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Charles had the male lead in South Pacific -
Winter 2009
review ~
another
review ~
Arts center's
'South Pacific' is vibrant, fresh
By NANCY K. WELLARD
nancy.wellard@cancer.org
Published Thursday, December 11, 2008
As a musical, it is hard to top "South Pacific." As a
revival musical, it is impossible to top "South Pacific."
Still filling the Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont theater
on Broadway, the "Bali just gets higher" night after night.
The Tony Awards continue to pile up and everybody loves it,
no matter that its first performance was in 1949.
The impact on the opening night audience on Hilton Head
Island at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, in the
Elizabeth Wallace Theatre, was completely in line with the
New York success. Everyone was there to enjoy this
award-winning piece, and they did. With music by Richard
Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and the book by
Hammerstein and Joshua Logan (adapted from the Pulitzer
Prize winning novel, "Tales of the South Pacific" by James
A. Michener), so much of what made it great to begin with
made it the moreso in our island setting.
Several audience members had seen "South Pacific" in its
first production all those years ago, when it won 10 Tony
Awards and a Pulitzer.I'm guessing many others not only own
the original cast recording that featured Ezio Pinza and
Mary Martin in the leading roles, but also know the lyrics
to every song. Friday night's production was filled with
spirit and energy. The piece is all about the story and the
music, and that's exactly what we experienced.
You remember the layered story line. Though 60 years old, it
somehow retains its freshness and vibrancy. And not only
that, "South Pacific" continues right on the mark as it
brings to light a series of social/cultural issues, all of
these years later. World War II and its impact offer
context, but the show really continues about relationships.
There is, of course, at the heart of the matter, this
captivating love story involving the handsome plantation
owner, Emile de Becque, played by Charles West, and the
young uninitiated Navy nurse, Nellie Forbush, played by
Maria Brinkmann. They set the stage in the most impressive
way, as the two come together on this remote tropical
island. There can be no doubt of their immediate attraction,
and the rest of the show unwinds around their central core.
We, in the audience, sit back and let the music flow as
relationships develop, plots are put in place, young people
grow and mature ... it just doesn't get any better.
In no time, we're hearing "Some Enchanted Evening," sung
vibrantly and passionately by West. He offers soul-clutching
delivery, and to say he looked the part would be a triumph
of an understatement. Brinkmann, as Nellie, artfully set
up the scene with "A Cockeyed Optimist," so we knew, even if
we'd forgotten, what made her who she is and how she got
there, all along pointing out, she's "incurably green."
A lot of the really good singing and fun came from Joy Lynn
Matthews, as Bloody Mary. She carried off the demands of the
richly conceived role, as a Tonkinese entrepreneur with the
most assured presence, and she could not have been more
convincing.
Without the comic participation of Luther Billis, played by
Carlos Lopez, the production might have tipped the story
balance toward "way too serious." Happily, with him in this
kind of loose-cannon, comedic role, just watching him move
on stage provided chuckles and grins throughout the evening.
So, when the troops, sailors, Seabees and Marines join him
for "There is Nothing Like a Dame," we in the audience are
totally invested. What great fun, we simply loved it. Then,
just as we've settled in from the "Dames," Bloody Mary
offers her soulful and finely performed "Bali Ha'i." It was
just as you remembered it.
"I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair"was full of
energy at the hands of Nellie and the nurses, and "Wonderful
Guy" continued to charm.
There is more story layering when the action continues
around the lovers and the part that they will all play as a
result of a military intelligence gathering action, planned
to aid in the defeat of the Japanese. The twists that come
out of the relationships, now firmly in place, offer some
magical moments between de Becque and Forbush, and another
romantic pairing between Lt. Joseph Cable, played by Adam
Shorsten, and Liat, Bloody Mary's teenage daughter, played
by Catrina Teruel. It is an intricate side story, and it
serves to keep us involved at every level.
With that said, enter Shorsten's Lt. Cable. What a
strikingly handsome presence, and what an amazing character.
