orchestrations.

The 2006 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD is a "must have" for the DVD library of anyone who loves musicals.