Never having seen the Rogers & Hammerstein’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama South Pacific on stage, I jumped at the chance to attend the Lincoln Center Theater production at the Ahmanson (playing until July 17) which won seven 2008 Tony Awards in New York.  The revival features a different cast but the same staging as the award winning production. As the overture began, it was clear I was in for a treat. Everything is top notch, from the direction to the lighting to the cast. This is must-see theater at its best.

The play takes place in World War II, on a tropical island in the South Pacific. Mainly occupied by the native Melanesians, the island also becomes a base for the US Navy to plan attacks on the Japanese. The show begins with US Navy Nurse Nellie Forbush (Carmen Cusack), as she falls in love with French plantation owner Emile de Becque (opera star Rod Gilfry), who has come to the South Pacific to escape his past.  Everything seems perfect, but Nellie’s own prejudices against the natives prove a problem when Emile reveals a secret.

Meanwhile, Navy Airman Joe Cable (Anderson Davis) is deployed to the island to enact a dangerous mission to spy on the Japanese, and falls for a native girl, Liat (Sumie Maeda).  He too falls prey to his own racial prejudice.  While the former romance is more central to the show, the latter still provides plenty of emotional moments.

The musical’s main themes of love and race give rise to beautiful music, including the haunting “Bali-Ha’i” and the famous “Some Enchanted Evening,” sung to perfection by the masterful Gilfry.  Gilfry’s operatic background could be a hindrance, but instead his aristocratic demeanor becomes part of the character and a pleasant contrast to the southern charm and humor of Cusack’s Nellie.  Their chemistry is electric, and their duets blend in perfect harmony.  Nellie’s solo numbers also soar, and bring a welcome light heartedness to the show. The group numbers are also a highlight, and the catchy tune “There is Nothin Like a Dame” sung by the navy ensemble is wonderfully choreographed and uses the stage to its fullest extent. The touring company exceeded my expectations, and I was delighted and enthralled.

Although the second act is weaker than the first, the pacing is easy to forgive with such an all around solid production.  Even the most dramatic moments at the climax didn’t feel heavy handed, thanks to the nuanced direction which draws you into the characters and songs.  The themes resonated even after the show was over, and I found myself humming “Some Enchanted Evening” long after I had left the theater.  As long as you want a night of unabashed romance and old fashioned over the top musical fun, South Pacific will not disappoint.

Ariana Mufson, a Boston native, studied English and Film at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.  Awarded the Akiva Goldsman prize in screenwriting, Mufson then accepted the Ford Fellowship in Wesleyan's Writing Program, before moving to Los Angeles to work in film and television development.  She has reviewed theater for Curtainup.com since 2004 and in 2009 became a founding member of "The 4th Wall Geffen Playhouse Arts Alliance" which provides and encourages experiences that enrich, challenge, inspire and motivate Young Hollywood in both creation and patronage of the arts.