South Pacific - Chichester/ Sadlers Wells/Tour

[FairyGodmother]

I think in the film they have a reprise of Dites-Moi then it goes into Some Enchanted Evening? Maybe. They hold hands under the table, I remember that!

[barrowside]

I always thought the show had a beautiful symmetry starting and ending with Dites-Moi. One of the reasons I hated Trevor Nunn's production (apart from Philip Quast) was the way he broke the structure and started with the soldiers singing Bloody Mary. It promised a gritty, war focussed production which it didn't deliver. This new production was stunning in the screening - I'm so looking forward to seeing it live in Dublin next week.

[barrowside]

It opened to a rapturous reception and a very good house in Dublin tonight. Not perfect but my God the singing is glorious. Julian Ovenden's This Nearly was Mine brought the house down - I could feel every hair on the back of my neck stand up.

[A.Ham]

Sept 13, 2022 23:20:04 GMT barrowside said:

It opened to a rapturous reception and a very good house in Dublin tonight. Not perfect but my God the singing is glorious. Julian Ovenden's This Nearly was Mine brought the house down - I could feel every hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Exactly how I felt when I saw him perform that number in London. Just wonderful!

[PhantomNcl]

I remember being bored to tears as a kid watching the film with my grandmother, so wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing the show last night, especially with a 1.5 hour first act.

I absolutely loved it though, and the time simply flew by. It's such a beautiful production, and the set is just SO huge! There was a slight panic when one of the trucks decided to try and make a run for freedom at the end of the very last number, but fortunately the cast and crew managed to hold it back from sliding into the pit.

The revolve is used so well - the 'Bali ha'i' scene with the fire pots was simply stunning.

'This Nearly Was Mine' brought the house down, and quite rightly.

Joanna A gave a fabulous performance as Bloody Mary - it will be really interesting to see her as the Engineer in the new production of Miss Saigon next year.

[Dr Tom]

I nipped to Birmingham to see this on Tuesday (booked before they announced the London dates). The start was delayed by 30 minutes as they were having problems with the set, although thankfully I had somewhere to stay arranged and didn't have to rush for the last train.

I had originally booked front row, but they redid the seating plan and moved everyone back. Slightly odd having an orchestra pit, but the orchestra backstage. I ended up in the second row, which was just as well as the stage is rather high with the revolve in place.

So nice to see this up close rather than with the Sadler's Wells layout, where you feel like you're a long way back even in the front row.

Quite a lot of staging changes for the tour, at least at the Alex, where the stage does feel rather crowded at times. Very clear sound and lots of energy. I appreciated Dougie McMeekin much more here. Some small ensemble cast changes too. Generally fantastic performances all around.

Very enjoyable anyway. First time I've been in the Alex for a while and it was a far from perfect audience, but I've experienced worse. The usual people who don't know when to stop laughing. Would be good to catch this again somewhere, but the only real option from London is the closing week in Canterbury. I shall see.

[karloscar]

Great to see South Pacific with such an amazing cast and orchestra, shame that it doesn't seem to be selling terribly well. I wasn't sure about the tin shed design, but it grew on me by the end. The last production I saw of SP was the Trevor Nunn version which focussed on the military operation and played much more cinematically. This was more traditional on the whole, but I loved how they made Bloody Mary much more than a caricature and liked her more wistful Happy Talk. Giving Liat more of a voice through her dances was intriguing

SPOILER: Click to show

and that final desperate leap before the final blackout was quite a thought provoking ending.

It's been a while since I heard Julian Ovenden live and in person,and his voice is sounding better than ever. This Nearly Was Mine was definitely the highlight, but all the numbers landed well apart from Wash That Man which seemed a bit lacklustre for some reason.

[angie]

I saw South Pacific in Leeds on Saturday and it was fabulous. The cast, orchestra the staging, lighting, direction all spot on.
I thought a 1 and 1/2 hour first half was going to be difficult but it flew by. Happy Talk was the stand out number for me and left a lump in my throat. I adore Rob Houchens voice and seeing him was main reason for attending this production and I certainly was not disappointed he was amazing and touching and sad.
I loved every minute.

