Through Fri 8/9
Celebrating its 41st year and with a packed house, Ohio Light Opera in Wooster opened this year’s summer season with a lively production of South Pacific, the 1949 classic by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
The now-familiar story, based loosely on James Mitchener’s Tales of the South Pacific, celebrates love and notes its dangers. Set during World War II, the story takes place on two islands (one, the ever-mysterious “Bali Ha’i”) occupied by US military forces.
An island resident, the wealthy French planter Emile de Becque (Aidan Smerud), throws a party for the Americans and it is there he meets nurse Nellie Forbush (Sarah Best). Ah, love at first sight! Smerud’s rich bass/baritone voice makes swooningly delightful work of “Some Enchanted Evening” and “This Nearly Was Mine.” As Nellie, his love interest, Best also captures the romantic beauty in their songs together, especially in “This Is How It Feels.”
In a secondary plot, Lt. Joe Cable (Alan Smith) romantically courts Liat (Lauren Nash Silberstein), the fetching (but non-singing) native girl. Although this story inspires the lyric song “Younger Than Springtime,” today it’s hard to feel romantic about it. We have to cast aside our doubts about her mother (a hilarious Bloody Mary played by Michelle Pedersen), an enterprising woman who “sells” her daughter to Cable. Times have really changed.
Whenever we see them, a hearty crew of sailors provides comic relief from the musical’s tragic elements with robust renditions of songs such as “There is Nothing Like a Dame.” Others in the cast include the always-convincing Ted Christopher as the base commander and Vincent Gover, Adam Wells, Austin Rubinoski and Spencer Reese as his subordinates.
Crafted in part to address racial prejudice, the musical includes the then-controversial song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” (to hate and fear) as sung by de Becque and Lt. Cable. Today it might seem odd that Nellie was more shocked by the race of de Becque’s children than the fact that he didn’t tell her from the first that he had two children. Contrary to the program notes, this song was not dropped from the 1958 Twentieth Century-Fox movie version. Even today, it seems a song that makes perfect sense and could apply to a wide variety of prejudices.
At times, in this overall well-done production, director Jacob Allen makes some curious choices. The women of the chorus, dressed as “French girls,” stand in a row in front of the curtain while singing the reprise to “Bali Ha’i.” The line-up creates a strangely business-like version of the seductive melody.
Another distracting choice concerns the posture of Stew Pot (Tim McGowan), who seems always (except once when called to attention) to be doing a hipster version of the clownish walk made famous by Groucho Marx.
J. Lynn Thompson conducted the full pit orchestra, which did a fine rendering of the beautiful score. Placed near the stage, the harp, played by Grace Roepke, magically added an impression of South Pacific waves, breezes and waving palm fronds.
BOTTOM LINE: South Pacific will be performed throughout the OLO season. If Bali Ha’i calls you this summer (for those days when “Most people long for another island/One where they know they will like to be”), consider a short summer drive to see this classic favorite.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]
Wooster, OH 44691