What better way to chase away the winter blues than to relax under coconut palms on a south sea island? That’s what the Kennedy Center offers in its stunning national tour of Lincoln Center’s “South Pacific,” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Not that “South Pacific” is about a lighthearted frolic. It takes a serious look at love and racial mistrust against a background of war, as it takes place on a Navy base on a South Pacific island during World War II.
The love theme is displayed in two very different romances: first between a forty-four year old French planter, Emile de Becque (David Pittsinger), and a young American nurse, Nellie Forbush (Carmen Cusack); second, between a Marine, Lt. Joseph Cable (Anderson Davis), and the young Polynesian woman, Liat (Sumie Maeda), who steals his heart.
| If you go |
| ‘South Pacific’ |
| Where: The Lincoln Center Theater Production, Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., N.W. |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Sun.through Jan. 16; 1:30 p.m. Sat. and Sun. Additional matinees Dec. 22 and Dec. 24. No evening performance Dec. 24. Dec. 31 performance begins at 8 p.m. and includes admission to Kennedy Center’s New Year’s Eve party. |
| Info: Tickets start at $39, 202-467-4600, kennedy-center.org |
De Becque falls for Nellie at first sight, as he makes clear in the lush, romantic “Some Enchanted Evening.” Pittsinger’s rich baritone voice is resonant and beautifully articulated as he sings this and his other important solo, “This Nearly Was Mine,” with clearly felt passion. As an actor, Pittsinger is always credible: his character is straightforward and intelligent — you can believe him when he speaks of reading Proust and Gide. In short, he is charming and irresistible.
Cusack’s very Southern Nellie, raised in Little Rock, resists only when she finds out that de Becque had been married to a Polynesian woman who had two children with him. As it illuminates Nellie’s ultimate recognition of her own small-mindedness, “South Pacific” outlines the ugliness of racial hatred. In her final solo, a reprise of “Some Enchanted Evening,” Nellie announces an end to her bigotry, which frees her to return de Becque’s love. Cusack, who brings a delightful little trill to her rendition of many of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s standards, smartly portrays every aspect of Nellie — her naivet?, optimism and ability to change.
In the second story, Davis has two solos that are important to the plot — “Younger Than Springtime” and “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught.” The first is a lyrical tribute to Liat’s beauty; Davis delivers it authoritatively. The second, a cynical view of intolerance, is one of the most powerful numbers in the show.
Liat’s mother, Bloody Mary (Jodi Kimura), is a rascally saleswoman, offering everything from shrunken heads and grass skirts to any buyers she can find. Kimura also vividly portrays the other side of Bloody Mary’s character, as the scheming mother who barters with her daughter’s life.
There’s a lot of humor in “South Pacific,” much of it provided by a Seabee named Luther Billis (Timothy Gulan), a wily entrepreneur who runs the base laundry. Gulan and Cusack are particularly entertaining in the lively number “Honey Bun.” Bartlett Sher provides the smoothest possible direction, creating a fresh view not only of the main story but also of the situation of young sailors and nurses on America’s front lines.
Michael Yeargan’s evocative set creates two important areas of action: de Becque’s home on a hill overlooking the island and the beach where the sailors hang out, where Bali Ha’i, the island with two volcanoes, can be seen in the distance. Donald Holder’s lighting makes Bali Ha’i alternately visible or invisible.
Richard Rodgers’ music for “South Pacific” is among the most brilliant ever written for theater. The 26-piece Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, conducted by Lawrence Goldberg, does it more than justice. Coupled with Hammerstein’s brilliant lyrics, this “South Pacific” offers more than an enchanted evening: it creates an outstanding new vision of a masterpiece.
