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by Rodgers & Hammerstein, directed by Michael Lichtefeld

Stratford Festival, Avon Theatre, Stratford

June 3-October 28, 2006

“Some Enchanted Evening”

The Stratford Festival has mounted an enormously enjoyable production of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific”.  The musical was expressly written to highlight the talents of opera singer Ezio Pinza and Broadway star Mary Martin.  As a result the show is very much like a hybrid of operetta and musical.  Before teaming up with Rodgers, Hammerstein had, after all, written the librettos for adventure operettas by Sigmund Romberg like “The Desert Song” (1926) and “The New Moon” (1928) and the story of two Westerners finding love in an exotic location is not unlike the Franz Lehár’s “The Land of Smiles” (1923), which premiered in New York in 1943, only three years before “South Pacific”.  Though pressured to soften the musical’s stance against racial intolerance, the creators refused and the show went on to become one of the few musicals to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Director and choreographer Michael Lichtefeld gives the show and unashamedly old-fashioned production that emphasizes the theatricality of the presentation without compromising the vitality of the performances.  Douglas Paraschuk’s set features an obviously two-dimensional volcanic island (“Bali Ha’i” of the song) in the distance and conjures up the various tropical settings via the old wing-and-shutter system where gorgeously painted panels are pulled or pushed into position often revealing new settings behind them, all atmospherically lit by Kevin Fraser.  Similarly, the gauzy curtain that sometimes covers the stage opening is personally pulled open or closed by a Polynesian dancer (Ayanna Sealey) as if welcoming us not just to the exotic world of the show but also to the delightful artifice of the theatre.  The wit of costume designer David Boechler really shines in the company’s second act Thanksgiving show when he imagines just what kind of homemade costumes troops might construct from the few materials at hand.  Look out for the elegant headpiece made from a bedpan.

The performances are excellent across the board.  For some, Cynthia Dale’s perpetual “ain’t I cute” performance style may annoy, but for the Mary Martin role of Ensign Nellie Forbush, a self-confessed “hick from the sticks”, it is somehow appropriate.  She gives spirited renditions of such hits as “A Cockeyed Optimist” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and brings a real sense of joy to “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy”.  Well-known Canadian baritone Theodore Baerg is well cast in the Ezio Pinza role of the French planter Emile de Becque, the older, sophisticated “wonderful guy” Nellie falls for and who loves Nellie.  Baerg’s marvelously rich voice brings out the beauty in such standards as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “This Nearly Was Mine”.  Baerg is also a fine actor imbuing de Becque with a sense of loneliness suffering for lack of a sunny, a vivacious girl like Nellie.

In the subplot Laird Mackintosh is the handsome Lt. Joseph Cable, who falls in love with the native girl Liat on a steamy night on Bali Ha’i.  Mackintosh has brought his sometimes noisy tenor under more control this year and gives a touching performance of “Younger Than Springtime”.  Even more noteworthy is the mixture of anger and shame he brings to the show’s strong antiracist song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” that caused such controversy when the show first toured the American South.  Luckily, despite the pressure, Rodgers and Hammerstein refused to cut it either from the stage show or from the 1958 film version.  Nicolette Liwanag is a lovely, sensitive Liat.   

As for the show’s comic characters, Bruce Dow shines as Luther Billis, the man always looking for a way to make a buck, and is a real hoot in the finale the troops’ Thanksgiving show.  As Bloody Mary, his Tonkinese rival in local commerce, Grace Chan gives a winning performance.  She might not get as much a sense of mystery out of the seductive song “Bali Ha’i” as she should but she brings a warm jollity to “Happy Talk”.

Brian McKay as the gruff Captain George Brackett), and Phillip Hughes as the by-the-book Cmdr. William Harbison seem to have stepped directly out of any number of World War II film comedies.  Armon Ghaeinizadeh and Jaelyn Lance as de Becque’s two children from his first marriage are suitably adorable and sing “Dites-moi” in perfect French.

As choreographer Lichtefeld brings invention and energy to every scene.  There is athleticism and beefcake galore for the male chorus in “Bloody Mary” and a clever tap-dance (or is it splash-dance?) scene for the showering female chorus in “I’m Gonna Wash The Man Right Outa My Hair”.  But most inventive are a series of hilarious visual dance illusions Lichtefeld unveils at the big Thanksgiving show in Act 2.

Loveable as those orphans and pickpockets are in “Oliver!”, “South Pacific” has a better design, wittier choreography and, since the orchestra is playing in a real pit, better sound.  Of the two musicals Stratford has on offer this summer, this is the one where everything seems to go right.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Bruce Dow and Cynthia Dale. ©David Hou.