BWW Reviews: A Musically Lush SOUTH PACIFIC At Dutch Apple

As time has passed, this reviewer's fondness for most Rodgers and Hammerstein has cooled. What once seemed great, in the light of modern sensibilities, is appalling: CAROUSEL is an ode to domestic violence. OKLAHOMA is a tribute to sexism and violence. FLOWER DRUM SONG is sexist and racially insensitive. And STATE FAIR has a song called "Sweet Pig of Mine," which is enough to disqualify it from any further intelligent discussion even if the plot itself doesn't. Most Hammerstein heroines are foolish maids in need of rescue from themselves and others. But there are exceptions to these things: THE KING AND I features a strong, independent, mature woman and a King who is attempting to repudiate his own violent ways. And SOUTH PACIFIC tackles racism, especially anti-Asian prejudice, head-on; it takes May-December romance seriously and not as an object of humor; and its heroine, Nellie Forbush, may be young and may proclaim herself a stupid hick, but she's a trained nurse and a Naval officer, far stronger and more independent than she thinks she is, and a woman able to overcome her own prejudices and blindness.

SOUTH PACIFIC is also currently on stage at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre under Brian Enzman's direction and Kerry Lambert's fine choreography. While it may not be as astonishingly perfect as the recent Dutch Apple production of CATS, it's an appealing production of the World-War-Two-themed musical, set on a Pacific naval base, that pays due respect to some of the finest, and hardest-to-sing, songs in American musical theatre, it's got great sets, and it has a lot to love about it.

Much of that love centers around a particularly talented cast. Brian Bowman's Emile de Becque is hard to beat for a show that's performed as regularly as this. Even though his French planter's accent may weaken a bit as the show progresses, his vocal power does not - his "Some Enchanted Evening" is everything that an audience expects, from the lowest notes to the highest. He's not Ezio Pinza - who is? - but he's far more than creditable. And if that's good, his "This Nearly Was Mine" at the end of Act Two is better, and incredibly powerful. It's also nice casting that de Becque doesn't seem too old - there's a tendency to cast the character as what seems far too old to do some of the feats he accomplishes with Lieutenant Cable, as well as to have young children, and Enzman's use of a younger, though not young, de Becque is commendable. Although Bowman thinks it's just the moustache, a careful listener will hear a trace of Robert Goulet when he sings, which is no bad thing.

But if there's a defining singer in SOUTH PACIFIC, surely it is Bloody Mary, the Tonkinese trader, whose "Bali Ha'i" sets much of the plot in motion. Surely it is one of the most beautiful songs in the Rodgers and Hammerstein repertoire, as well as one of the most difficult vocally, calling for a strong singer who can grab and hold an audience with her voice as much as with her acting and movement. It is no surprise to learn that Debra Thais Evans is a former Mama Morton in CHICAGO as well as a national tour Motormouth Maybelle in HAIRSPRAY, that latter another one of the female musical parts calling for a truly powerful singer who can hold an audience with her pipes. Evans' Bloody Mary had chills running down this reviewer's spine when she sang of the off-limits island that offers American servicemen their dearest wishes. It is no exaggeration to say that this show should be seen for Bowman's "This Nearly Was Mine" and Evans' "Bali Ha'i" alone, if for no other reasons.

Are there other reasons? An ensemble of sailors and Seabees that dances as well as they sing through "There Is Nothing Like A Dame". A Nellie Forbush, Atlanta native Paige Mattox, that manages to let Nellie's brains shine through her self-professed silliness. A Lieutenant Cable, Nick Lerew, who really does grow from bragging to bravery, whether because or in spite of thwarted love, and who pulls off a biting "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught," the diatribe on inculcating racism and xenophobia in children that is so damning, and so accurate, that there have been attempts to ban it. And a Luther Billis, Justin Lore (formerly of Forbidden Broadway), that just doesn't quit, whether it's an effort to steal a boat, a money-making scheme, or a foolhardy piece of bravery like an offer to rescue de Becque from the Japanese. If Lore had any more energy, the stage could be used to power a generator. The audience can feel him scheming as he goes along.

Like most of Rodgers and Hammerstein's work, the book of SOUTH PACIFIC is relatively solid - and its plot, unlike that of CAROUSEL, still holds up well. It's about a specific period of time; it's nostalgic, but no decent production of it ever feels dated. And it's clear to anyone watching just how the original production won ten Tony Awards. The book is solid, the themes are still relevant, and it has one of the best scores in musical history, easily outclassing even Sondheim's or Webber's best (and yes, for those who somehow have missed this classic, when properly performed, the songs can blow LES MISERABLES out of the water - "This Nearly Was Mine" is every bit the equal of "Stars" musically, and "I Dreamed A Dream" will never touch "Bali Ha'i"). It's one of those book musicals that reminds a viewer just why the book musical will never go away, and it's a reminder of the incredible debt that Sondheim owes to Hammerstein. It's the anchor of Rodgers and Hammerstein's claim on American musical theatre, and it's enough by itself to make the claim continue to hold.

This is one of those musicals that everyone should be required to know, and this production of it is well worth being the one to introduce it to you if you aren't familiar with it. If you are familiar with it, you'll want to see it anyway - or, more particularly, you'll want to hear it. There are vocal performances here that are not to be missed. At Dutch Apple through August 17. Call 717-898-1900 or visit www.dutchapple.com for tickets.

Photo courtesy of Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre

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