For the longest time, the national touring production of “South Pacific” goes about its business in appropriately militaristic fashion, a masterful but distant throwback to two times gone by: World War II and the American musical, at least the way it used to be.
It’s impressive, these rich and potent voices, singing to an uncommonly full live orchestra. But it’s also unsurprising. We may not much remember James Michener’s war story at first, but we certainly know these songs by heart: “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There Is Nothing Like a Dame,” “Bali Ha’i” and, of course, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.”
And then, near the end of a very (very) long first act, like a shot to the bow, boom. One word is uttered — “colored” — and we snap to attention. Suddenly this old musical, the one that put the “war” in “warhorse,” is actually about something.
Until now, life on this quiet outpost in the Solomon Islands has been about sailors cracking wise, making grass skirts and plotting to get to that nearby magical island where all the native girls are being kept safe — from them. An exiled French planter falls into a predictable love with nurse Nellie Forbush, a “hick from the sticks” of Little Rock, Ark. As musicals go, all standard military issue.
But when Ensign Forbush is confronted by news that her beloved has two children from a dead native Polynesian, children she’ll be expected to raise, our heroine utters … that word. Combined with the fated love story of an impossibly handsome Navy lieutenant who can’t muster the courage to embrace a mixed-race marriage, this war, as they say, is on.
Just imagine how startling all this must have been to a skittish postwar audience desperate to believe that all enemies had been vanquished from outside our borders. But here comes this musical to tell you there is another enemy — and it’s reeking from within our own pores.
Imagine the risk in staging a Broadway musical that in 1949 dared to feature two strapping, sympathetic American military heroes, one man, one woman, both struggling with their inherent racism.
The second act of “South Pacific” suddenly doesn’t seem so old. It’s complicated, human and deeply moving. And there’s also that crowd-pleasing, patriotic war subplot, those delightful dames and the playful high jinks of Luther Billis who’s delightful, even if he does come off as an incorrigible mix of The Fonz and Vinny Barbarino.
This tour is not messing around with casting. Acclaimed bass-baritone David Pittsinger, who blew audiences away in Opera Colorado’s “Don Giovanni” and subsequent roles, also played Emile in the recent Broadway revival. On the legit stage, he shows an easygoing, even delicate charm that makes for an appealing leading man.
Carmen Cusack faces the much more difficult challenge in playing a drawling hayseed from a racist home; a smart and compassionate Navy medical officer; and an elegant socialite — all in one character.
The further we get from 1949, surely the less palatable Nellie’s incapacity to accept mixed-race children as her own must seem to audiences. Cusack, following in the footsteps of Mary Martin and Florence Henderson, manages to keep us, if not on Nellie’s side, then at least pulling for the possibility of her transformation.
More remarkable is Anderson Davis, who you may recognize as Hero from the Denver Center Theatre Company’s 2007 “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Strapping, cool and fiercely his own man, his Lt. Joe Cable makes for a much different kind of “hero” here — which makes his quick and absolute dismissal of the native girl he clearly loves so necessarily jarring.
Heading a strong supporting cast is a stupendous Keala Settle as Bloody Mary, the opportunistic Tonkonese madam who holds her own with these military men but reveals harsh, heartbreaking vulnerability as she tries to sell off her daughter to an unyielding Cable.
But most impressive may be the work of two unseen men: the writer, Michener, and the adapter, Oscar Hammerstein, whose creative risks are what make “South Pacific” so worthy of revisiting today.
It’s not exactly “Band of Brothers,” but this national touring production is a classy presentation that builds to a moving emotional crescendo.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“South Pacific” ***1/2 (out of four stars)
Musical revival. National touring production at the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Through Aug. 1. 3 hours. 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and July 28; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July 25; 2 p.m. Aug. 1. $25-$125. 303-893-4100 (800-641-1222 outside Denver), at all King Soopers or
This weekend’s theater openings
“Cymbeline” Shakespeare weaves a wicked stepmother and a deadly potion. A banished groom and a disguised bride. A loyal friend and a jealous enemy. Through Aug 15. Longmont Theatre Company, 513 Main St., 303-772-5200 or
“Guys and Dolls” Classic musical about gamblers desperate to find a place to hold their floating craps game. Through July 31. Presented by Inspire Creative at the Byron Theatre in the University of Denver’s Newman Center, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., 303-790-0875 or
“I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning” A wacky wedding is the setting for this interactive murder mystery comedy. Through Sunday. Parker Arts Council at Victorian Peaks Collection, 11020 S. Pikes Peak Drive, Parker, 303-840-5406
“Summer Madness” Two one-acts: The manic farce “Madly in Love,” by Paul Ableman, and the classic comedy “The Bald Soprano,” by Eugene Ionesco. Through Aug. 29. Germinal Stage-Denver, 2450 W. 44th Ave., 303-455-7108 or
“Summertree” A young, nameless man drifts among moments of innocent childhood, conflicted adolescence and present-day reality in a wartime play that encourages audiences to question their origins, destinations and present values. Through Aug. 1. Presented by Applebox at the University of Colorado Denver Arts Building Blackbox Theatre, Room 278, 900 Curtis St., 303-523-7067 or
“This Day and Age” In this sophisticated comedy by Nagle Jackson, a widow decides she is going to live life on her own terms, despite the expectations of her adult children. Through Sept. 24. Creede Repertory Theatre, 124 N. Main St., 719-658-2540, 866-658-2540, or
“Tomfoolery” Cameron Mackintosh has taken 28 of Tom Lehrer’s greatest songs and added narrative for an evening that attacks American sacred cows from the 1950s and ’60s — but only after having milked them first. Through Aug. 28. Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker St., 303-433-4343 or
“Zoot Suit” Luis Valdez’s classic play combines swing and style with a potent message about the corrosive power of racism. This production reunites some of the North High students who performed the play at the Buell Theatre six years ago. The band is directed by DeVotchKa’s Shawn King. 7:30 Thursday and Friday, July 22 and 23. Outdoors next to the Elitch Theatre, 38th Avenue and Tennyson St. 303-623-0216
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings or
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