The time is right for ‘South Pacific’

February 2, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

An enchanted tropical evening is what audiences will get when they see “South Pacific,” which opened this week at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland and runs through Feb. 13.

The revival of this revered Rodgers & Hammerstein production swept the 2008 Tony Awards, winning seven honors, including Best Musical Revival and Best Director. After ending a two-year, sold-out run, the show is on the road.

What may be surprising about the revival is it marks the first time the musical, based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Tales of the South Pacific,” has been on Broadway since its 1949 debut.

“Even with a show as strong and as successful as ‘South Pacific,’ the Broadway world does represent a certain crapshoot and it really took 60 years for someone to line up a production that could be put into that world and judged accordingly,” said Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization President Ted Chapin, calling from New York.

“The fact it first opened in a post-WWII period is probably what made people a little nervous about doing a Broadway revival. In 1949, everybody had some connection to the war. As each year has gone by, certainly producers have felt more and more tricky to guess whether the audience will find their own way of being in the time and place of this story or where they have to be told.

“The good thing about this production is they weren’t scared of it. They felt if they told the story in the period the show takes place and told it well enough, audiences would understand. And I think that’s happened.”

Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the romantic story of two couples — U.S. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque, along with Navy Airman Joe Cable and a young local native girl Liat — and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. Considered by many to be the finest musical ever written, the score’s songs include such classics as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame,” “This Nearly Was Mine” and “A Wonderful Guy.”

Chapin says that “South Pacific” plays a pivotal role in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s career. He suggests if the musical failed, the duo’s legacy could have been forever altered.

“‘South Pacific’ followed their one flop, ‘Allegro,’” Chapin said. “So what I always think is fascinating about ‘South Pacific’ is they loaded the dice and took more risks. It’s a contemporary story right after the war. They brought on [director] Joshua Logan, who is a formidable artist in his own right. They brought on a star in Mary Martin, and they never wrote for a star before. I always felt that if ‘South Pacific’ failed, they might have gone away.”

Obviously, “South Pacific” proved to be a major hit for Rodgers & Hammerstein, which explains why more than six decades after its debut it still resonates with audiences.

“What is extraordinary about this production — and it sounds very simple — is this story is incredibly well told,” Chapin said. “The director, producer and artists who put it on trusted the material and didn’t feel like they had to fix it, which is a curse on revivals. As a result, the production rewarded them with a story that is incredibly well told. Also, everybody loves the music. There are just not a lot of gimmicks in the show. If people think they know ‘South Pacific,’ I think they’ll be surprised by some of the discoveries and wonderful details they’ll find watching this production.”