Theater Review: Utah Shakespeare Festival’s ‘South Pacific’ is simple but ‘see-worthy’
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| Image courtesy of Utah Shakespeare Festival (Photo: Karl Hugh) |
Written by Bruce Bennett
Those expecting some splashy production numbers from Utah Shakespeare Festival’s “South Pacific” may bemoan the nearly complete lack of dancing on display in the Festival’s first-ever version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. But blame Broadway, where the Tony-award-winning 2008 revival was a fairly sparse, no-frills production that the USF borrows from liberally, by choosing to focus on the tension of racial prejudice, which was controversial when the play was originally staged in 1949 and in 1958 when the film version was released, and featuring some terrific vocal performances.
From the opening strains of the overture, it’s clear that the spectacular lighting by Kirk Bookman with its glimmering, shifting backdrop will be a major feature. The “cockeyed optimist” nurse from Little Rock is performed with gall-darn radiance by Allie Babich, perfectly capturing Nellie Forbush’s bubbly personality while still being convincing in her apprehension when the story turns dark. That’s when Nellie learns that plantation owner and French expatriate Emile de Becque, played by Michael Scott Harris, who has chased and charmed her, has two Polynesian children from a previous marriage. There have been more charismatic performers to handle the Emile character but likely few with a more robust, commanding baritone than Harris, who is usually costumed in leisure-suit apparel more suited to safaris or cocktail parties than a jungle in the South Pacific.
Other standouts in the cast include an ebullient Christine Jugueta as Island trader Bloody Mary—the Tonkinese terror—Nigel Huckle in strong vocal form as Lt. Joe Cable, and the always affable Aaron Galligan-Stierle as the goofy Luther Billis. Some of the arrangements could use some updating: the angry urgency of “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” is a bit lost amid the sunny arrangement. To hear a better version, check out Harry Connick’s version in the 2001 made-for-TV film. But the message of the film still deserves contemplation, and the USF’s sturdy, if not groundbreaking, production gives audience ample evidence that “South Pacific” will remain a classic for years to come.
Grade: B+
