This Nearly Was Mine
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This Nearly Was Mine
''South Pacific'' is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1947 book ''Tales of the South Pacific'' and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism. The plot centers on an American nurse stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II, who falls in love with a middle-aged expatriate French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A secondary romance, between a U.S. Marine lieutenant and a young Tonkinese woman, explores his fears of the social consequences should he marry his Asian sweetheart. The issue of racial p ...
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Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II. With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including ''Pal Joey (musical), Pal Joey'', ''A Connecticut Yankee (musical), A Connecticut Yankee'', ''On Your Toes'' and ''Babes in Arms.'' With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as ''Oklahoma!'', ''Flower Drum Song'', ''Carousel (musical), Carousel'', ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific'', ''The King and I'', and ''The Sound of Music''. His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for brin ...
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Tonkin
Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the Northern and Thanh- Nghệ regions, north of the Gianh River. From 1884 to early 1945, this term was used for the French protectorate of Tonkin, composed of only the Northern region. Names "Tonkin" is a Western rendition of 東京 ''Đông Kinh'', meaning 'Eastern Capital'. This was the name of the capital of the Lê dynasty (present-day Hanoi). Locally, Tonkin is nowadays known as ''miền Bắc'', or ''Bắc Bộ'' (北部), meaning ' Northern Region'. The name was used from 1883 to 1945 for the French protectorate of Tonkin (Vietnamese: ''Bắc Kỳ'' 北圻), a constituent territory of French Indochina. Geography It is south of Yunnan (Vân Nam) and Guangxi (Quảng Tây) Provinces of China; east of northern Laos and ...
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I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy
"A Wonderful Guy" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific.'' It was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production and sung by Mitzi Gaynor in the 1958 film adaptation. In the show, Nellie sings this song after being convinced that despite the fact that Emile killed a man accidentally in a fight, there is good in him. And so she is elated to be in love with him. Rodgers and Hammerstein were as inspired by Mary Martin's personality as they were by the character of Nellie Forbush to write this song. They introduced it to Mary Martin one night when they were at Joshua Logan's house fine-tuning the script. Hammerstein wrote this song to express the exuberance of Nellie's character at this point in the show, and it carried over to Mary Martin's performance of it. Mary Martin was so thrilled that when she sang it on stage, she performed cartwheels on the stage at every turn of "I'm in love." Other recordings *Hit recordings in 1 ...
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Younger Than Springtime
"Younger Than Springtime" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been widely recorded as a jazz standard. The song is performed in the first act by Lieutenant Cable when he makes love to his adored Liat, to whom he was only recently introduced by her mother Bloody Mary. The song shows that love just happens and does not follow the rules of racial separation prevalent in the United States at that time. In the original Broadway show, the song was performed by William Tabbert while in the 1958 film, it was sung by John Kerr miming to a vocal by Bill Lee. Lyrical Analysis Hammerstein used repetition as a key aspect of the song repeating the words "am I" and "are you" when describing Cable and Liat: "softer than starlight", "gayer than laughter" and "younger than springtime". Musical Analysis The song is written in F Major. Other notable recordings *1949 William Tabbert in the Original Broadway Cast album. *1949 Dick Haymes - inc ...
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There Is Nothing Like A Dame
"There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (for 4 part male voices, 2 tenors and 2 basses) is one of the songs from the 1949 musical '' South Pacific''. The song was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is widely popular in the musical arts, often sung by men's choirs. It is sung by the sailors (e.g. Sven Larsen) because they all long for women in their lives. The song is broken up in the middle when the nurses run by, and Billis gives Nurse Nellie Forbush her laundry. The song also has a sung recitative between the verses and the Chorus. A comic version of this song was performed in the 1977 Christmas edition of the BBC's '' Morecambe and Wise Show'', as well as being performed in another ''Morecambe and Wise Show'' — one of their shows featured Cliff Richard in the song. The parts of the sailors were all played by BBC newsreaders of the time with Peter Woods getting to sing the distinctive last line. Another comic version of the song was performed on ''T ...
