Watching the musical theater version of South Pacific in San Francisco enjoyably transported me back to another time.
South Pacific is set during World War II and was first released in movie theaters in 1958. In the San Francisco production, Carmen Cusack stars as Nellie, a nurse stationed in the South Pacific during the war. In a classic tale of two star-crossed lovers, she ends up torn from her love interest, local plantation owner Emile, played by Rod Gilfry.
In the musical, Nellie and Emile timidly court each other, as was the tradition in the 1950s. With the revelation of Emile’s half-Polynesian roots, Nellie is scared away. Lieutenant Cable, played by Anderson Davis, soon faces a similar dilemma as he is transferred to the mystical island. He quickly falls in love with a Polynesian girl only to refuse marriage to her due to the cultural standards of the time.
One thing I enjoyed about the musical is how Cusack’s southern belle character was a bit over-exaggerated; she even sang with a southern accent and the overall effect was quite cute. On the other hand, while Gilfry’s Frenchman character was equally embellished, his accent occasionally made it difficult to discern what he was saying. But they both blew me away with their beautiful, resonant voices whenever they sang.
I think that the cast shares a discernable chemistry on stage; the show’s casting is impeccable. And despite the original time period, I noticed that some topics still remain relevant. There are issues of racial prejudice and wartime life that many people are experiencing today.
Anderson Davis sings, “You’ve got to be cleverly taught to…to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made and people whose skin is a different shade. You’ve got to be carefully taught.” I think Davis’ song rings especially clear for the diverse local Bay Area audience.
We are also still fighting a war over in Iraq. The musical shows parallels to what is happening on the other side of the world as the characters are all somehow affiliated with the war. This is made especially clear when a major character is shot by the opposing side in the final moments of the production.If you would like to catch the show before it leaves San Francisco, be sure to buy your tickets now and see this magnificent play while you still can. I’m sure you’ll love it and you can’t go wrong with a musical that won seven Tony Awards in 2008!
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theater opened its doors for Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific production on Sept. 18 and will be closing them on Oct. 25.
