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[Theater reviews]

Rough seas
A not quite enchanted evening

BY JEFFREY GANTZ

South Pacific
Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, based on James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. Directed by Scott Faris. Choreography by Gary Chryst. Costumes by Gregg Barnes. Set by Derek McLane. Lighting by Ken Billington. Music direction by Vincent Fanuele. With Michael Nouri, Erin Dilly, Armelia McQueen, David Warshofsky, Lewis Cleale, Kisha Howard, John Wilkerson, and James Judy. At the Colonial Theatre through December 16.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 1949 Pulitzer winner South Pacific is the first musical I ever saw — some 45 years ago at the Lambertville Music Circus in New Jersey, one of those in-the-round summer-stock affairs. It’s also the only musical I was almost in — some 25 years ago at the Little Theater of Key Biscayne, before the fire department decided the theater’s exits were substandard.

Even though I missed my chance to belt out " There Is Nothing like a Dame, " it remains one of my favorite musicals. What’s not to like? The plot makes reasonable sense: on one of the Solomon Islands, during World War II, Navy nurse Nellie Forbush falls for French planter Émile de Becque, and Marine lieutenant Joseph Cable falls for Tonkinese girl Liat, the daughter of island philosopher Bloody Mary. But Arkansas-raised Nellie is devastated to learn that the mother of Émile’s two adorable children was Polynesian; Joe, too, can’t quite commit himself to the dark-skinned Liat. In the end, Émile and Joe volunteer for a dangerous mission and the prejudices get sorted out. Then there’s the score, which includes " Dites-moi, " " A Cockeyed Optimist, " " Bloody Mary, " " Bali Ha’i, " " I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair, " " Wonderful Guy, " " Younger Than Springtime, " " This Nearly Was Mine, " and, of course, " Some Enchanted Evening. " I half-expected the Colonial ads to read, " Once you have found it, never let it go. "

The original Broadway cast had Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza; the 1958 movie version starred Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi (Giorgio Tozzi singing for the latter). I’d have said that any decent cast could hardly go wrong, but though the folks in this national touring production are decent enough, they seem all at sea. Actually, my problems started with the 20-piece orchestra, whose arrangements edge toward Lawrence Welk, and the alienation effect of the sound system, though I got used to the latter as the evening wore on. Derek McLane’s set, palm trees and tropical flowers and lots of movable parts, doesn’t exude authenticity, but this is a ’40s/’50s musical, so that’s all right. No beef with Gregg Barnes’s costumes, either.

But great musicals are about singing and dancing and acting, and at Colonial none of these approaches great. In their vocal numbers, Michael Nouri as Émile and Erin Dilly as Nellie rise to climactic phrases like " This nearly was mine, " but other lines get tossed off, almost spoken, as if the singers were saving their voices, and there’s a lot of " styling. " Nouri is an awkward, scruffy, bearish sort of Émile with a variable French accent; he reminded me more of Noah Beery Jr. than, say, a Gallic Ricardo Montalban. And Dilly’s attempt at a " hick " twang and manner seems artificial and misplaced — even her twirling hips have a post-Madonna knowingness.

Lewis Cleale as Joe Cable is callow but likable; David Warshofsky is a little laid-back as the entrepreneurial Luther Billis (shouldn’t he be more like Ernest Borgnine or Phil Silvers?); Armelia McQueen is a boisterous Bloody Mary and boasts the most convincing pipes. The seabees make a hearty meal of their rousing choruses in " Bloody Mary " and " There Is Nothing like a Dame " ; the five supporting nurses seem underpowered in " I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair. " In general, the military do too much slouching and not enough saluting; and John Wilkerson and James Judy, as the Navy brass, come off as feeble actors. Part of the blame for that has to go to director Scott Faris who quick-marches everyone through this South Pacific in under two hours of stage time, leaving little room for characterization. The worst moment comes when Nellie barely gets to put her arms around the bereaved Liat before the scene changes and everybody ships out.

Last Thursday’s press-night performance was preceded by a brief video celebrating the Colonial Theatre’s 100th birthday this year, in which we were reminded of the theater’s distinguished history as a Broadway tryout house. The rest of the season includes recent Tony winners Contact and Copenhagen; I hope they’ll make better birthday presents than this second-tier touring production.

Issue Date: December 13-20, 2001

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