This landmark, one-night-only concert version of South Pacific was presented at Carnegie Hall on June 9, 2005. Country music star Reba McEntire (who lit up Broadway when she followed Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun) led an impressive cast as Ensign Nellie Forbush, with Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile de Becque and Alec Baldwin in the role of Luther … Read More

Director Trevor Nunn followed up his award-winning production of Oklahoma! with a re-envisioned version of South Pacific at the National Theatre’s Olivier Theatre. The cast included Lauren Kennedy as Ensign Nellie Forbush and Philip Quast, who won a Laurence Oliver Award for his performance as Emile de Becque.

In 2001, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific was adapted into a TV movie starring Glenn Close and Harry Connick Jr. The film premiered on ABC on March 26, and The Washington Post said Close brought “radiance, warmth and stature to the part” of Nellie Forbush. The New York Post noted that “there’s a heightened sense of drama and tension in … Read More

In its first West End revival, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific returned to London’s Prince of Wales Theatre in 1988, in a new production directed by Rodger Redfarn. Starring Gemma Craven in the role of Nellie Forbush and Emile Belcourt as Emile de Becque, this fantastic revival charmed British audiences for almost a year. Mary Martin attended opening night, saying … Read More

On June 12, 1967, the Music Theatre of Lincoln Center opened a lauded revival of South Pacific starring Florence Henderson as Nellie Forbush and Giorgio Tozzi as Emile de Becque. Tozzi, a Metropolitan Opera veteran, was already familiar with the text, having dubbed his singing voice for Rossano Brazzi in the film adaptation. Though this production, helmed by Joe Layton, … Read More

Produced by Rodgers & Hammerstein and 20th Century Fox, the film version of South Pacific premiered on March 19, 1958. Directed by original Broadway director and co-librettist Joshua Logan, the film starred Mitzi Gaynor as Ensign Nellie Forbush, opposite Italian film star Rossano Brazzi as Emile de Becque. Rounding out the cast were Ray Walston, who had played Luther Billis … Read More

South Pacific made its West End premiere at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on November 1, 1951, with Mary Martin reprising the role of Nellie, this time opposite Wilbur Evans as Emile de Becque. The production would run for almost two years, totaling 802 performances. Featured in the ensemble was Martin’s son, Larry Hagman, who would later go on to … Read More

Premiering on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949, South Pacific was an instant hit with critics and audiences alike. Starring Mary Martin as Ensign Nellie Forbush and opera star Ezio Pinza as Emile De Becque, South Pacific would run 1,925 performances on Broadway, taking its final bow on January 16, 1954. At the Tony Awards, the production … Read More