South Pacific, the 1949 musical inspired by James A. Michener's collection of short stories Tales of the South Pacific. Set on an island in the South Pacific during the theater of World War II, South Pacific the musical follows the story of a sailor on a secret mission, a forbidden love, and the perils of love in wartime. South Pacific tickets are currently on sale for the 2010 revival at Lincoln Center on Broadway.
The musical began its steps to becoming a reality after director Joshua Logan read Michner's collection of short stories. He contacted the author, expressing a desire to adapt a few of the stories from Tales of the South Pacific. Logan and producer would purchase the rights to the work and the legendary theater team of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein collaborated to create one of the most celebrated works in the modern theater age.
South Pacific began its incredible run on March 7, 1949 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. Broadway shows regularly traveled to this stage to test their big Broadway readiness. The show earned rave reviews early on and transferred to Boston to try a bigger stage. Again, South Pacific tickets were the talk of the town.
This preview success meant there would be absolutely no question South Pacific would debut on Broadway. On April 7, 1949 the doors to the Majestic Theatre opened, the box office took the tickets, and South Pacific played before a packed house for the first of many times. That original production dominated at the 1950 Tony Awards, winning 10 of 10 nominations (including Best Musical) and even won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The initial Broadway production ran until January 1954.
South Pacific then toured the United States, with 118 stops in five years. It would cross the ocean too. The musical would have many memorable revivals, including the 1988 London Revival at the Prince of Wales Theatre, the 2001 London Revival at the Royal National Theatre, the singular 2005 Carnegie Hall concert with Alec Baldwin and Reba McEntire, and the 2008 Broadway revival still running today.
