Overview: Rodgers and Hammerstein's glorious score for South Pacific gets a surge of welcome new energy in this 2005 Carnegie Hall concert. Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime) is in spectacular voice singing "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine," but the real discovery is country star Reba McEntire as Nellie Forbush. McEntire won raves when she replaced Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun, but her performance was never recorded and released to the general public.

DVD Verdict: The score for 'South Pacific,' by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the richest, biggest and most romantic Broadway has ever seen. The show opened in 1949, set records and won just about every award there was. Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza starred as Nellie Forbush, a young nurse from Little Rock, and Emile de Becque, an older French planter. In its essence, South Pacific is the story of two romances. In one, between Nellie and de Becque, Nellie must face the consequences of her prejudices. She does, and overcomes them. In the other, between Lt. Joe Cable and Liat, Cable does not. This concert version was staged without sets or costumes, but with a full orchestra and chorus. Reba McEntire plays Nellie, Brian Stokes Mitchell plays de Becque and Jason Danieley plays Cable. Lillias White is Bloody Mary, Liat's mother, and Alec Baldwin is Luther Billis. The entire cast is excellent, but this one-time performance would not have worked as well as it does without McEntire and Mitchell. They bring a natural command to their parts, they are believable as two people falling in love in the middle of a war. Most importantly, they sing superbly and in character. 'South Pacific' would not be the classic it is without the extraordinary Rodgers and Hammerstein score. Rodgers and Hammerstein were two hugely gifted pros at the top of their game when they wrote South Pacific. The score not only was carefully constructed to advance the story and, deliberately, to aim for hits, but to dig deeply into serious feelings about mature love, racial prejudice, uncertainty and plain joy. Rodgers and Hammerstein were consummate artists who knew exactly what they were doing. With this concert version, 'South Pacific' receives one of the best presentations I've seen. The emphasis is on the score, with dialogue used to keep the story-line clear. Staging is cleverly handled, with the singers sitting in chairs in front of the orchestra and the chorus in the rear. Stage director Walter Bobbie keeps the movements fluid and interesting, especially when he moves the chorus up front. The DVD presentation is excellent. Although it's a filmed record of a stage presentation, video director Steve Ruggi uses the cameras and editing to keep things moving. It's one of the best editing jobs for a staged show that I've come across. In closing, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'South Pacific' 2005 Concert from Carnegie Hall" features Reba McEntire's authenically accented voice bringing Nellie Forbush to vibrant life while Brian Stokes Mitchell melts your heart with 'This Nearly Was Mine' and Alec Baldwin provides comic relief. This is a Full Screen Presentation (4:3) but does not come with any Special Features save for a 12-page booklet.