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Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (The New Broadway Cast)

from: SONY CLASSICS

Release Date May 27, 2008
I bought this with a certain amount of foreboding, because of the recent Reba McIntyre/Brian Stokes Mitchell recording where Reba decided to change Hammerstein's "Wonderful Guy" lyrics. But WOW! This is the only reading of the score that comes close to the 1949 original. The Rodgers & Hammerstein score is a hit parade unto itself, and it positively gleams here. The singers are excellent and the Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations bring back a sound Broadway hasn't heard in years, one which puts the present anemic-sized pit bands to shame. Two more notes: (1) Mary Martin may not have been a raving beauty if photos from the era are to be believed, but she was one of those stars who could light up a stage just by walking onto it. Gertrude ... Read More: