By Alexis Algazy
In Act One of South Pacific, Nellie, an American nurse on a naval base in World War II, leaves Emile, a widowed French plantation owner who lives on the island with his two Polynesian children.
Nellie is from Arkansas, and cannot see past race.
Another key character, Marine Lieutenant and Princeton graduate Joseph Cable, embarks on an intimate relationship with Liat, a Tonkinese woman. He refuses to marry her.
Cable cannot imagine bringing Liat home to white society on Philadelphia’s Main Line.
This was bold stuff in 1949, when the Rodgers & Hammerstein adaptation of James Michener’s Pulitzer-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific opened on Broadway.
South Pacific was a huge hit, copping a Pulitzer for drama. More than seven decades later, the story still captivates audiences–spectators thundered their approval for a touring revival by Big League Productions Inc. at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center this past weekend.
Time has not dimmed the musical magic here: There is Nothing Like a Dame, Bali Ha’i, I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa My Hair, I’m In Love with a Wonderful Guy, Younger than Springtime, and of course, Some Enchanted Evening.
Sadly, more than seven decades later, time has not dimmed the relevance of South Pacific’s message, either.
In the wake of Charlottesville, police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans, the Capitol insurrection, Florida’s ”Don’t Say Gay” bill, and now, a mass shooting in Buffalo that authorities believe was committed by an avowed white supremacist, the lyrics to You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught ring hauntingly true.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
Directed by Jeffrey B. Moss, this revival of South Pacific included a live orchestra and clever use of grainy black and white wartime photos and newsreel clips.
The ensemble cast, led by dance captain Nicole Rae Jones, re-created the feel of a splashy Broadway production in dance numbers I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and Honey Bun.
Catrina Teruel Clark’s portrayal of the cheeky native merchant Bloody Mary, and her rendition of Bali Ha’i, were highlights of the show. Her credits include U.S. tours of The King and I and Miss Saigon.
Los Angeles-based actor Guy Noland also got laughs as Luther Billis, a scheming Seabee with a kind heart.
Occasionally, actors seemed to break the fourth wall. South Pacific requires a handful of accents; Maris McCulley (Legally Blonde the Musical, 2018 U.S. tour), starring as Ensign Nellie Forbush, slipped in and out of her sweet southern drawl.
Jared Bybee (Sean Ellis in the CBS drama FBI) sounded French as Emile de Becque, though the dialogue was a bit hard to follow at times.
Yet they shared some chemistry, and their singing hit all the right notes. Bybee’s rich, powerful voice resonated through the 1,300-seat theater, and probably would have done so even without amplification. McCulley’s dancing fit her character’s “nice girl” stereotype perfectly.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein ended South Pacific with a ray of optimism.
Let’s hope that seven decades from now, their hope for America will be fulfilled, and South Pacific will be viewed as a curious period piece.
Kevin Coughlin contributed to this review.
