Photo: Peter Coombs
As tends to happen with enormously successful musicals, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific has achieved a passing familiarity even to those that have never witnessed a performance. Much of this familiarity centers around the music and with good reason; irresistibly melodic compositions like Some Enchanted Evening, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, and Younger than Springtime have become instantly recognizable standards. Yet a tendency exists amongst general audiences to relegate the plot to the antiquated chestnut pile, as if the entire drama were nothing more than a romantic showcase of songs from a wholly innocent era. Any such misguided impressions will be spectacularly corrected by the Lincoln Center Theater’s touring revival, now playing the Ordway Center, in which a tumultuous global war is far from the only scar on a tropical paradise.
South Pacific follows the interconnected lives of a group of women and men inhabiting two islands in the titular region during World War II. Long estranged from his French homeland, an affluent plantation owner named Emile de Becque lives on the island with his two young children. Emile’s deceased wife, mother to his children, had been a native of dark-skinned complexion. While such distinctions mean little to Emile, ingrained bigotry threatens to sabotage his budding romance with Nellie Forbush, a fiery but romantically naïve military nurse stationed at the nearby American base. At the same time, more racial turmoil arises when pragmatic Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable falls for Liat, a beautiful Tonkinese girl whose ethnicity will challenge his own sense of racial bias.
Being so renowned for its sprightly musical compositions, the racial subject matter in South Pacific might be seen on paper as a tonal contradiction. And yet, to the enormous credit of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s uniquely fluid construction, prejudices are so engrained into these characters that the plot develops with a natural tension that infuses passion into the songs. By defying the notion that bigotry is “born into you,” South Pacific deftly inspires romantic escapism with social commentary.
Carmen Cusack, playing the role of Nellie Forbush, evokes a Doris Day combination of beauty and innocence. By underscoring her character’s lack of worldly experience, her prejudice is more lamentable than condemnable, the byproduct of an unquestioned upbringing. Cast as Emile de Becque, the subject of Nellie’s frustrated affections, the accomplished Operatic baritone Rod Gilfry counters with a noble bearing and warm humanity.
On love’s second front, Anderson Davis takes that lead as Joe Cable, balancing the characters amicable charm with level-headed determination. Established with resolute conviction, the character’s struggle against sentiment never feels less than believable, an estimable feat considering the beauty and sensitivity that Sumie Maeda brings to the role of Liat.
Keala Settle also scores a standout performance as Bloody Mary, the island’s resident procurer of all things bizarre, especially shrunken heads. Though introduced like comic relief, Settle earns genuine pathos as Liat’s mother, just striving to find a future for her daughter. Likewise, Matthew Saldivar’s commanding take on the roguish but lovable Luther Billis draws enough depth to lend the role an undeniably heroic dimension.
All of the principal performers give tremendous vocal performances, particularly Rod Gilfry whose studied baritone lends assurance to Some Enchanted Evening. Anderson Davis earns two sterling moments, a wistful Younger than Springtime and a harmonious duet with Carmen Cusack on My Girl Back Home. Speaking of Cusack, her ecstatic take on A Wonderful Guy is an absolutely showstopping moment of unrestrained joy.
Helping to conjure distant lands is an intoxicating set design by Michael Yeargan that emphasizes the open vastness of the island. Donald Holder’s lighting design similarly expresses the remote locale through evolving shades of sky and ocean. The richly patterned costume design by Catherine Zuber completes the vivid impression of a world removed from our own and yet strangely familiar.
And have no doubt, for as faraway as South Pacific might seem, the prevailing themes of racial prejudice are every bit as relevant to our time and place. Combating such bigotry, South Pacific compellingly argues, remains in the service of love.
South Pacific runs through May 16th.
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