Unlike today’s musical hits that seem each and every one to open with a great big, extended full-cast production number (think Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Billy Elliot, Memphis, In The Heights, Wicked, The Book Of Mormon, etc., etc., etc.), South Pacific dares to start quietly, almost unheard of at the time of its Broadway premiere and perhaps even less heard of in 2015.Ī pair of children living on a small island in the South Pacific early on in World War II sing the charming French language “Dites Moi” with nary a chorus boy or girl in sight. Those only familiar with the current century’s Broadway smashes will get their first surprise at hearing an honest-to-goodness Overture, presented with its original Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations and performed by a 28-piece orchestra under the baton of whiz musical director Dennis Castellano, with Surprise Number Two ensuing lickety-split. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, South Pacific stands tall amongst the R&H oeuvre with its pair of timeless love stories, its hummable melodies and astute lyrics in one hit song after another, its richly exotic setting, its dramatic, suspenseful WWII time frame, its delightful bits of comic relief, and perhaps most importantly, its ahead-of-its-time examination of the racial prejudices so deeply ingrained in mid-20th Century America. When the Japanese Zeros strafe the Americans' position, Emile narrowly escapes, but Cable is killed.If there’s one thing Musical Theatre West’s old-meets-new revival of South Pacific makes abundantly clear, it’s this: Few 20th-century musicals can match the 1949 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic in absolute brilliance.īased on James A. The two send back reports on Japanese ships' movements in the "Slot", a strategic strait American aircraft intercept and destroy the Japanese ships. Emile and Cable land on the other side of the island undetected. The mission begins with plenty of air support. He also vows that if he gets out of the war alive, he won't go home to the United States everything he wants is on these islands. Cable, filled with self-loathing, replies that "it's not something you're born with", yet it is an ingrained part of their upbringing. Cable laments his loss.Įmile asks Cable why he and Nellie have such prejudices. Bloody Mary furiously drags her distraught daughter away, telling Cable that Liat must now marry a much older French plantation owner instead. Cable, aware of his family's prejudices, says he cannot marry a Tonkinese girl. She encourages them to continue their carefree life on the island and urges them to marry. As Liat and Cable spend more time together, Bloody Mary is delighted.
Having visited Bali Ha'i often to be with Liat, Cable is also ill, but escapes from the hospital to be with Liat. Bloody Mary proudly tells Billis that Cable is going to be her son-in-law.Īn epidemic of malaria has hit the island of Bali Ha'i. Billis and the rest of the crew are ready to leave the island, yet must wait for Cable who, unbeknownst to them, is with Liat. The two are instantly attracted to each other and make love. Believing that Liat's only chance at a better life is to marry an American officer, Mary leaves Liat alone with Cable.
There, Billis participates in the native ceremony, while Bloody Mary introduces Cable to her beautiful daughter, Liat, with whom he must communicate haltingly in French. Commander Harbison, the executive officer, tells Cable to go on leave until the mission can take place, and Billis obtains a boat and takes Cable to Bali Ha'i. The Navy officers ask Emile to be Cable's guide, but he refuses their request because of his hopes for a new life with Nellie. Cable meets with his commanding officers, Captain George Brackett and Commander William Harbison, who plan to ask Emile to help with the mission because he used to live on the island where the mission will take place.Ĭable's mission is to land on a Japanese-held island and report on Japanese ship movements. Lieutenant Joseph Cable was a U.S Marine officer who arrives on a South Pacific island from Guadalcanal, having been sent to take part in a dangerous spy mission whose success could turn the tide of the war against Japan.
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