| IF YOU GO |
| “South Pacific” |
| Where: Kennedy Center Opera House |
| When: Through Jan. 15 |
| Info: Tickets from $39; 202-467-2600; kennedy-center.org |
Carmen Cusack was born to play Nellie Forbush. Like the heroine in “South Pacific” playing at the Kennedy Center through Jan. 15, she was raised in a small town in the South during a period when racial prejudice flourished. She left home as soon as possible to pursue her career, just as Nellie became a U.S. Navy nurse to discover what lay over the horizon. “We have a dream director [2008 Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher] who figured me out, what I picked up living in the South,” Cusack said. “Because I understood the small town mentality of the South, I’d often come home crying after rehearsal. Tweaking this role is a continual process because Nellie is so complicated and this part is layered like an onion that you keep peeling away. This story is so relevant today with the wars we’re fighting and racism rearing its ugly head again. When we were performing in New York state, a senator came up afterwards and said he couldn’t wait for us to get the show to Washington where it needs to be seen.”
Gospel church music started Cusack on her musical career. She began studying seriously when a professional opera singer recommended coaching. She received a scholarship to major in opera at the University of North Texas, where the jazz department is very strong. As she practiced vocalizing in her little cubicle, she could hear the jazz students playing.
Soon afterward, she had an opportunity to move into that genre.
She was working as a singing waitress in Fort Worth, Texas, when friends urged her to audition for a job as a cruise ship entertainer. That job took her around the world, eventually to England. There she worked with several jazz bands that played at Ronnie Scott’s and other popular jazz clubs in and around London. From the clubs she moved into the city’s West End as Fantine in “Les Miserables,” then on to other major roles there and on tours throughout Britain. Her soaring voice soon caught the attention of the London producers of “Wicked,” who sent her back to the U.S. on tour as the witch Elphaba.
“I’m so glad I had opera training because it helped me get that demanding role and play a wide spectrum of characters,” Cusack said. “I love Nellie’s joy and her enthusiasm when she jumps into the swimsuit and sings ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair.’
“Since beginning the tour, I’ve performed with three different Emile de Becques. When you do eight shows a week, it’s kind of nice to have different people to work with. David Pittsinger is wonderful in the role. He has the most amazing voice, so chocolaty rich.
“People who saw the original with Mary Martin thought the story was cute, but this version is darker and more intricate,” Cusack said. “There are songs in this production that had been cut out of the original. This is a classic. That’s the reason why the orchestra is the largest touring orchestra in theater today with a sound that supports this true, raw story.”
