honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 1, 2007

'South Pacific' flow ebbs in Hawaii Opera Theatre production

 •  Well-done music rules Hawaii Opera Theatre’s 'South'

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Special to The Advertiser

Editor's note: Ruth Bingham, who reviews musical performance, and Joseph Rozmiarek, who reviews stage, both give their takes on "South Pacific" this week.

Since nearly every high school and community theater has staged Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" more than once in the past 50 years, one expects the current production by Hawaii Opera Theatre to provide good voices and traditional staging. That is exactly what it does, with Mainland talent sporting operatic credentials in the central roles.

But several factors keep the production from being a totally enchanting evening. Length, pacing and lost dialogue lead the list.

With a first act that runs nearly two hours, one looks to stage director Karen Tiller to emphasize what's necessary, eliminate what's not and generally move things along. But slow set changes interrupt the flow, and musical bridges hold things up even when the sets are ready.

When the action moves to Bali Ha'i, where Billis participates in an offstage boar's tooth ceremony while Lt. Cable discovers the charms of the lovely Liat, the HOT production gratuitously drops in a Tahitian troupe. Their prolonged dancing interjects a contemporary commercial Waikiki element that disrupts the story line and, while spirited and colorful, is sadly out of place.

The production otherwise looks good, with scenery borrowed from a Utah production, adapted and lit on the Blaisdell stage by Peter Dean Beck. (As a side note, the spotlights that come up on the soloists should suggest that they personally generate the extra wattage, not that they've been struck by a crime-scene probe.)

In the primary roles, performers meet requirements like a walk in the park. Louis Otey's baritone as Emile de Becque rolls out "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine" like sets of warm frothy surf. Kip Wilborn's confident tenor as Lt. Cable hits and sustains the high notes in "Younger Than Springtime" without once having to get up on his toes. And Michelle Jennings handles the difficult chore of keeping nurse Nellie Forbush melodic and likable while confronting her hick-town bigotry.

Michael Ching conducts the orchestra through a pristine overture and gets excellent sound and volume from the large chorus.

Curiously, though, this production backs away from roles that invite exaggeration. Curt Olds is restrained as schemer Luther Billis. Marlene Sai sings well but does a generally beige interpretation in the Technicolor role of Bloody Mary.

What there is of dance in the original show goes to the sailors, and choreographer Gregg Lizenbery has them disappointingly marching to cadence on "There is Nothin' Like a Dame" and missing the opportunity for a big effect.

The show ends on an up note, with the full cast reprising the lyrics "Once you have found her, never let her go," while Nellie and Emile embrace. But despite the rich voices, the HOT version misses much of the energy and spirit often found in less-credentialed productions.