I wept through SOUTH PACIFIC, which is one of the most splendid productions I've ever seen, far superior to a City Opera revival in the 1980s and a lacklustre Papermill production over ten years ago which starred Mr Ron Raines. This new production suffers none of the stupidity of so many lousy revivals in the past: no reducing the orchestra to a combo, no "I know how to fix this lousy show I have to do" attitude since there's nothing broken about the book, glorious design, and a wonderful cast that looks the right age - my dad was 19 when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
The orchestra played beautifully and the Entr'Acte was a wonderful acknowledgment of their talent, and I cannot wait to see it again. Afterwards, I stopped backstage, saw Danny Burstein who was a wonderful Luther Billis, Ted Sperling the conductor, and Kelli O'Hara, with whom I've worked twice before. On my way to Ted's dressing room, I said hello to Paolo Szot who stopped the show with "This Nearly Was Mine," and while I was talking to Danny I saw Christian Delcroix who was at Goodspeed in WHERE'S CHARLEY in 2004.
Kelli O'Hara is stunning in this production, not good, but absolutely stunning. I found her so right in every way: charming, warm, a wonderful actress.
I have to pack or I would continue to rave.