South Pacific Cast Recording to Be Released 5/27

A cast recording for the Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific will be released on May 27 on the Sony BMG Masterworks label. Currently in previews, this first-ever Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic itself based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific opens at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on April 3, directed by Bartlett Sher.

LCT's production of South Pacific stars Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush and Paul Szot as Emile de Becque, with Matthew Morrison as Lt. Joe Cable, Danny Burstein as Luther Billis and Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary. The revival features a 30-piece orchestra conducted by Ted Sperling performing the original 1949 orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett, with dance and instrumental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.

South Pacific premiered at Broadway's Majestic Theater on April 7, 1949, enjoying a five-year run and winning nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It introduced instant standards such as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime” "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame" and “Bali Ha'i.”

The South Pacific recording session will be held on April 14 at the Legacy Recording Studios, produced by David Caddick and David Lai.