No understanding of musical theater is complete without an appreciation of Rodgers, Hammerstein and Logan’s achievements with South Pacific.
The Creative Team
Richard Rodgers
Music
(June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer, known largely for his work in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant impact on popular music.
Oscar Hammerstein II
Lyrics and Book
(July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.
Joshua Logan
Book & Directer | Musical Staging
(October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American stage and film director. He directed and co-wrote South Pacific. Logan shared the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Rodgers and Hammerstein II for co-writing South Pacific. The show also earned him a Tony Award for Best Director.
Some Enchanted Evening: The Impossible Story of South Pacific
The extraordinary story behind the creation of South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest show.
‘“Those fellows are so mad,” James Michener would remember thinking about Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. “They could make a great musical out of three pages of the Bronx telephone directory.” Rodgers and Hammerstein, the most successful songwriting team on Broadway, were angry because they’d just had their first flop, Allegro. What they had in front of them now was Michener’s first book. Tales of the South Pacific was a neither-fish-nor-fowl creation—not a standard novel with a beginning, middle, and end, but rather an accumulation of atmospheric character sketches. “
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution, by Todd S. Purdum, pg. 148
Listen to NPR’s podcast about Hammerstein creating the lyrics for “Younger Than Springtime”
Joshua Logan, South Pacific's director and co-author, wrote in his memoirs that when he heard the song, "I was so let down that I blurted out my first feelings. 'That's awful! That's the worst song I ever heard! Good god, that's terrible!' They looked at me in shock; no one had ever spoken to them like that before, I'm sure."
“Josh Logan had to fight with his collaborators to have Cable appear bare-chested on stage when the lights came up after he had made love to Liat.”
South Pacific Companion, pg. 120
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Daughters on South Pacific
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Daughters, Mary Rodgers Guettel and Alice Hammerstein Mathias talk about their father's show SOUTH PACIFIC.
The Creative Team with Mary Martin