Theater Review, April 15, 2008

South Pacific

Vivian Beaumont Theater

By Cindy Nemser

Take a brilliant heart rending musical drama book that lacks even a moment of tedium. Add melodies that thrill as they travel to every part of your being and then mix in lyrics that on occasion rise to the level of the best of romantic poetry and then you have a magical Broadway show entitled “South Pacific.”

The musical, with a book by Joshua Logan, music by Richard Rogers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II was a tremendous success when it first hit the boards in 1949 when the United States, still flush from its World War II victory was oozing generosity and even ready to acknowledge that racism in a far away land was cruel (although sexism and sexual slavery was not even on the mental radar of the American male soldiers or European plantation owners.) “South Pacific” was the first musical to take up these issues since “Show Boat.”
And these problems have not disappeared up to this day. Thus the dark elements of the story are more emphasized in this production, directed astutely by Barlett Sher, than in the original presentation. For example, there is the immediate graphically depicted coupling of Lieutenant Joseph Cable, (Mathew Morrison) with the translucently innocent Liat, (Li Jun Li) the young, teen-aged daughter of the greedy Bloody Mary (Loretta Ables Sayre). Joe barely says “hello” before he is on top of her. Even though he later sings to her that she is “Younger Than Springtime” and behaves an ardent lover, in actuality both he and her mother have treated Liat like a prostitute. And even the noble French planter, fighter for justice and equality, Emile de Becque (Paulo Szot) has lived with a Polynesian woman, had two children with her, but we never hear he married her. Then there is our heroine Ensign Nellie Forbush, an navy nurse from Little Rock, who loves de Becque but can’t at bear the thought that he has slept with a “colored” woman.

But though these troubling elements provide the spine of the show, there is also so much light- hearted banter and fun-filled songs and dancing, (choreographed by Trude Rittmann,) that one forgets most of the time that these issues are lurking in the underbelly of the proceedings. The masterly use of lighting by Donald Holder and the lovely scenery created by Michael Yeargan, with is evocations of the gorgeous tropics a land of mysterious volcanic islands, lush vegetation and lovely glowing brown-skinned women with their long shinning dark hair also draws us into so much loveliness that we forget there are problems in this paradise.
However when the leading personae, clueless as they were beforehand, come face to face with them their efforts to fight their own prejudices and to take a stand against evil and ignorance is totally believable and tremendously moving.

What helps carry the power of this marvelous show to the heights where it belongs is the breath-taking talent of the leading lady Kelli O’hara who is totally believable and adorable as the young naïve Nellie Forbush. O’hara, with her lovely soprano voice and her deliberately gangly but agile dance movements, manages to embody a woman who has little culture and little flat feet but can still capture the heart of a suave, well-educated mature French plantation owner.
O’hara is fine in romantic duets with Szot, such as when they sing the immortal “One Enchanted Evening,” but she is really at her zenith when she belts out sunny songs like “Wonderful Guy,” I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of my Hair and “Honey Bun.” She is truly a phenomena as Nellie and the only actress I ever saw top her was Mary Martin, for whom the show was written, and whose work I was privileged to see at the age of 12.”

And speaking of that truly stunning 1949 production, even though I enjoyed the singing and acting of Szot, he came nowhere near producing the unforgettable achingly beautiful rendition of that most touching of lyrical ballad “This Nearly Was Mine” sung with tremendous power and emotion by the fabulous opera baritone Ezio Pinza. And though Loretta Ables Sayre tries to be sassy and brassy as Mary, she still seemed only “acting” the part, not embodying it. In the original musical Juanita Hall was just enthralling and totally convincing as Bloodly Mary and you believed absolutely that she had spent her lifetime on those islands cheating everyone. Her take on Bali Hi’a hit you right in the heart.

As for the rest of the cast, Danny Burstein is perfect in the role of Luther Billus. He is raucous but not gross and wears his heart on his sleeve for Nellie in a totally charming way. I also appreciate the way he handles singing “Honey Bun” in drag during the Thanksgiving show. Mathew Morrisson has a pleasant voice but not big enough to carry you away. Liat’s handkerchief dance is a delightful slice of choreographic ingenuity.

However if only O’Hara and Burstein are over-the-top memorable, it really doesn’t matter. It is the show itself that captivates, that brings back the thrill of great romantic moments, that makes your youth spring up before your eyes, that also tugs on your patriotic allegiance in an honest inspiring way. At the end of the show as the soldiers in formation get ready to move out, possibly to their doom, ironically singing one of the show’s peppy tunes, tears came to my eyes. I can’t remember the last time I actually cried out of pride in my country and the rightness of fighting for something worthwhile.. I continued to bawl happily right to the last minute as Nellie and Emile and the children are miraculously united.