Tag Archives: musical

South Pacific at Lincoln Center

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Nellie Forbush singing HoneyBun

I know you’ll be happy to hear that the parents’ trip to New York was capped yesterday afternoon by South Pacific, the musical revival on at Lincoln Center. I had seen parts of the movie before, and was looking forward to it. My dad, on the other hand, apparently has been idolizing the musical ever since his parents went up to New York to see the original production and left him behind. The music, the actors, the stage; he was in heaven.

Granted, South Pacific is a Rogers and Hammerstein classic from 1949 and generally considered one of the greatest musicals. The story is set in the South Pacific around a naval base during WWII, and the stories of nurse Nelly and Lieutenant Joe falling in love with people from the island inspire some classic Broadway songs, like Some Enchanted Evening and Happy Talk.

Lincoln Center’s production is the first time it has been back to Broadway and yet, judging from the audience, it might have been the second time many of them have seen it. It hasn’t changed much (from the movie version at least) and the production is flawless.

The musical itself has aged well: rather than being dated, it is charmingly vintage. The cast has been well-chosen for their parts, and the music of Rogers and Hammerstein is still a joy to hear. If you want to revisit some classic Broadway, this traditional and well-executed revival is a pleasant way to do it.

Pal Joey Bewitches, Yet Again

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Soap operas would have me hooked, if they had all the showbiz oomph
of this musical revival of Pal Joey, a 1940 Broadway show (and a 1957 movie with Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, and Stockard Channing ). The glitzy, fun essentials are there. That’s about it, but that’s all you would need for a great night out, dreaming of old Manhattan and the days when show business was showbiz! and hoofers got by on wits and charm.

The plot is similar to one of those cheerful Italian operas, all melodramatic revelations are lustily or tragically belted out. Set in Chicago in the late 1930s, Pal Joey is the story of Joey Evans (Christian Hoff of Jersey Boys fame), a plotting song and dance man with dreams of owning his own nightclub. Joey breaks the heart of the wholesome Linda English, to seduce a rich, married older woman, Vera Simpson (Stockard Channing). It works, and Joey begins building up his own nightclub. One of the performers, Gladys Bumps (Martha Plimpton) has a grudge against Joey that she pays back in a twist even Joey can’t worm his way out of. The showbiz, song and dance routine of the entertainment industry turned inside out is fun to watch even now when it has changed, from the backstage flirtations to frou-frou burlesque costumes.

(Blurry Iphone photos of Pal Joey)

The production delivers just what it should from such a musical: pure entertainment. Honestly, I was jealous of the performers, it looks like so much fun to perform. I thought one of the numbers, “Zip”, was awkwardly introduced, so that the audience didn’t get the full joke of the song (in which a stripper recalls the intellectual musings in her head while she unzips.) Channing’s delivery of the infamous “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” can’t compete with Ella Fitzgerald, bu then who can? This tried-and-true crowd pleaser doesn’t bring anything new to stage, indeed it seems dated rather than shocking (as the conniving predator Joey was originally considered). No matter; some swinging old fashioned nostalgia ought to go down well over the holidays.



Rita Hayworth’s “Zip” gratis, so you understand what its all about.

Directed by Todd Haimes in association with Marc Platt. Musical score by Rogers and Hart. With: Stockard Channing (Vera Simpson), Christian Hoff (Joey Evans) , Martha Plimpton (Gladys Bumps) and Jenny Fellner (Linda English). At the Roundabout Theater’s Studio 54 on 254 W. 54th St. through February 15, 2009.