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Some Enchanted Evening
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin': The American Musical on Stage and Screen'' Overlook Press (1987), p. 206, excerpted in: Block, Geoffrey''The Richard Rodgers Reader'' p. 91, Oxford University Press (2006). Andrew Lloyd Webber describes it as the "greatest song ever written for a musical". The song is a three-verse solo for the leading male character, Emile, in which he describes first seeing a stranger, knowing that he will see her again, and dreaming of her laughter. He sings that when you find your "true love", you must "fly to her side, and make her your own, / Or all through your life you may dream all alone." In ''South Pacific'' The song appears in the first act of the musical. It is sung as a solo by the show's male lead, Emile de Becque, a middle-aged French ex ...
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I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair
"I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" is a song from the musical '' South Pacific'', sung by Nellie Forbush, the female lead, originally played by Mary Martin in the 1949 Broadway production. Her character, fed up with a man (Emile De Becque) and singing energetically in the shower, claims that she will forget about him. The song was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein in response to Martin's request. She had starred on Broadway for years and Martin suggested that she wash her hair on stage during the performance. Adaptations The song was adapted into a commercial jingle for Clairol hair coloring ("I'm gonna wash that gray right outa my hair") in the early 1980s. PJ Harvey referenced the song in her 1992 single " Sheela-Na-Gig" with the repeated lyric "gonna wash that man right outa my hair". 50 Foot Wave's song "Bone China" also references this song in the lyric, "Gonna wash that man right out of my head / and soap him into my eyes". The song was covered in the 2004 film ...
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Bali Ha'i
"Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. The name refers to a mystical island, visible on the horizon but not reachable, and was originally inspired by the sight of Ambae island from neighboring Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, where author James Michener was stationed in World War II. In ''South Pacific'' In the musical, Bali Ha'i is a volcanic island within sight of the island on which most of the action takes place. The troops think of Bali Ha'i as an exotic paradise, but it is off-limits—except to officers. The matriarch of Bali Ha'i, Bloody Mary, conducts much business with the troops, and she meets Lt. Joseph Cable soon after he arrives. She sings to him her mysterious song "Bali Ha'i", with its haunting orchestral accompaniment, because she wants to entice him to visit her island. She doesn't tell him that she wants him to meet, and fall in love with, her young daughter, Liat. Resemblance to score for ...
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Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (1949), the title character in ''Peter Pan'' (1954), and Maria von Trapp in ''The Sound of Music'' (1959). She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman. Early life Martin was born in Weatherford, Texas. Her autobiography described her childhood as secure and happy. She had close relationships with both of her parents as well as her siblings. As a young actress Martin had an instinctive ear for recreating musical sounds. Martin's father, Preston Martin, was a lawyer, and her mother, Juanita Presley, was a violin teacher. Although the doctors told Juanita that she would risk her life if she attempted to have another baby, she was determined to have a boy. Instead, she had Mary, who later obliged by ...
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Ezio Pinza
Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. At the San Francisco Opera, Pinza sang 26 roles during 20 seasons from 1927 to 1948. Pinza also sang to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. After retiring from the Met in 1948, Pinza enjoyed a fresh career on Broadway in musical theatre, most notably in ''South Pacific'', in which he created the role of Emile de Becque. He also appeared in several Hollywood films. Biography Early years Ezio Fortunato Pinza was born in modest circumstances in Rome in 1892 and grew up on Italy's east coast, in the ancient city of Ravenna. He studied singing at Bologna's Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, making his operatic debut at age 22 in 1914, as Oroveso in '' Norma ...
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Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Oklahoma, Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie. The original Broadway theatre, Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943. It was a box office hit and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances, later enjoying award-winning revivals, national tours, foreign productions and an Academy Awards, Oscar-winning 1955 Oklahoma! (1955 film), film adaptation. It has long been a popular choice for school and community productions. Rodgers and Hammerstein won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citatio ...
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