Watch South Pacific at Vivian Beaumont Theatre on April 4, 2008. The show will run after a long 60 year gap. It was last shown at the Majestic Theatre in April, 1949. Once again, the theatre will be filled with the echo of a young and energetic woman who assertively claims that shes as normal as a blueberry pie.

The same atmosphere was created back in 1949 when the audience was spell bound with Nellie, the character who emerged more or less an emblem in a country that was freshly recovering from the effects of World War II. A new kind of power and victory was felt among the people of United States.

After running at the Majestic Theatre, South Pacific shifted to the Broadway Theatre in 1953. Here, it entertained the audience for continuous 5-year duration. During this time, it gave 1,952 shows! It ranked fifth in the list of longest running shows of Broadway! The original star cast included Mary Martin playing the role of Nellie Forbush and Ezio Pinza playing the role of Emile de Becque, the French local plantation owner. Betta St. John and Juanita Hall could also be seen in the musical.

A concert version of South Pacific was produced in 2005. It was shown live at Carnegie Hall. The concert was reduced to 2 hours duration. It contained all the songs as well as the entire musical score. The concert stars were Reba McEntire in the character of Nellie Forbush and Brian Stokes Mitchell playing Emile. There was a complete supporting cast, along with Alec Baldwin playing Luther Billis and Lillias White playing Bloody Mary. In the following year (2006), the concert version was recorded and telecast by PBS.

Year 2007 saw the opening of UK tour of South Pacific at Blackpool Grand Theatre. The tour is still on and is schedule to end in July 2008 at Cardiff New Theatre. The star cast includes Helena Blackman playing the role of Nellie Forbush and Dave Willetts playing Emile. Martin Dodd and Peter Frosdick have produced the show for UK productions. Julian Woolford has directed it, while Chris Hocking has given the choreography.

The aspect that drew the most admiration from the audience was the staging of the gambit that chalked out Nellies journey starting from Little Rock and ending at the South Pacific. Another feature of this tour was that when the audience entered the theatre, they came across the map of America, and not the theatre of war!

You have two choices  you can either be a part of the UK tour of this musical, or watch this show at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. However, for the latter, you need to be prompt in booking tickets, as they are selling like hot cakes!

Why not call the ticketing service instead of struggling at the crowded box office? These services have such resources that can arrange for tickets even if entire theatre is booked. Are you still thinking? South Pacific is at the nearest theatre in your town. Do not miss this opportunity to watch terrific talent and creativity on stage!

The author of this article writes many reviews for Broadway and the South Pacific Theatre musical, His site is updated daily with reviews and news on musicals and plays and has resources for locating and purchasing South Pacific Theatre tickets for any show time.