'South Pacific' revival sails into Orpheum with promise of a fresh look

Photos by Peter Coombs

Rod Gilfry as Emile de Becque (left) and Carmen Cusack as Ensign Nellie Forbush with CJ Palma as Jerome and Christina Carrera as Ngana in "South Pacific," opening Tuesday at the Orpheum.

When the Broadway revival of "South Pacific" was staged at Lincoln Center in 2008, critics and audiences swooned with rapture before the first actor even took the stage.

The reason? A visual surprise for fans of Richard Rodgers' timeless score.

Matthew Saldivar as Luther Billis gets the attention of The Seabees in "South Pacific." The revival of the familiar production promises new attention to the message of the original script.

Peter Coombs

Carmen Cusack (center) as Ensign Nellie Forbush, with the nurses of "South Pacific." The Broadway revival promises to restore and refresh the original music and drama.

As the opening notes of "Bali Ha'i" floated through the overture, the stage peeled back revealing the full orchestra underneath.

At a time when producers increasingly trim budgets by cutting back on musicians and beefing up the keyboards and synthesizers, "South Pacific" sported a 30-piece orchestra, brimming with strings and woodwinds. No keyboard filler. Just like the 1949 original.

Though the Lincoln Center tour of "South Pacific," opening Tuesday at the Orpheum, may not feature a convertible stage, it does arrive with a complement of 25 musicians, larger than any other touring company now on the road.

Ted Chapin, president and executive director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, said that one reason the Broadway revival got the green light was the promise of a fresh look at both the music and the drama.

"I had been waiting many years for a production like this," Chapin said. "We wanted somebody who had the confidence to actually probe the dialogue so that the audience reacts as if they've never seen it. We wanted people who could see the big picture."

The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization ensures that new, high-profile productions stay true to the essence of the original script.

But over the past 60 years, "South Pacific" has undergone a peculiar cultural evolution. The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about love, war and racial tolerance slowly grew into a more cartoonish depiction of lusty sailors and pin-up dames. Both the male and female leading roles became vehicles for famous and semi-famous actors.

"You would often see people like Robert Goulet in the leading roles," Chapin said. "That gets more attention

than the production itself. I think familiarity tends to make people perform the CliffsNotes version."

The last "South Pacific" tour at the Orpheum, in 2001, starred television actor Michael Nouri (who played Nick Hurley in the 1983 film "Flashdance").

Director Bartlett Sher, the visionary behind the critically-acclaimed "The Light in the Piazza," was brought on by producer André Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theatre. Sher and Bishop both wanted to bring nuance back to the story.

"In particular, I wanted to look at America as an imperial power overseas," Sher said. "That meant getting deep into the period of 1942. I took the piece very seriously, and wanted to make it a faithful expression of the time."

One restoration Sher made to the original script was a reaction by the character Nellie Forbush when she finds out the man she loves has biracial children. She originally used the word "colored," which was later edited from the script.

"Why did they cut it?" Sher asked. "Nellie Forbush is from Little Rock in the early 20th century. That's the way things were back then. By the end, she comes to include his children in her life, so I think the message is even more transformative when you acknowledge racial perceptions, even in a heroine. The book is filled with a lot of profound stuff."

Restoring a sense of profundity in the script also meant restoring orchestral depth to the music.

Conductor Lawrence Goldberg has traveled with the national tour since it began in August. Only three of the 25 musicians in the pit travel with the company. The rest are hired locally, and the whole ensemble gets one breakneck rehearsal before Tuesday's opening.

He said that though Rodgers and Hammerstein's music is on the more classical end of the musical theater spectrum, the conductor's job is to bring "aliveness" to the score by punching up its rhythmic aspects.

"Some people consider this to be the greatest musical theater score ever written," Goldberg said. "And yet, the style of the movie and some previous versions can be very off-putting, mannered and melodramatic. To see this production, even for young people, it's going to mean a lot more."

"South Pacific"

Opening Tuesday at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday ; 2 and 8 p.m. March 27; and 1:30 and 7 p.m. March 28. Tickets are $28-$128. Call 525-3000.

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