South Pacific at The Ahmanson

[Dennis Hardin]

I attended the new Lincoln Center Theater production of 'South Pacific' at The Ahmanson in Los Angeles Friday night. I cannot recall ever having a more richly rewarding theatrical experience. The rapturous score by Rodgers and Hammerstein was my motivation to see the play, but the performances by the actors in all of the key roles far exceeded my expectations. Rod Gilfry as Emile de Becque and Carmen Cusack as Nellie Forbush were nothing short of amazing. Anderson Davis also does a terrific job as Lt. Joseph Cable. Keala Settle is nearly perfect as Bloody Mary. This magical story set on an island in the South Pacific during World War Two was immensely enjoyable from start to finish.

One note of caution: 'South Pacific' packs an emotional wallop unmatched by any other musical I have ever seen. Don't make the same mistake I did and try to get through it without an ample supply of kleenex.

[Greybird]

I'm pleased that you had a special experience at the theater and in the Ahmanson, one of the best stages for musicals I've ever attended. "Les Misérables" swept me away there long ago. It's rare to get such a fervent feeling these days from any medium.

Unfortunately, as with the almost Good vs. Evil appraisals I've traded with Jerry Biggers about film director Robert Altman recently, I'm in the same position with you about Rodgers and Hammerstein generally, and "South Pacific" in particular: I get bored nearly senseless by their musicals, especially that one. And I find it hard to get inside the perspective of someone who truly admires them.

(I'll readily admit to not having seen very many of them on stage, rather than in movie adaptations, which often dilute the concentrated staging effects of musicals. I did, however, once act in "Oklahoma!", and that close-up experience uncovered greater strengths in much of it.)

Only an occasional pearl of lyrics or music rises above their general tone for me, which too often is one of almost unrelieved sentimentalism, and over-dramatic but weakly based conflicts.

"Carousel" is a particularly strong example for me: The male protagonist simply has too many conflicts to be believed, with his wife loving him despite his beating her. (Though that's also Molnár's fault in the source material.) The plot is drenched in melodrama that doesn't earn its emotion. And yet, and yet — "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" are two of the most powerfully written songs in the American musical theater.

I wish I could say more about "South Pacific," I truly do. "Some Enchanted Evening," for example, rises above its setting. Yet, again, starting with its wartime framing and building from there, it simply and utterly bores me.

I suspect, now that I think of it, that the framing devices or sources that this duo used were faulty or far from very strong. And that this was R&H's perennial problem, in what they pyramided on top of the sources. "The Sound of Music," for example, has its own internal coherence, but almost nothing to do with the actual experiences of the von Trapp family, despite being touted that way. The same with "The King and I" and Anna Leonowens. Not hewing in much detail to the original inspirations, nor particularly trying to do so, ends up creating a sense of artistic infidelity, at least to me.

If this stage experience transports you out of Mundania, though, more power to you. Even an overly melodramatic, carelessly manipulative R&H story universe can still be a far more pleasurable venue than this "real" one.

[Dennis Hardin]

I'm pleased that you had a special experience at the theater and in the Ahmanson, one of the best stages for musicals I've ever attended. "Les Misérables" swept me away there long ago. It's rare to get such a fervent feeling these days from any medium.

Unfortunately, as with the almost Good vs. Evil appraisals I've traded with Jerry Biggers about film director Robert Altman recently, I'm in the same position with you about Rodgers and Hammerstein generally, and "South Pacific" in particular: I get bored nearly senseless by their musicals, especially that one. And I find it hard to get inside the perspective of someone who truly admires them.

(I'll readily admit to not having seen very many of them on stage, ...

A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband. She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded: "Rome? But it's so crowded and dirty! And, anyway, I would never go to Rome this time of year. So, how are you getting there?"

"We're taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"

"Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight, attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?"

"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."

"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks its going to be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump, the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly and they're overpriced. So, whatcha' doing when you get there?"

"We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope."

"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."

A month later the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.

"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes, but it was overbooked and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot. And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"

"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."

"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and explained that the Pope Likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me.

"Oh really! What'd he say?"

He said: "Oh my God! Where did you get that sh_tty hairdo?"