When Roger and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific opened on Broadway in 1949, the New York Times changed its production schedule to accommodate Brook Atkinson’s review of the show.
After the curtain fell, he described what he saw on stage as a “tenderly beautiful idyll of genuine people inexplicably tossed together in a strange corner of the world.”
Sixty-five years later, audiences remain enthralled by the Pulitzer-winning love story, as it opened at the Drayton Festival Theatre May 16 with no seat left unoccupied.
It’s not hard to see why audiences are drawn back time and again. Once the lights are dimmed, and the chilling operatic score begins, you forget where you are. Swept back in time, it seems highly plausible to turn and find a Rockefeller on your right, and a Vanderbilt on your left.
Though at its most fundamental level South Pacific is a war-time narrative, its timeless allure is ensured through universal themes— most obviously, the idea of forbidden love.
The play chronicles the conflicted emotions of U.S. Navy nurse Nelly Forbush as she falls rapidly in love with French plantation owner Emile de Becque. Forbush, having been raised by a conservative family in Little Rock, Arkansas, struggles to accept de Becque’s children from his previous marriage to a Polynesian woman.
Running parallel to this conflict, is the story of youthful marine Joseph Cable, who arrives on the island from Philadelphia only to be swept away in a tumultuous romance with a Tonkinese girl named Liat. However, when faced with the prospect of marriage, Cable cannot see a romantic future outside the jungle’s sanctuary, where they would be exposed to the scrutiny of his family and American society.
This idea of a sultry paradise located outside the orthodoxy of “polite” society, was a popular motif during the time of the play’s debut.
In the early 20th century as transportation to exotic locales became possible, and the war exposed Western society to formerly unknown corners of the world, these lush tropical climates became a refuge and muse for artists and writers alike. For visual artists such as Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse, such places encapsulated ideas of sexual and spiritual freedom– a more pure state of being, unencumbered by the rigidity of Western traditionalists. Gauguin, who spent an extended period painting in Tahiti, said in his depiction of the French colony, “I tried to make everything breathe in this painting: faith, quiet suffering, religious and primitive style, and great nature with its scream.”
South Pacific is a direct reflection of this sentiment; an oasis of free love in the midst of brutal war. No doubt, part of the reason audiences remain enchanted by its story; even today.
Societal convention aside, there is no question as to why Forbush, played by Stratford Festival alum Chilina Kennedy, finds it impossible to ignore her love for de Beque, brought to life by Broadway star Branch Fields. Though soft spoken and timid in character, his operatic voice has a chilling effect on all in the vicinity, reverberating through classic ballads such as Some Enchanted Evening and This Nearly was Mine.
Offsetting his mysterious baritone, are many light and refreshing numbers performed by a dynamic ensemble of talent. Those familiar with South Pacific will delight in Kennedy’s rendition of I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair and the hilarious Luther Billis, brought to life by Salvatore Scozzari, as he laments the presence of women in There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.
Yet, despite the enthralling chemistry between its stars, the most important relationship in the production remains the seamless marriage of light, colour and sound. Dialogue plays a minor role in South Pacific as Douglas Paraschuk’s set designs and Jason Hand’s lighting technique’s mirror the characters’ emotions, flowing from bright hues of orange and pink, to deep tones of indigo and ultramarine.
After a night lost among the islands of the Pacific Ocean, it’s clear the tale is one that won’t soon be forgotten. The conversations spilling out onto the dark streets of Drayton only verified the play’s allure as one friend whispered to another, “I had all but forgotten those songs, but once it started, oh how they came back. Such beautiful songs.”
South Pacific is on stage at the Drayton Festival Theatre now through May 31. Tickets may be purchased online at www.draytonfestivaltheatre.com, at the Drayton box office, or by calling 519-638-5555.
