South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall on DVD

Rodgers and Hammerstein's follow-up to Carousel was South Pacific, and my follow-up to the film Carousel is the 2005 taping for television of a one-night only semi-staged performance of South Pacific at Carnegie Hall.

The star-studded cast for this event was mostly from the world of musical theater with a couple of notable exceptions--Reba McEntire, and Alec Baldwin. Emile de Becque is sung by Tony-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell; Jason Danielley is Joe Cable; and Lillias White is Bloody Mary.

Mr. Mitchell is one of my favorite baritones, in the mold of John Raitt, with a robust and resonant voice that can climb into the high baritone range without losing its core. His singing of "Some Enchanted Evening" holds its own with the long list of operatic baritones who have sung the song before him, "This Nearly was Mine" rightfully brings the house down. In a show that is so much about race, though, I find it hard to see Nellie Forbush falling for Emile (portrayed by an African-American) then balking at the skin color of de Becque's children. But in a concert version, that is probably less important than in a fully-staged version.

Jason Danielley is a very likeable performer who can handle the rangey songs of Joe Cable. I've heard him live in concert, with his wife Marin Mazzie. While Mazzie is a high-wattage performer, Mr. Danielley can deliver the goods, too, as he does here with "Younger Than Springtime" and "You've Got to be Carefully Taught", although I question whether this song was shortened in this version.

Ms. McEntire is well-cast as Nellie Forbush. Her trademark accent and singing style really drive home the differences between Nellie and Emil. While I don't always agree with some of the vocal choices she makes, its hard to argue that she is a very watchable and listenable performer--in any genre.

Concert stagings of shows are hard things to balance, I would imagine. Often times, the performers' focus on their hand-held scripts seems to keep the performance from reaching out past the stage edge. Lillias White as Bloody Mary seems to understand this, and sings "Bali Hai" off book. It makes her performance that much more watchable, for me. Ms. McEntire does the same with the "Honey Bun" song, which from both a staging and engagement standpoint make it a lot more fun.

South Pacific
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Presented in concert in 2005 at Carnegie Hall
Cast: Reba McEntire, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alec Baldwin, Jason Danielley, Lillias White.