All About "South Pacific" Trivia Quiz

Answer: tell me why

Here are the words of "Dites-Moi" roughly translated into English.

"Tell me why life is beautiful.
Tell me why life is gay.
Tell me why, dear Miss,
Is it because you love me?"

Answer: green

At this point in the play, I think Nellie sees Emile as a sort of "knight in shining armor" who can do no wrong. It doesn't take long for that image to begin to fall apart though.

Answer: that Nellie will find him too old, and choose a younger man

Although later in the play, Emile agrees with Nellie that he is also a "cock-eyed optimist", I think that in reality he is much more grounded and pessimistic in his outlook on life than Nellie. It is around this time that Nellie finds out that Emile once killed a man in France, and I think that he starts to slip a little off his pedestal in her mind.

She refuses to accept it though. She tells Emile, "You just told me that you killed a man, and that it's all right", with some doubt, but immediately follows it up with, "And yet I know it's all right." I think she's just attempting to set her own mind at ease.

Answer: "in your dreams"

Here is another of those famous R&H songs that say "I love you" without saying "I love you" outright. Rather than coming right out and telling Nellie that he loves her, Emile explains to her what a man should do when he finds his true love, never directly talking about Nellie and himself.

Answer: betel nuts

"Betel nuts" are seeds from the Betel palm. They are chewed as a mildly euphoric stimulant, increasing the capacity for work and causing the body to overheat and sweat. They stain the teeth red, and are addictive. (This information comes from the Wikipedia article on the betel nut.)

Answer: Tokyo Rose

"Tokyo Rose" was actually a legend generated by Allied military personnel for the more than 20 female radio broadcasters working for the Japanese government during WWII. (from the Wikipedia article "Tokyo Rose".)

Answer: "floatin' in de sunshine"

Bali Ha'i is based on the real island of Ambae (also known as Aoba) in the New Hebrides (today known as Vanuatu) where James A. Michener, author of "Tales of the South Pacific" (which "South Pacific" is based on), was stationed in World War Two. (from the Wikipedia article "Bali Ha'i".)

Answer: "You can't kiss a frog when he's not a prince."

Try as she might, Nellie is too much in love with Emile to "wash him outa her hair".

Answer: "a few short weeks"

Nellie agrees to marry a man who, just a few moments earlier, she was going to "wash out of her hair".

Answer: unoriginal

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, "bromidic" means "lacking in originality; trite". This is a follow-up to her previous lines about being "trite and as gay as a daisy", and "a cliché coming true".

Answer: "If you want , you will find me"

According to Babel Fish, a literal translation of "If you try, you'll find me", into French is actually, "Si vous essayez, vous me trouverez." Doesn't quite fit the meter as nicely, does it?

Answer: morning

Joe is shocked when he learns that Bloody Mary is Liat's mother.

Answer: "A Cock-eyed Optimist"

The last few lines of the reprise of "A Cock-eyed Optimist" is the only time in the entire play that Nellie and Emile actually sing together. This is more than Billy and Julie in "Carousel" though, who never sing together.

Answer: "a lily on a lake"

Mary and Liat assume the Joe Cable will marry Liat, but they are in for a rude awakening.

Answer: Thanksgiving Day

Nellie's over-sized sailor suit has become a trademark of most, if not all, productions of "South Pacific".

Answer: their looks

"You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" was a very controversial number. Pressure was put on R&H to remove it from the show, but they stuck to their guns and kept it in. When the movie came out in 1958, a lot of theaters in the southern U.S. edited it out of the film.

Answer: "fond embraces from arms that won't be mine"

Because he's lost Nellie, Emile decides to accompany Joe Cable on his spying mission.

Answer: "Some Enchanted Evening"

Nellie has also just learned of the death of Joe Cable, and must tell Mary and Liat when they come looking for him.

Answer: Operation Alligator

Poor Luther Billis finds out that he is going to be on Captain Brackett's ship when the orders are given for the fleet to move out.

Answer: eating

Nellie pushes the soup tureen towards Emile and hands him the ladle to eat with. Nellie then returns to eating her soup. Emile drops the ladle and Nellie drops her spoon, and they clasp hands as the music swells to a grand crescendo.