1.4 South Pacific!

The Gospel of Musical Theatre

This week, we continue with our deep dive into Rodgers & Hammerstein with South Pacific (1949) – their first “big hit” and a pioneering (but problematic) look at the deeply-embedded racism of white Americans during World War II.

We talk about:

• Mary Martin, Enzo Pinza, and how Rodgers and Hammerstein created a love story where two characters never have to sing together.
• The phenomenon of the Second World War and how Rodgers and Hammerstein began to craft a new mythology out the American experience of that war.
• What it means for white Americans to be "carefully taught" to fear and discriminate against those who are not white.
• Oscar Hammerstein’s social agenda, his early training in faith and religion, and how South Pacific embodies his theology of social change.

You’ll hear:

• Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in the Original Broadway Cast Recording (1949) singing "Twin Soliloquies" and "Some Enchanted Evening."
• Matthew Morrison singing "You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught" from the 2008 Broadway Revival recording

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