South Pacific vs King and I vs My Fair Lady

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 8:35am

Which one did you prefer?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 8:47am

I loved all three. Bartlett Sher worked pure magic on all three revivals. 

[BwayLB]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 10:07am

South Pacific and King anf I were equally beautiful. I have yet to see My Fair Lady

[natashalost]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 10:30am

Personally, I loved My Fair Lady the best probably for sentimental reasons. I grew up watching the film and when it was announced they were doing a revival I decided to watch the film again. Honestly, the ending didnt resonate with me in the way it did before, I think partly because of the ending. Then, I saw the revival and my love of the show was renewed.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 10:43am

South Pacific, hands down. Its the best written show of the three.

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 12:05pm

South Pacific and My Fair Lady are both beautifully written shows. The King and I is not quite as strong, but its classic status is nevertheless deserved. Each production was excellent but I would rank them 1) South Pacific, 2) My Fair Lady and 3) The King and I.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 12:29pm

My Fair Lady is probably my favorite of the three, but really theyll all go down as classic productions for very good reason.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 3:16pm

`Overall, I loved all three.  My order would be:

1.  The King and I -- I thought the staging was great (and have seen the current B&T touring version which, without the benefit of the Beaumont stage, still works beautifully).  I do not think Kelli O'Hara was the best Anna I have seen (IMO Donna Murphy was), and had issues with Ken Watanabe, but the cast overall was outstanding.  And IMO, it is the best or the three truly great scores.  I must admit that I Have Dreamed, almost a throwaway, may be my favorite song ever.

2.  South Pacific.  The entire cast was great, the score was great, the staging was great, and the staging of the overture was the single most thrilling moment of any of the three to me.  Talk about stage magic.  My quibble is with the structure of the show itself.  The movie of SP is a guilty pleasure of mine, because it is truly not good.  But I love it anyway.  I thought the opening of the movie was much better, with the big numbers followed by our introduction to the Nellie / Emile story.  I feel that too much time is  spent  on the long, quiet opening scene in the show.  While the songs in that scene are good, it just opens too small for me.  Thank God for the overture.  But I loved what Sher did with the stage, and some of the effects that were introduced, e.g., the drill (?) done over a slow play of Honey Bun, were brilliant.  

3. My Fair Lady.  My biggest issue was some of the staging.  There were things I loved about the staging, e.g., the way she ran through the house as she sang I Could Have Danced All Night.  There were also things that bothered me: (1) the scene changes where the library was constantly moved from the back of the stage to the front, seemed to take forever and, for me, slowed the pace of the entire second act in particular.  I felt it drag in a way that neither of the above did.  (2) I hated Norbert Leo Butz, whose over-the-top performance I partially blamed on Sher, who apparently made no effort to tone him down a little bit.  The first time I saw him was in Thou Shalt Not, and I thought he was outstanding.  I have become sick of him over time because I keep on thinking that he is trying to channel the character from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in everything he does these days.  (3) I just seem to feel the length more than with the other shows.

Finally, I loved Lauren Ambrose and absolutely loved the staging of the final moments, which were so significant when you consider the fact that not a word of text was altered.

 

The IMO awards:

Best Score: The King and I

Best Song: I Have Dreamed, followed by I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face and This Nearly Was Mine.

Best Use of the Beaumont Stage: The King and I

Best Performance: Lauren Ambrose in MFL

Best Moment: South Pacific Overture

Best Direction Overall: Probably South Pacific, despite the quibbles.  Would it have been deemed a sacrilege if he had altered the sequence of the early scenes?  MFL staging would be #3.

Updated On: 1/12/19 at 03:16 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 3:32pm

Ive only seen the recent revivals of The King & I and My Fair Lady. The King & I remains one of my favorite theatrical experiences while I was disappointed in My Fair Lady in a way that I yet to coherently communicate.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 4:15pm

I go back and forth on my top two but with that in mind...

1. The King and I- I thought it was a very good interpretation of a great show (YMMV). I saw it multiple times and through all the cast changes it remained a solid production. I did not think it was a feminist marvel but I do think some small tweaks/decisions, particularly the direction and portrayal of Lady Thiang, elevated the show in a subtle way.

2. South Pacific- I only saw it once with Laura Osnes (the less about that the better). But it has a fabulous cast album and I think it deals the best with problematic material without getting in its own way. Great casting for the original revival cast. 

3. My Fair Lady- I still haven't gone to see Laura and Danny but evaluating the original revival cast, I had my issues. I also had issues with the direction. There was some clumsiness. Of the three, I think it's the production where the strength of the material overcame the weaknesses in the production the most. Some bright spots but overall I think I could have seen a better, more enjoyable MFL elsewhere which is not something I thought seeing the other two productions.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 1/12/19 at 11:58pm

The King and I by far.