This Rogers and Hammerstein classic, one of the most beloved musicals of all time, hardly needs an introduction. The latest revival, which opened in 2008 and closed a few days after this telecast, won seven Tony Awards and unanimous critical praise, and no wonder: it was an eye- and ear-catching production. Having had two years to grow into their roles, the performers seemed not to play but to inhabit them, yet they had retained their spontaneity and, where appropriate, sense of fun. One of the best things about the show was that everybody appeared to be having a really good time.
The two stars naturally dominated the stage. Kelli O’Hara’s Nellie was all youthful, ingenuous charm (though it seemed strange that she spoke with a mid-Western accent, but sang in unaccented English); Paulo Szot’s Emile was mature and worldly, and he seemed to regard her naiveté with incredulous delight. It was clear that their romance was based on an attraction of opposites. Szot, who recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the lead part of Shostakovich’s “The Nose” – in every way a far cry from “South Pacific”– is a terrific singer, able to challenge the never quite exorcised ghost of the role’s creator, the great Ezio Pinza. Other stand-outs were Danny Burstein’s Luther Billis, Andrew Samonsky’s Lt. Cable, and Li Lun Li’s very beautiful Liat. The orchestra was most excellent.
In the course of its long history, “South Pacific” has sometimes been accused of ethnic prejudice because Nellie reacts with horror to the discovery that Emile married the Polynesian mother of his children and because Lt. Cable, though in love with Liat, goes back on his promise to marry her. (We should remember that in James Michener’s stories, which inspired the musical, Emile has fathered many daughters with several native women, but did not marry any of them. One must wonder what Nellie would have thought of that.) Even today, this is a fraught subject, but has not affected the musical’s popularity. To the objective viewer, Bloody Mary seems the “ethnically” most objectionable character: the stereotypically cagey native who sells dubious artifacts to unsuspecting foreigners and lures them to engage in dubious activities. In this production, Loretta Ables Sayre underlined this by emphasizing her raucousness.
Ultimately, the most potent magic of “South Pacific” lies in the music. Those lovely songs, hummable tunes and catchy rhythms make up for any dramatic weaknesses or “politically incorrect” elements. No wonder they are firmly embedded in the public’s ears and hearts.
