Lillian Ross has written a super article in The New Yorker about watching the revival with the daughters of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Mary Rodgers Guettel and Alice Hammerstein Mathias. Some of the highlights:

About the Orchestra in the Current Production:

Mary gave Alice an affectionate pat on the shoulder. “Did you see the trumpet in the orchestra pit?” she asked. “The player colored it bright orange! Did you ever see an orange trumpet before? And there are thirty live musicians! No fucking electronic stuff!”

About Harold Prince and Stephen Sondheim:

“I went to the opening, in 1949, with Hal Prince as my date,” Mary said. “I’d known him for three years, since I was fifteen. We ran into Steve Sondheim there, and I introduced Hal to him. Hal was worried about being drafted. They’ve been friends, and collaborators, ever since.” She said that Oscar Hammerstein had been a mentor to Sondheim. “I think Steve’s favorite R. and H. show is Carousel.”

About Richard Rogers:

“I don’t believe you can judge a genius by the way he treats the human race. He may be as mean as a snake, and my father often was. But a genius gives back – oh, my, does he ever…. People say that Daddy could compose music fast, five minutes after seeing the lyric, but he spent many weeks thinking about each song.”

Enjoy the rest by following the link above. It’s a great read!

Purchases from Amazon.com

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
1. South Pacific Original Broadway Cast CD.
2. South Pacific Original Film Soundtrack CD.
3. South Pacific Complete Studio Recording CD.
4. South Pacific Broadway Revival Cast CD.