Happy talk has graced Islander Loretta Ables Sayre; she is the newest darling on Broadway.

In her debut as Bloody Mary in "South Pacific" Thursday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, the Hawaiian actress-singer earned raves. The New York Daily News declared her "the find of the season."

The Associated Press dubbed her "marvelous ... (with) a rich, gutsy voice that brings an earthly warmth to 'Bali Hai.'"

"A terrific New York debut," said the New York Times, which added that her solo tunes, "Bali Hai" and "Happy Talk," "feel new because they're rendered as systematic acts of seduction."

The Times also was effusive, headlining an Opinion piece with "Bloody Mary Is the Girl I Love," heaping praise on the director Bartlett Sher (who has Hawai'i ties) and Ables Sayre.

Even New York magazine asked in an online posting, "Could 'South Pacific' dance away with the Tonys?" Ables Sayre, a popular Diamond Head Theatre actor, endeared Island theater fans when she starred as the fame-hungry mother in "You Somebody" at Diamond Head Theatre. She is also a veteran Waikiki club performer, with a long history at five-diamond Halekulani hotel and the Kahala Mandarin Oriental (now The Kahala resort). She has also played the recurring role of Aunty on Nickelodeon's "Beyond the Break" series filmed in the Islands.

The "South Pacific" revival was to close June 22 but has an open run now, because of the high praise. Seats are being sold through Jan. 4, 2009.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.