So, I secretly love a musical. The first one I openly loved was THE SOUND OF MUSIC. It was quite a feat that that very musical could hold my first grade attention through two VHS tapes. But it did and could on repeat viewings. I don't remember much about SOUTH PACFIC other than "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair," but that very musical is about to get an update. It seems like there are some other musicals that would be more obvious choices for a remake at this point in time, but that's the thing about Hollywood, they always keep us guessing.   

South Pacific, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, was an adaptation of the James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific. The show is currently enjoying a national tour and was made into a feature film in 1958. Ileen Maisel and Bob Balaban will produce the musical for a more modern audience.

Balaban told Variety that "our movie will be a tougher, more realistic retelling of the same classic story of two very different people whose love for each other transcends their enormous cultural differences. We think there’s a whole new audience just waiting to fall in love with its magical score, epic romance and exotic locale.”

So it seems they are looking for a "harder-edged version" of the story while keeping the original songs. In order to do this, I imagine the duo plan to lean more on Michener's original novel and less on the other stage and film verisons of the story. It will be interesting to see how the music will stand up against the reimagining of the story. I can see how the plot can lend itself to grittier and edgier fare, but I wonder what kind of updates the music will be given. This is interesting, to say the least.

Source Variety, via Collider