Some Enchanted (?) Evening..

There is nothing appealing about the prospect of watching a high school production of South Pacific (though perhaps only slightly more appealing than the prospect of seeing a high school production of Rent or Miss Saigon). Not that it’s a bad show. In fact, I think South Pacific is one of the under-rated R&H shows because it always gets overshadowed by its more popular siblings, Carousel and The Sound of Music. I mean, the score is brilliant: I’m Gonna’ Wash That Man Right of My Hair, Some Enchanted Evening, Bali H’ai, Young Than Springtime, A Wonderful Guy, Honey Bun - not a dud in the lot of ‘em. And the book unapologetically attacked racism and bigotry long before the current trend of obsessive PC-ness. The pitfall of the R&H canon is that on the surface, all the shows seem deceptively simple and “old-fashioned” because of their outward musicality, colorful locales and comedic predilections. But on closer inspection, these works were groundbreaking social commentaries: The King & I - racial stereotypes and feminism, Carousel - abusive relationships, The Sound of Music - Nazis, etc, etc. South Pacific is no exception. To quote one of its songs, “You've got to be taught to hate and fear,…You've got to be taught before it's too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate…” And remember, this was 1949! Compare that to just about any lyric in Legally Blond or The Wedding Singer.

This brings me to the high school production of South Pacific I attended last night at the Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ. Let me preface my comments by saying that I am not in the habit of reviewing “non-professional” productions. And this isn’t even really a review, just some observations about the production. Believe me, I give props to any school that has the balls not to cut its arts funding and any student brave enough to get up on stage in the face of peer ridicule. Face it, being the lead in the school musical is not the same as being the quarterback or head cheerleader. Sad, but true. Anyway, we knew we were in for an interesting evening as soon as we heard the opening "Bali H’ai" theme in the overture. Funeral march anyone? Kudos for even getting a full orchestra of students (with a sprinkling of ringers) to learn the score; but I’d rather hear half an orchestra play well/at the proper tempi than a large one where you sacrifice tempi so that the musicians can get through the score. If musician quality wasn’t the issue, than the conductor desperately needed a red bull or should have done a line of cocaine before starting the show. Anyway, my main gripes with the production weren’t the performances. By and large the cast was extremely talented and there were some truly outstanding voices onstage. My main problem was with the direction, or rather lack thereof. When a show is three-plus hours long, you can’t have the leads just stand there. The director didn’t seem to understand the basic defining principle of musical theater - that the songs are a continuation of the preceding dialogue/scene and shouldn't stop the show's forward momentum. “A Wonderful Guy” and “Wash That Man” are scenes between Nellie and the girls, not cute songs merely played to the audience. I won't even detail the problems with the choreography since they are the same as with the directing - it was random and had no relation to what was happening in the scene, the time period or the characters (just because someone can do a split or a flip doesn't mean that it's appropriate). The performers were all energetic and totally committed to what little blocking they were given. Nellie, Bloody Mary (for full disclosure, the actress playing Bloody Mary is one of Val’s students) and Emil were the obvious vocal stand outs.

It’s especially frustrating to see the obvious care and financing dedicated to the physical aspects of the production - sets, costumes, lighting (especially good), talent - not matched in the direction and staging. It is clear that a strong directorial vision would have elevated the production above your average high school fare considering the abundant talent on the stage. No matter, the talent and enthusiasm on stage was clearly visible and the audience seemed thoroughly pleased with the final result. And I guess when it comes to a high school production, there isn’t much more you can ask for.