'South Pacific' Retelling Is A Triumph

There are few musicals from the 40's and 50's that can hold up in a new generation of technological advancement. But not only does the new tour of the Tony Award winning revival of South Pacific hold up, it surpasses any new musical in terms of relevancy and story development.

The Rogers and Hammerstein's musical masterpiece has been part of the American theatre repertoire since it opened in 1952 and is a stable of any high school and community theatre. More than that, tours of South Pacific have been trotted out to headline the performers rather than the material. This kept Robert Goulet fans happy for years.
It wasn't until master director Bartlett Sher got a hold of this treasure trove of material that South Pacific is finally being told through the eyes of the author's intent and not as a showcase for Mary Martin and the like.
Based on James Mitchner's Pulitzer prize winning "Tales Of The South Pacific", The book of the musical by Hammerstein, II and Joshua Logan keeps all the major plot devices. South Pacific takes place during World War II where the US army has stationed a base in hopes to gain Japanese intelligence. Soon, a young nurse, Nellie Forbush, falls in love with a middle-aged French plantation owner, Emile de Becque. The two have a troubled romance as Nellie slowly discovers the details of de Becque's past. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Cable arrives to head a mission to create a spy post on a Japanese-held island. Bloody Mary, the island souvenir dealer, sets Cable up with her daughter, Liat. After Cable refuses to marry the girl, Bloody Mary drags her away to find a new suitor. Soon, Cable must begin his dangerous mission. After considerable thought and pressure, de Becque agrees to be Cable's guide. In the end, Cable dies but de Becque survives and will live a life of happiness with Nellie.

More so than any current play or musical that deals with the subject of racism, this South Pacific peels the subject down to the bone and feeds it to the audience in such a raw form that at times it can be difficult to watch. What Sher has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous.
It is important to keep in mind when watching South Pacific, that the musical was written almost contemporaneously with events so when it opened, the impact it had, both positive and negative, was a social commentary like no other.

As far as casting the South Pacific tour, there is not one weak link to be found. Beginning with the incredible David Pittsinger, arguably the best Emille de Becque you will ever see. Mr. Pittsinger, who has been in and out of the Broadway production, and is a regular at the Metropolitan Opera, is first and foremost a phenomenal actor and commands every scene he is in.

One of Chicago's favorite Elphaba's, Carmen Cusak doesn't sugar coat any part of her Nellie. Cusak raw and gritty performance outshines any interpretation to be seen to date. Her scene in which she unveils her prejudice to Emille is some of the best acting you will see and the final scene of the production acting triumph for both Pittsinger and Cusak.

The rest of the cast also shines, including Keala Settle who has totally reinvented the character of Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary is now akin to Mamma Rose in Gypsy, who's sole mission is to get her daughter a better life and Anderson Davis is the perfect ticket out. Davis' Lt. Cable goes through the biggest character journey and delivers every one of his numbers with an almost lyric tenor tone that conveys all his emotions.

South Pacific contains some of the most recognizable showtunes ever assembled in a score. ‘Some Enchanted Evening', ‘I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair', ‘Younger Than Springtime' are just some of the numbers that are now apart of the American theatre songbook.

The one major issue that lingers with South Pacific is the banal lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein, II, which are over simplistic and never fits the character that is singing them (sacrilegious I know). Instead of moving any plot point forward, Hammerstein's lyrics stops the plot cold and we must wait at least six minutes (the average length of a song) for the story to go on). This is not South Pacific specific, but for most all of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical library.

With a full orchestra, restored script and a cast that makes you feel every emotion that is meant to be felt, this is what musical theatre is meant to be, how is should be, and hopefully, how it will be for another generation to see.

South Pacific runs through November 29, 2009 at the Rosemont Theatre. For tickets and showtimes, please visit www.RosemontTheatre.com . [As the issues of the Rosemont Theatre proper have nothing to do with the cast and show, I will be addressing those unacceptable problems, which we all had to endure, in a separate piece.]