"South Pacific" at Ivoryton a smash!

South Pacific is such a musical blockbuster that is is regularly revived on Broadway and regional theaters, but it is unlikely you will find a better production than that being given through July 26 at the Ivoryton Playhouse. Graced with gorgeous voices and good actors, the audience at the show I saw leaped to their feet with a standing ovation at the curtain calls.

Of course the production rises or falls with the stars, and David Pittsinger as Emile de Becque and Adrianne Hick as Nellie Forbush deliver in spades. Pittsinger, a Connecticut native and resident, is an opera and recital singer whose resonant bass-baritone voice can fill a hall much bigger than the playhouse. He has received recognition for this role on both Broadway and Kennedy center stages. Of course his “Some Enchanted Evening” was delightful, but I thought his emotion and breath control in “This Nearly Was Mine” was one of the highlights of the evening. Hick not only has a lovely voice, but her face displayed a cornucopia of emotion as she first cannot believe she is in love with Emile, but then rejects him because of her family predjudices. These two also have a playful moment when the script calls for her to describe herself as a “hick”.

The quality does not diminish in the supporting roles. Patricia Schuman as Bloody Mary also is a well-regarded opera singer, and her smooth contralto brings out the best of “Bali Hai” and “Happy Talk”. She also brings out the bawdy humor of her character as well as in any of the many productions I have seen. Peter Carrier not only looks and acts the part of the heroic Lieutenant Cable, but delivers his solos in a clear tenor voice that needs no amplification to be understood. William Selby’s wide theatrical experience not only presents the ridiculous side of the conniving Luther Billis, but manages to show his soft heart as well. Every other featured actor or ensemble member, although too numerous to name here, contributed a strong and pleasing performance as well.

Director (and choreographer) David Edwards put his own stamp on the production, adapting the show to the Ivoryton Playhouse’s small stage, overlapping scenes occasionally to avoid lapses in the action, including the often-omitted song “My Girl Back Home”, and inventing an effective embarkation scene in the second act. With South Pacific following a hilarious production of Calendar Girls, Jacqueline Hubbard, Ivoryton executive director, and her crew are putting together an unusually strong summer schedule of musicals and drama.