Review: "South Pacific" at Stages is an enchanted evening

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To close their 2017 season, Stages St. Louis is giving us enchanted evenings with a very strong production of South Pacific. Using the slightly revised version of the original script prepared for the 2008 Broadway revival, director Michael Hamilton honors both the comedy and tragedy of the show.

Leah Berry and the company
Photo by Peter Wochniak, ProPhotoSTL

If you only know Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic as a high-gloss widescreen musical from 1958, the show's occasionally trenchant commentary on the folly and futility of war, issues of racism, and what Emile De Becque, in a moment of despair, refers to as "a mean little world / Of mean little men" might come as a surprise. We need to remember that when the show opened in 1949, the aftermath of the horror that was the war in the Pacific was still very much on everyone's minds.

We need to remember, as well, that less than a year before that opening, President Truman had issued Executive Order 9981 desegregating the armed forces—provoking a violent backlash that continues to this day. "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," Lt. Cable's bitter commentary on racism, provoked anger and accusations of indecency and Communism when South Pacific arrived in the southern USA. Rodgers and Hammerstein, to their credit, refused to cut the song.

The Stages cast is a great one, headed by Leah Berry as a captivating Nellie Forbush and Michael Halling, radiating gravitas as Emile De Becque. Matthew Hydzik is compelling as the conflicted Lt. Cable and Mark DiConzo could illuminate a small city with the comic energy he brings to role of the conniving Luther Billis.

Matthew Hudzik and Sydney Jones
Photo by Peter Wochniak, ProPhotoSTL

Joanne Javien's Bloody Mary is a ball of comic ferocity and Muny Teen Troupe member Sydney Jones is the epitome of wordless grace as Mary's daughter Liat. There is, in fact, not a single performance here that isn't on target. Simple, evocative sets and atmospheric lighting add to the overall polish of the production.

So if you haven't seen South Pacific in a while, now is a good time to renew your acquaintance. Its condemnation of racist folly remains, I'm sorry to say, as relevant now as it was in 1949. Apparently we learn from history that we learn nothing from history.

The show got an enthusiastic reception from a sold out house when we saw it, so you'll want to visit the Stages web site soon to order tickets. Performances continue through October 8th.