Director Bartrlett Sher's
rendition of South Pacific could have been a hit simply based on the
strength of bringing back one of the most beloved musicals of the 20th
century, but the 2008 revival has set itself apart from those in recent
memory with story as relevant today as it was when it debuted in 1949.
This reincarnation of the musical
stars Kelli O'Hara as the torn nurse Ensign Nellie Forbush and Paulo
Szot as the French plantation owner Emile de Becque. The pair makes
a powerful focus of the musical. Kelli O'Hara proves that she has
earned every one of those three Tony Award nominations, the most recent
coming for her role as Enisign Forbush. Paulo Szot's performance as
de Becque merited the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Paulo Szot continues to shine
when he delivers large measures like "Some Enchanted Evening" and
"This Nearly was Mine" with a sincerity that make the songs truly
about love rather than grand proclamations meant to move the story along.
Vivian Beaumont Theatre is
blessed with the revival under the direction of Bartlett Sher, who once
again earns his nod s a premiere classical director from critics. That
nod was seconded by the 2008 Tony Award for Best Direction.
This is not simply a musical
with great accolades and impressive names on the roster, this is a fine
production. O'Hara and Szot do more than appear compatible as lovers.
They bleed their hearts on stage. O'Hara's musical voice is accompanied
by a tremendous acting ability that exposes her cultural conflict nakedly
on stage.
Nellie Forbush is from Arkansas
where people keep to their own. She must learn to accept that her new
interest has been widowed and is left with two Polynesian-Europena children
that he truly loves. She must choose to accept his acceptance or lose
him forever.
The story, based on two short
stories from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning Tales of the
South Pacific, blends the external chaos of World War II beautifully
with the internal struggles with personal prejudices learned long ago.
Matthew Morrison and Li Jun
Li bring the secondary love story to life with a mixture of naivety
and brilliance as Lt. Joseph Cable and Liat. Rarely are peripheral story
lines as compelling as this, and rarely do actors and actresses revel
in these parts as these two.
Lt. Cable is being torn apart
by concerns over safety and prejudice. He loves Liat, but must consider
the cruel nature of making her a widow so early on as he awaits his
covert mission and he must except that loves no bounds, by race, creed,
or another societal segmentation.
Morrison is more than just
a Broadway selling theater tickets in the role. He is believable as a
military man and compelling as performer-two professions that are often
miles away in real life and on stage. Jun Li gives a sweet performance
that melts the audience's heart as well as Lt. Cable's. Her voice
commanding as a na?ve, determined young woman, maturing before the
audiences' eyes and yet set on landing her prize.
One would fear that the Tony
Award buzz would ruin the performance with too much attention and spoiled
stars, but South Pacific tickets remain well worth it as the performance
remains as grounded as the force waiting for battle in the second front
of World War II.
Michael Yeargan's set design
is both grand and understated. Letting the performers dominate the scene
while appeasing the audience with a believable setting. Luther Billis,
played by Danny Burstein, lightens the mood with well-timed comedic
effect that does not let those with tickets to Vivian
Beaumont Theatre
forget that men will be boys, even in times of war.
South Pacific reminds us that
its message of struggling acceptance in the face of cultural and personal
prejudices is as powerful today as it was in the turbulent social landscape
of the ?50s and ?60s. The musical does not dress up the script with
needless modernizations. The message is clearly relevant and it allows
the theater goers to enjoy it without insulting anybody's intelligence.
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