Recordings of Tony musical revivals that were so Tony blessed, Part One!

The 2008 multi-award winning Lincoln Center revival available from Sony Classics

The last two Broadway seasons have seen a great many of our musical greats return to The Great Way way in all their glory. Let's begin looking at some of the very best.

Lincoln Center Theater revived Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific in 2008. Director Bartlett Sher presented us with an exquisite new staging that gave renewed life to a show that many, including myself, had thought was dated and and a relic of Broadway's First Golden Age. What irked me about this production is Lincoln Center's claim that it is the first Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's masterpiece. Gentleman, in 1967, the Music Theater of Lincoln Center, helmed by composer Richard Rodgers, presented a full scale production at the New York State Theater starring Florence Henderson and Georgio Tozzi (who had voiced the role of Emile De Becque in the film version). It's purely semantics as LC's Vivian Beaumont Theatre is considered a Broadway house and the NY State Theater is considered Broadway adjacent.  

The original 1949 cast recording available from Sony Classics

South Pacific has always been considered to be one of the greatest musicals in history. It was adapted from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning, 1948 novel, Tales of the South Pacific by Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) and Joshua Logan (book and direction). The Broadway production of South Pacific was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning all of them. It also received the New York Drama Critics Circle Prize for Best Musical. In 1950, South Pacific became the second musical to win the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Gershwins' Of Thee I Sing was the first in 1932. Oddly enough, the Gershwins did not share in the prize. The Pulitzer committee awarded it only to its book writers, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. That error was corrected with the award to South Pacific as Rodgers and Hammerstein's magnificent score was justly included. 

Yes, that's Glee's Matthew Morrison in the 2008 revival, Photo by Joan Marcus

South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, at the Majestic Theatre to unanimous raves, later transferring to the Broadway Theatre in June 1953. The production ran for more than five years. When it closed on January 16, 1954, after 1,925 performances, it was the fifth-longest running show in Broadway history.

The current revival of South Pacific opened on April 3. 2008 at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre to ecstatic reviews. Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: "I know we’re not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I'm darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production.” It won five Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical. South Pacific was also awarded five Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical. The Tony's were no less appreciative awarding the show seven Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

BROADWAY TRIVIA: At the New Haven tryout, famed impresario Mike Todd, told South Pacific star Mary Martin not to take the show to New York. Martin asked why, and Todd told her, "Because it's too... good for them!" In Boston, George S. Kaufman jokingly complained that Bostonians were so excited about the show that they were shoving money under the doors of the theater. "They don't actually want anything," Kaufman said. "They just want to push money under the doors."

Mary Martin wisely chose to play heroine Nellie Forbush after the unwise decision to turn down the parts of Laurey in Oklahoma! and Annie in Annie Get Your Gun (she also turned down the part of Eliza in My Fair Lady). She is also credited with suggesting a musical number for Gertrude Lawrence in act one of The King and I. Suddenly Lucky was replaced with Younger Than Springtime in South Pacific. Martin thought its melody would work for Lawrence. Good choice! Suddenly Lucky became Getting to Know You. 

The original cast album for the 2001 RNT revival available for 1st Night Records

There are countless recordings available for South Pacific. The first with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza is a must (available from Sony Classics). The cast recoding for the 2001 Trevor Nunn Royal National Theatre is superb (available from First Night Records) but my all time favorite has to be the current Lincoln Center revival (available from Sony Classics). Every time I listen to it, it's like opening night.

MAC Award winning Life is Wonderful available from CDBaby

It's always exciting to find recordings by Broadway performers that celebrate its history in new and imaginative ways. One such recording is Hector Coris' Life is Wonderful recorded live at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. Coris named his delightfully original cabaret show Life is Wonderful but, ironically, that was a decision to sugarcoat the fact that his chosen songs are really about death. Mr. Coris is best when performing famous and lesser known Broadway gems. Life is What You Do from Kander and Ebb's Zorba, The Elephant Song from Kander and Ebb's 70 Girls 70, My Dogs from William Finn's song cycle Elegies and You Gotta Die Sometime from Finn's Falsettos are standouts. If you love Broadway and beyond then MAC Award-winning performer Coris shows us that there is definitely life (and its possible repercussions) off of The Great White Way. The recoding is availble as a CD or download for CDBaby or directly from Hector Coris HERE.

All recordings mentioned are available from Amazon, except where otherwise noted.

Next up we will begin celebrating Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday with a look at Mme. Rose and Gypsy as well as Patti LuPone.