South Pacific Review
Even though it is an older musical, South Pacific has themes in it that still affected the hearts of its modern audience on Thursday, August 21st at the Lincoln Center Theater. Taking place on the Pacific islands during World War Two, the stage was set aglow with palm trees and a vibrant backdrop of the beach. The lights created a pristine setting. The acting, however, wasn’t quite as glittering.
It was a disappointment that Bloody Mary’s part was done by the understudy, Maryann Hu, who wasn’t convincing enough for such a complex character. Lieutenant Joe Cable (Matthew Morrison) and Liat (Li Jun Li) didn’t share as much chemistry as Emile DeBeque (Paulo Szot) and Ensign Nellie Forbush (Kelli O’Hara) did. O’Hara had a large role to fill, but she did it without any obvious faults.
The scene of Emile’s children was my favorite part of the play to watch. Laurissa Romain and Luka Kain were adorable as his daughter and son, while they ran around the stage singing a French song. Because the children’s mother is from the islands, however, tension is created between Nellie and Emile. When Nellie finds out that Emile has children of another race, she cannot cope at first.
This is shocking to Nellie because she is from Little Rock, Alabama, during World War Two, where racism is the norm. Lieutenant Cable also has a conflict involving the issue of race in a relationship. His object of affection is the beautiful daughter of Bloody Mary, who is enraged when he does not agree to marry her. The irony of the two relationships lies in a song called, “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught.” Nellie thinks her reluctance to marry someone who has Polynesian children is born in her, but Cable insists that “You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear.” In the end of the play, however, both Nellie and Joe Cable change their opinions on race. Other songs not to be missed include, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” There Is Nothin’ Like A Dame,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.” The up-beat music and the unanticipated romances in South Pacific have unexpected turns that should not be overlooked.