He's totally taken by Liat, and his "Younger Than
Springtime" is magical. Bless his heart, we know what is in
store for him, and somehow wish it wasn't so.
The immortal songs are all there, each one more memorable
than the onebefore. We were smiling in "Happy Talk," and can
I tell you "Honey Bun," with Nellie, Billis and the ensemble
was a knockout, right down to the grass skirts and
strategically positioned coconut shells.
When DeBecque offers "This Nearly Was Mine," emotions in the
house were palpable. What a powerful song, what a memorable
lyric. Nellie's "Some Enchanted
Evening," and the delightful finale right down to the "Dites-Moi"
wrapped us up and sent us into the night as hushed phrases
of "wash that man," "some enchanted evening," and "honey
bun" could be heard in the lobby and the parking lot as the
audience of believers exited the theater and started home.
"South Pacific" moved so impressively through the creative
direction of Russell Treyz, who recently brought us "The
Buddy Holly Story." The musical direction and additional
orchestrations, seen to by Frederick Willard, and the
musical staging by Mark Santoro, brought us a night to
remember.
The 'South' rises again in
Arts Center's new 'Pacific'
You don’t have to book a ticket to New York to see
this year’s winner of the Tony Award for Best
Revival of a Musical: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
“South Pacific” opens a four-week run Dec. 3 at the
Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.
Inspired by James A. Michener’s epic drama about
a couple caught in the crossfire of an escalating
war in the South Seas, the show has been hailed as
one of greatest musicals in American theater
history. And nearly 60 years after its Broadway
premiere — when it won 10 Tony Awards, including
Best Musical — it continues to draw crowds.
‘South Pacific’
When: Dec. 3-28. Performances are 8 p.m.
Tuesdays-Saturdays with shows at 2 and 7 p.m.
Sundays and a special a 1 p.m. performance Dec. 24.
Where: Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Shelter
Cove, Hilton Head Island
Tickets: $52 for adults ($49 for Dec. 3-4
previews) and $37 for children under 16 ($35 for the
previews),
Information: 843-842-2787
“The score is absolutely amazing,” said the
show’s musical director, Frederick Willard. “Every
single song in the show is a winner.”
Among the most memorable tunes are “Some
Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha’i,” “A Wonderful Guy,”
“This Nearly Was Mine,” “There Is Nothin’ Like a
Dame,” “Younger Than Springtime” and “I’m Gonna Wash
That Man Right Outta My Hair.”
Directing the Arts Center’s production is Russell
Treyz, who worked with Willard on last summer’s “The
Buddy Holly Story.” A Drama Desk Award winner, Treyz
has directed numerous Arts Center shows, including
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “White Christmas” and Neil
Simon’s “Proposals” and “The Odd Couple.”
“The show is full of heart and humor,” Treyz
said.
Veteran dancer Mark Santoro, who appeared in
“Gypsy,” “A Chorus Line,” “Cats” and “Show Boat” on
Broadway, will choreograph the show.
To recreate the splendor of the original Broadway
production, which starred Mary Martin and opera
singer Ezio Pinza, the Arts Center has assembled a
cast of talented New York actors.
“It’s a dream role because ‘South Pacific’ is one
of my favorite musicals,” said Maria Brinkmann, who
will make her Arts Center debut in the lead role of
Nellie Forbush. “My mom loved Rodgers and
Hammerstein and played their show tunes on the
record player all the time.” (In fact, Brinkmann
began her career performing in an Asian tour of
another Rodgers and Hammerstein favorite: “The Sound
of Music.”)
Playing her love interest is Charles West as the
debonair Emile de Becque. “Every once in a while,
you get just the right script with just the right
score,” said West, who has appeared in Broadway
productions of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and “Cyrano:
The Musical,” as well as the national tour of “Miss
Saigon” and the European tour of “West Side Story.”
“‘South Pacific’ is one of those shows. The music is
fantastic, and the story is timeless.”
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