K: It certainly sounds like the perfect opportunity for you, a role written for an opera singer. If you were going to make the move to Broadway, what better chance to make the jump than this?
D: Exactly. And for me, there is no transition. It’s sort of a co-existence. One is sort of helping the other. My operatic career and 20 plus years of experience that I have in that only helps me in this role – in addition to the director saying “don’t play at this. Just be.” I have a wife of ethnicity, and my director Bart Sher said “You ARE Emile De Becque. “You have a wife of ethnicity. You have two children – Richard and Maria, who are the same age as my children in the play – of ethnic decent.” I’m a Francophile – French is my second language. I’ve lived in Paris for much of my professional career. And I have a temper. And I’m the right age.
It’s all based on the Michener novel, “Tales of the South Pacific,” the Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It’s a real May / December romance, where there are two sort of parallel love stories going on. This one between Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque is sort of a real last chance for Emile de Becque to find ‘the one.’ And Nellie Forbush, he falls madly in love with her, after being a bit of a roué and having gotten around the island. Taking a Polynesian wife, and having had children by her. And when she dies, and he met Miss Forbush, it was his last chance. So the stakes were very, very high.
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This reads as if David Pittsinger had transitioned from starring in this role on Broadway to touring in the part, but Paulo Szot originated the role in the revival, won a Tony and a bunch of other awards for the role, starred in the wonderful televised version that just aired on PBS and sang on the original cast CD (great CD). I've read that David Pittsinger was one of a couple of replacements for Szot when he was off and IBDb.com describes him that way: http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=463981
http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=481768 Apparently Szot mainly played the role on Broadway from its opening in April 2008 until it closed in August 2010 but when he took time off for other commitments, Pittsinger replaced him. And per the tour site, Rod Gilfrey toured in it first. Maybe this is a PR thing, I'm sure David Pittsinger is great in the role, but people seeing the tour will not be seeing the performer known for playing the role on Broadway.
And gee, a lot of typos in this article.