Theater Review -- Tom Titus

Of all the musicals in the Rodgers and Hammerstein collection, the one

that must be considered their magnum opus is their third collaboration,

“South Pacific.” This is a show that offers the potential for

near-perfection in all its major elements -- music, drama and scenic

design.

It’s the latter quality that first captures the viewer in the glorious

revival now on stage at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Derek

McLane’s series of tropical backdrops are stunning in their

three-dimensional beauty, challenging the company to match this level in

the other two categories.

This challenge is wholeheartedly accepted by director Scott Faris’

touring company, which revels in the best of all the Rodgers and

Hammerstein scores and delivers the message first essayed by author James

Michener with brute force and resounding conviction.

The issues of racial and ethnic prejudice -- elements decidedly

present in the America of the 1940s -- were tackled in the original 1949

production. They are powerful overriding forces in the current

incarnation.

The last time Center audiences saw Robert Goulet in a production

(rather than a concert), he was losing his quest for the impossible dream

in “Man of La Mancha,” a show demanding more physical energy than he

possessed. This time around, the aging Frenchman is more at home in the

role of an aging Frenchman, Emile de Becque, neutralizing the tenuousness

of his movements and superfluous hand gestures with a still-magnificent

voice that captures the audience when he booms out “Some Enchanted

Evening.”

The real star of the evening, however, is Amanda Watkins as the

much-younger, naive Navy nurse Nellie Forbush, who tumbles for the older

Emile, then is repelled by his past life with a Polynesian wife. This is

due to her Little Rock, Ark., upbringing, and Watkins is thoroughly

convincing as a hick, charming in her approach to the role and

beautifully executing the show’s now-classic vocal numbers.

Lewis Cleale delivers an excellent interpretation of Lt. Joe Cable,

the Marine Corps lieutenant who suffers the same prejudicial maladies as

Nellie, falling in love with an island girl (a radiant Kisha Howard) only

to spurn her because they just wouldn’t understand back in Philadelphia.

Cleale’s bitter rendition of “You’ve Got to Be Taught” firmly underscores

the show’s emotional theme.

The role of Seabee schemer Luther Billis can be splendid comic relief,

but David Warshofsky never really achieves that level, though he’s strong

and sassy on the surface. Gretha Boston is a marvelous Bloody Mary,

firing off the barbs of native humor with the same velocity she injects

into her “Bali Hai” solo.

Solid performances from John Wilkerson and James Judy as the island

commander and his executive officer lend further credence to the show,

and the chorus of Seabees who mourn that “There is Nothing Like a Dame”

couldn’t be better. Nellie’s nursing corps buddies supporting her on her

“Wonderful Guy”number are equally captivating, while Shelby Rebecca Wong

and Jeff Yalun are charming as Emile’s young children.

Audiences may note that Goulet has been given some extra lyrics for

his “This Nearly Was Mine” lament in the second act, but few will

complain, since his is one of the finest voices in the theater. The

show’s final scene, usually overly artsy in its execution, has been

strengthened just a bit by the physical elements of the lovers’ reunion.

“South Pacific” remains one of the true classics of the musical

theater, and the robust production at The Center is among the finest seen

in this part of the world. You’ll truly enjoy an enchanted evening.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

WHAT: “South Pacific”

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town

Center Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: 2 and 8 p.m. today, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The 2 p.m.

performance today will be sign-language interpreted.

COST: $27.50-$62.50

CONTACT: (714) 556-2787 or www.ocpac.org