THE ENDURING RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN CLASSIC MUSICAL
I'm gonna go wash that man right outta my hair....well, that's the plan anyway for our heroine Nellie Forbush, a naive U.S. Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, when she falls in love with Emile de Becque, a French plantation owner on an unnamed South Pacific island. Rodger and Hammerstein's enduring tale of love in the face of prejudice and war that enjoyed critical and box-office success when it premiered on Broadway in 1949.
The plot centers on two love stories; the first between Nellie and Emile, as she struggles to overcome her prejudice towards his mixed-race children, and the second between an American navy lieutenant and a Tonkinese woman, where he fears becoming a social outcast should he marry her.
Themes of prejudice permeate throughout the musical, helped along by memorable characters such as the girl's mother, the mysterious Bloody Mary, and an exuberant petty officer. With the threat of World War II looming over their idyllic surroundings, both couples must overcome their fears in order to stay together.
The musical features well known standards such as "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" and "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught".
