There’s been quite a bit of media coverage of the South Pacific Broadway revival. And rightly so. This is the first revival in 60 years of a show that was phenomenally successful in its time, running for five years and winning a Pulitzer and eight Tonys. The original cast album was also a big hit, with all those great songs: Bali Hai, Some Enchanted Evening, Nothin’ Like a Dame, Wonderful Guy, Younger than Springtime, Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair…  

I never knew that the play is based on two short stories by James A. Michener. (I didn’t know he wrote anything less than 900 pages long.) I also didn’t realize that South Pacific boldly questioned core American values about race and class. In 1949, no explanation was necessary for Nellie Forbush’s shock at discovering the man she loves is the father of biracial children. The audience totally got why that kind of news would be grounds to call off an engagement. In the revival, they’ve had to “over-explain” it. I suppose that’s a good thing.

Early audiences didn’t care for the song You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught, and recommended it be taken out of the show. Apparently, audiences were familiar with  racial prejudices, they just didn’t like being reminded of them. Michener, Rogers and Hammerstein all agreed that to remove the song would remove the guts of the show.

Bartlett Sher, the director of the revival, says that part of what makes South Pacific  a classic is that “it can return to us from our past to give us lessons about our future. And it can give us a sense of both who we were and who we can become.”

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!