Director Bartrlett Sher's rendition of South Pacific could have been a hit simply based on the strength of bringing back one of the most beloved musicals of the 20^th century, but the 2008 revival has set itself apart from those in recent memory with story as relevant today as it was when it debuted in 1949.

This reincarnation of the musical stars Kelli O'Hara as the torn nurse Ensign Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot as the French plantation owner Emile de Becque. The pair makes a powerful focus of the musical. Kelli O'Hara proves that she has earned every one of those three Tony Award nominations, the most recent coming for her role as Enisign Forbush. Paulo Szot's performance as de Becque merited the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Paulo Szot continues to shine when he delivers large measures like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly was Mine" with a sincerity that make the songs truly about love rather than grand proclamations meant to move the story along.

Vivian Beaumont Theatre is blessed with the revival under the direction of Bartlett Sher, who once again earns his nod s a premiere classical director from critics. That nod was seconded by the 2008 Tony Award for Best Direction.

This is not simply a musical with great accolades and impressive names on the roster, this is a fine production. O'Hara and Szot do more than appear compatible as lovers. They bleed their hearts on stage. O'Hara's musical voice is accompanied by a tremendous acting ability that exposes her cultural conflict nakedly on stage.

Nellie Forbush is from Arkansas where people keep to their own. She must learn to accept that her new interest has been widowed and is left with two Polynesian-Europena children that he truly loves. She must choose to accept his acceptance or lose him forever.

The story, based on two short stories from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning Tales of the South Pacific, blends the external chaos of World War II beautifully with the internal struggles with personal prejudices learned long ago.

Matthew Morrison and Li Jun Li bring the secondary love story to life with a mixture of naivety and brilliance as Lt. Joseph Cable and Liat. Rarely are peripheral story lines as compelling as this, and rarely do actors and actresses revel in these parts as these two.

Lt. Cable is being torn apart by concerns over safety and prejudice. He loves Liat, but must consider the cruel nature of making her a widow so early on as he awaits his covert mission and he must except that loves no bounds, by race, creed, or another societal segmentation.

Morrison is more than just a Broadway selling theater tickets in the role. He is believable as a military man and compelling as performer-two professions that are often miles away in real life and on stage. Jun Li gives a sweet performance that melts the audience's heart as well as Lt. Cable's. Her voice commanding as a na?ve, determined young woman, maturing before the audiences' eyes and yet set on landing her prize.

One would fear that the Tony Award buzz would ruin the performance with too much attention and spoiled stars, but South Pacific tickets remain well worth it as the performance remains as grounded as the force waiting for battle in the second front of World War II.

Michael Yeargan's set design is both grand and understated. Letting the performers dominate the scene while appeasing the audience with a believable setting. Luther Billis, played by Danny Burstein, lightens the mood with well-timed comedic effect that does not let those with tickets to Vivian Beaumont Theatre forget that men will be boys, even in times of war.

South Pacific reminds us that its message of struggling acceptance in the face of cultural and personal prejudices is as powerful today as it was in the turbulent social landscape of the ?50s and ?60s. The musical does not dress up the script with needless modernizations. The message is clearly relevant and it allows the theater goers to enjoy it without insulting anybody's intelligence.