Dear Vocalisters:
Did it bother any of you that the story line emphasis was greatly
changed for this TV production of "South Pacific"? In the original
score and libretto the racial issue is incorporated within the body
of the work rather than becoming the primary focus of the musical.
The effect of allowing the racial issue to simply exist without
needing to be the core of the play made its effect much stronger. In
the TV production the racial issue became a "preaching" issue and the
matter of "war" and soldiers away from home was minimized. Yet it
was those latter two issues which drove the original story and made
the racial issue more poignant because it existed as a "matter of
fact" and when it finally came to the forefront it was both a
surprise and a real crucial shock.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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