Rodgers and Hammersteins Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "South Pacific" has remained a mainstay of the American musical theater since it opened in 1949; and its powerful message about racial intolerance continues to resonate with twenty-first century audiences.Drawing on extensive research in the Rodgers and the Hammerstein papers; including Hammersteins personal notes on James A. Micheners Tales of the South Pacific; Jim Lovensheimer offers a fascinating reading of "South Pacific" that explores the shows complex messages and demonstrates how the presentation of those messages changed throughout the creative process. Indeed; the author shows how Rodgers and especially Hammerstein continually refined and softened the theme of racial intolerance until it was more acceptable to mainstream Broadway audiences. Likewise; Lovensheimer describes the treatment of gender and colonialism in the musical; tracing how it both reflected and challenged early Cold War Era American norms. The book also offers valuable background to the writing of "South Pacific;" exploring the earlier careers of both Rodgers and Hammerstein; showing how they frequently explored serious social issues in their other works; and discussing their involvement in the political movements of their day; such as Hammersteins founding membership in the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League. Finally; the book features many wonderful appendices; including two that compare the original draft and final form of the classic songs "Im Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-a My Hair" and "Im In Love With a Wonderful Guy."Thoroughly researched and compellingly written; this superb book offers a rich; intriguing portrait of a Broadway masterpiece and the era in which it was created.
#674493 in eBooks 2006-03-15 2006-03-15File Name: B003YL3PHM
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