South Pacific Survives Time

About this picture: There are two pieces of white chocolate, joined at the middle. One is surrounded by pieces of other pieces of white chocolate while the other is surrounded by pieces of milk chocolate. The latter is supposed to represent Emile and his life in a multi-cultural world and the former is supposed to represent Nellie and her life in a uniform world.

What makes a love story timeless? Is it the romantic emotion that characters display to an audience? Or is it the conflict that each involved character must face in order to know love? Or could it be the conclusion of the story that really wins the heart of an audience? Surely, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s play South Pacific answers all of these questions. In the Lincoln Center Theatre in New York, NY, it brings an unconventional love story to life on a stage which, with its realistic backdrop and impeccable lighting, provides a clear picture of the South Pacific.

South Pacific is based on James Mitchener’s “Tales of the South Pacific,” a novel through which he conveyed his experiences during World War II. Within the novel are numerous accounts that link various characters together. Unlike the novel, however, the play focuses on a narrow scope of events. Not coincidentally, Rodgers and Hammerstein choose from the novel tales that stir up a magical musical and enchant audiences everywhere. These tales range from a woman attempting to pave the way for her daughter to live a comfortable life to an all-American girl trying to adapt to a world that challenges her beliefs.

At the beginning of the play, the audience encounters one of the most typical aspects of a musical: the inclusion of a love story. The couple in this case consists of Nellie Forbush (Kelli O’Hara), a young Southern nurse and Emile de Becque (Paulo Szot), a French planter. The musical pieces in the play are geared to tackle the emotions of the two lovers (most notably, “Some Enchanted Evening”),with the exception of a few comical pieces. In addition, the couple is provided a setting of romantic islands in the South Pacific which would expectantly advance their love.

What the audience least expects to form a wedge between the two are racial issues; issues which, during Mitchener’s time, were prevalent. These issues also coexist between a couple within the subplot of the play: Lieutenant Cable and Liat. While Lt. Cable happens to be a strapping Marine from the upscale parts of Philadelphia, PA, Liat is seen as a young Tonkinese woman who lives a completely different lifestyle. There to fuel their romance is Bloody Mary, a Tonkinese elder portrayed as an opportunist who benefits monetarily from the American soldiers’ presence in the South Pacific. Although Liat and Cable’s romance arouses the attention of the audience, Emile’s hidden secrets are what really draw them in.

Some critics believe that Said’s view on Orientalism, which holds that Westerners look down on Easterners through the promotion of stereotypes (e.g. bad English, not very educated) is well and alive in South Pacific through the character Bloody Mary. But they fail to realize a stereotype of the West carried through Nellie Forbush. Nellie, who hates the idea that Emile loved someone a different color from them, acts as the typical racist Southern American. Being that this is part of the main plot, one would expect them to realize this portrayal.

Moreover, although the play may have a solid plot, a flaw may just exist in the play’s disconnection from some other tales in the novel. For these tales hold in them information on Nellie’s past through which the audience would have connected with her more deeply. Yet again, if all of the tales from the novel were included in the play, the audience would get lost in a heavily-detailed plot.

These facts aside, South Pacific does not fail to get its message across. It reveals the major issue of racism within its animated performance and attacks popular belief during the 1940s. And for such a play to continue successfully into our time must mean that it truly is timeless.