[bimse]

Nov 12, 2022 14:04:58 GMT angie said:

I saw South Pacific in Leeds on Saturday and it was fabulous. The cast, orchestra the staging, lighting, direction all spot on.
I thought a 1 and 1/2 hour first half was going to be difficult but it flew by. Happy Talk was the stand out number for me and left a lump in my throat. I adore Rob Houchens voice and seeing him was main reason for attending this production and I certainly was not disappointed he was amazing and touching and sad.
I loved every minute.

I also saw this in Leeds, and thought the performances were some of the best I’ve ever seen in a musical. Superb singers, with Joanna Ampil’s interpretation of Bloody Mary being a refreshing change and a highlight (I saw Bertice Reading in this role at the Prince of Wales years ago. She gave a more traditional interpretation of course). I can well see Joanna making a great job of the Engineer next year. I liked the set too. I can see how it would fit on to Chichester’s thrust stage, where it would be seen to its advantage. It certainly filled the Leeds Grand Theatre stage and looked a bit cramped at times to me. I found Rob Houchen’s acting to be very wooden, but a good singer nevertheless.
Memo to self : never sit in the front stalls at the Grand, the stage is high, and with a revolve on top, even higher . From row D the floor was out of sight , I’ll sit further back in future .

[louonthegogo]

Hopefully someone who worked on the tour is on this forum, because I don't really have a social media presence to thank everyone, but I left in a programme (thanks to the very nice drummer Mark who I accosted on his way in to work!) at the stage door in Dublin to get signed for a friend of mine who had wanted to go to the show (particularly to see Gina Beck), but whose relative had died earlier in the week. That was in mid-September and I had just assumed that the Bord Gáis had lost it or it got separated from the stamped envelope I had given as well.

I just got a text today from a very happy friend who got the programme in through the door today (with an added British stamp to it). Thank you to all the lovely cast and band who took the time out of their day to write lovely messages to her (especially Gina, and whoever posted the envelope), it was very much appreciated - you're all stars!

[BurlyBeaR]

Nov 18, 2022 20:05:57 GMT louonthegogo said:

Hopefully someone who worked on the tour is on this forum, because I don't really have a social media presence to thank everyone, but I left in a programme (thanks to the very nice drummer Mark who I accosted on his way in to work!) at the stage door in Dublin to get signed for a friend of mine who had wanted to go to the show (particularly to see Gina Beck), but whose relative had died earlier in the week. That was in mid-September and I had just assumed that the Bord Gáis had lost it or it got separated from the stamped envelope I had given as well.

I just got a text today from a very happy friend who got the programme in through the door today (with an added British stamp to it). Thank you to all the lovely cast and band who took the time out of their day to write lovely messages to her (especially Gina, and whoever posted the envelope), it was very much appreciated - you're all stars!

There will be someone involved in the show who will read this louonthegogo

[FairyGodmother]

Meant to say I saw this a few weeks ago from the front centre of the circle in Edinburgh, and really enjoyed it (thanks inthenose for suggesting sitting a bit further back). Lovely to see a harp touring, and I thought most of it was excellent.

I wasn't entirely convinced about the "walled" set when it was the outdoor scenes, although the engineering was fantastic — especially at the end of the Thanksgiving concert, how the sides raised to get the "stage" off. Loved the revolve too.

My biggest problem was with Gina Beck — I hate to say it because she sounded gorgeous when she sung, but I thought she was too old for the part. It meant she sometimes seemed a bit dim and ditsy in places where I think with somebody younger it would have come across as naive/inexperienced/sheltered. It did also mean that Emile didn't seem much older than her.

In a concert singing the same songs, I'd have said she was amazing, I just couldn't always suspend belief to see her as younger. Good job I didn't go to the performances when she was pregnant.