Peppy Cast, Familiar Tunes Energize Show
By Lisa Millegan, The Modesto Bee, Calif.
Jul. 8–COLUMBIA — If you’re far from home on an exotic island during a war, strange things will happen.
You’ll do things you never dreamed of doing, and you might fall in love with unusual people.
That’s the focus of “South Pacific,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1949 musical set in World War II.
Sierra Repertory Theatre’s production, directed and choreographed by Scott Viets with musical direction by Mark Seiver, combines lush tropical sets with vibrant, professional talent. Performed to recorded accompaniment orchestrated
by Sean Paxton, the music is loud and bright and the dancing is charming and peppy.
The best thing about the classic show is the music, which includes timeless hits like “Some Enchanted Evening,”"I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and “Younger Than Springtime.”
The plot, however, is showing its age. For modern audiences, it’s hard to relate to the angst felt by the white characters about building relationships with non-whites.
Still, the show is well worth watching if only to learn or reminisce about a generation that is fast dying out.
“They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific,” says the poignant opening narration borrowed from James Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific,” which inspired the show. “They had an American quality. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. After that, like the men of the Confederacy, they will become strangers. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them, until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge.”
The show revolves around Nellie Forbush, a naive young nurse from Little Rock, Ark., who falls for a much older French plantation owner with a mysterious past.
Following in the footsteps of Mary Martin, perky Sarah Wintermeyer is a delight with a winning personality and lots of heart.
Wintermeyer is also the strongest singer in the show and is a master at the jazzy style of the music.
Her most fun number is “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” which she performs while lathering her hair in the shower and then dancing around with towels with a troupe of young women.
Jeffrey Rockwell is elegant and gallant as Emile de Becque, the widowed plantation owner who wants to marry Nellie. Though his voice sometimes sounds a bit thin, he offers a respectable rendition of the character’s main song, “Some Enchanted Evening.”
Tim Shelton and Kiyoko Williams show great passion for each other as the younger couple, Navy Lt. Joe Cable and Liat, a native islander.
An audience favorite, Linette Roungchun is spunky and funny as Bloody Mary, an enterprising native who sells trinkets to the soldiers.
Greg Parker is brash and overbearing as Luther Billis, another entrepreneur who competes against Bloody Mary for business.
Gary Holman is no nonsense as Captain Brackett.
The chorus of young sailors and Seabees humorously conveys the tension of living on an island without female companionship in “There is Nothing Like a Dame,” led by Parker
Viets’ fine choreography includes push-ups, jumping jacks and wrestling.
While the cast is uniformly strong in the upbeat scenes, some of the performers struggle with the tragic moments and aren’t able to believably convey sadness.
Everyone looks attractive in Clinton O’Dell’s costumes, which include shorts and crop tops for the women and military uniforms for the men. Randall A. Enlow’s lovely sets feature tropical foliage, grass roofs and stunning ocean backdrops.
A good summertime show, “South Pacific” offers romance, adventure and tragedy halfway around the world.
Bee arts writer Lisa Millegan can be reached at 578-2313 or lmillegan@modbee.com.
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