South Pacific (musical) of her portrayal of Nellie Forbush ... who is so shocked to find her early racial prejudices cropping up. Hers is a completely irresistible performance." When "South Pacific" opened in London in November 1951, the reviews were mixed. London's "Daily Express" praised the music but disliked other elements of that show, writing, "We got a 42nd Street "Madame Butterfly", the weakest of all the Hammerstein-Rodgers musicals. The "Daily Mail" suggested, "The play moved so slowly between its songs that it seemed more like "South Soporific"." "The Times" applauded the songs but indicated that "before the end the singing and the
South Pacific (musical) allowed him to quit his job as an editor at Macmillan and to become a full-time writer. Over the next five decades, his lengthy, detailed novels centering on different places would dominate the bestseller lists. The role of Nellie Forbush was the first time with Hammerstein that Rodgers made the leading female role a belter, rather than a lyric soprano like Laurey in "Oklahoma!" and Julie in "Carousel". According to Mordden, "Nellie was something new in R&H, carrying a goodly share of the score on a 'Broadway' voice". Nellie does not sing together with Emile, because Rodgers promised Martin that