Search - Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II :: South Pacific (2001 Television Soundtrack)

Awful, just awful...

05/08/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I can understand Glenn Close wanting to do the part of Nellie. It's a great part and fun to play, with great songs. After seeing her effort though I think she could get away with it onstage, but NOT in a film. She's a good actor and a decent singer but on film she looks too old for the part, especially in closeup. Since this was her project, why didn't she choose to do this show as a limited run on Broadway? There she could have done the part handsomely, and gotten away with playing a younger woman.The rest of the cast was a real disappointment too. The actor playing Emile looked just right...but when he opened his mouth to sing "Some Enchanted Evening" I walked out of the room. This part was written for an operatic baritone, not a small character tenor. Harry Connick is a great musician whom I deeply admire but though he looks right for the part he does not sound or act like someone from a mainline Philadelphia family, which is what the character of Cable is. He made no effort to hide his working class New Orleans accent, and his singing...well, these songs were written for a legitimate Broadway low tenor, not a baritone jazz singer with a limited vocal line. The actor playing Billis had a good idea for a new interpretation of the character but was just too annoying to listen to. The actress playing Mary looked just right, more like the way Mary should look than Juanita Hall did, but she got caught up in the mannerisms of the character and lost all believability. And why, oh why cut the character's best songs?I was under the impression that the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization had very strict control over the way the material they own is used. How they could give permission for this travesty is beyond me!"

South Pathetic

Marc Ginsburg | Bensalem, PA United States | 04/13/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am curious as to what some people are thinking sometimes. I was already apprehensive when I heard they were going to make a new TV movie out of "South Pacific" because, having played de Becque in the past, I know that the show is dated and that they would try to do something drastic to change that. Did they ever!First, hearing that Glenn Close was playing the young, lovesick nurse, Nellie I began to wonder if they were going to put de Becque in a wheelchair hooked up to an IV. With all due respect to Ms. Close (and I do think she is a wonderful performer) there is no excuse for casting a 55 year old woman in a 25 year old character. I thought she did the best she could but it just wasn't right at all.Rade Sherbedgia looked almost exactly how I picture de Becque to look like, but it ended right there. His acting was bland and uninteresting and his singing was unmotivated and boring. Anyone can make a song sound pretty, but when you are singing the song for that reason alone, you lose the whole meaning of why you are singing the song. Oh, boy. Where to start on Harry Connick, Jr.? I thought he started out very well. His acting was genuine and focused, but he seemed to weaken very quickly. After he met Liat I feel that he just became very lackluster and contrived. I also know that he is a jazzy/bluesy singer, but "Younger Than Springtime" should not be a crooning song and "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" CANNOT be spoken and general. "Springtime" is possibly the most popular love song in musical theatre history and it needs to have a purpose and be sung with all your heart and soul. "Carefully Taught" is incredibly controversial and deep and CANNOT be spoken and done in such a matter-of-fact manner. It is angry and determined.Robert Pastorelli gave a new spin to Billis and I think it worked in many aspects but didn't in quite a few as well. Lori Tan Chinn was a very funny Bloody Mary, but she began to play a character instead of a real person. I am also very upset that many song orders were changed, a WHOLE LOT of added and subtracted dialogue, the first meeting between Nellie and de Becque should not be shown, the omission of "Happy Talk" and many others. I just think it is a shame to blatantly tamper with a Pulitzer Prize winning work. Yes, some aspects don't work on screen, but then drop one or two things but don't butcher and rework the entire piece to fit your vision because that was not the playwright's intentions. Why mess with a classic?"

Falls short/what happened????

Loretta Lee | Royersford, PA USA | 03/28/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

".Oh my, what happened to the music in this adaptation of South Pacific--the mood, the tone, the sounds that immersed you and made you yearn for more as in the movie on which this adaptation was based!! How could the producers glaringly omit Happy Talk? Shame on them!! What a delightful piece to choose to omit! Frankly, I must admit that it angers me every time this happens. I heard that 'time constraints' were a factor. Also, be aware that many of the songs are out of their usual placement. I find this practice irritating. When listening to the CD we are listening to a story. The songs can't carry the story along as we listen when they have been moved. I also noticed many songs and interludes unfortunately were shortened. The interweaving of the many melodies, a technique used in previous recordings, was for the most part missing in this score. Too bad, because those melodies were gorgeous and set a tone that is sorely missing from this recording. The choral singing was done very well, but what happened to the soloists? None were up to the task with the possible exception of Glenn Close who has a fine voice, reminiscent of Mary Martin. But, she just couldn't convey that feeling of sounding like a 'young' Cockeyed Optimist. Several years younger she would have been great. Her songs all had a sound of too much maturity. Harry Connick's interpretation of the wonderful Younger Than Springtime was way off. His was not the beautifully moving and poetic song. It was merely ok. Bloody Mary was just dreadful, unlike Jaunita Hall who sang so wonderfully in the movie. (Yes, she was dubbed but sang the role on Broadway.) Frankly, I found this Bloody Mary's singing 'annoying'. This Emile gave it a yoemans try but just did not have that wonderfully operatic voice that the role requires. This CD did not capture that lush, enchanting feel that South Pacific so richly deserves. The movie score may have been dubbed with the exception of Gaynor, but, oh my, what a job they did with setting the wonderful tone and mood of the music and carrying it throughout the entire score. I really wanted to like this South Pacific score, but I didn't come away wishing for more. If you haven't listened to the movie or Broadway score or a Master Recording you may be satisfied. If you want to be immersed in and enchanted by the music that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote, take a listen to the movie score. (Broadway or Master Recording, too) You'll hear Bali Ha'i calling you. I wish I had heard it listening to this adaptation of South Pacific."