THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 25, 1994 TAG: 9411240107
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
``SOUTH PACIFIC'' has an enduring quality that is both cajoling and dramatic. Set during a time - maybe for the last time - when America was united against a common enemy, it reminds us of how we stood up against awesome odds with a kind of pride that is difficult to find in today.
A smallish cast works hard to give the bus-and-truck production at Chrysler Hall a pleasant, if undistinguished, reading. Backed by an impressive orchestra (if sometimes heavy on the brass), it comes together as a somewhat likable, diverting medley of tunes, but with little of the dramatic edge that should be lurking just below the surface. The pearls are all there; the string to hold them together is missing.
Petite Marlene Vieira, fresh from entertaining passengers on the Cunard Princess, is assigned the all-important role of Nellie Forbush, the naive nurse from Arkansas. Vieira is much better in the singing category than she is acting. Her emphasis on Nellie's ``gee whiz'' gullibility makes for a rather stock character. She is winningly adept, though, at socking across the musical highlights: ``I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy,'' ``I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair'' and ``Honeybun.''
Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize -winning novel ``Tales of the South Pacific,'' the musical unfolds on two Pacific islands during World War II. Sacrifice and commitment are required from every American - people who might have never met if they hadn't been brought together by war.
Nellie falls in love with an older man, the mysterious French planter Emile de Becque. As the song states, they are ``born on the opposite sides of the sea / they are as different as can be.'' It's a meaningful message about racial bias, and Nellie is upset when she learns he is the father of two half-Polynesian children. Happily, the theme seems quite dated now.
The role of De Becque is customarily assigned to an operatic voice, dating back to Ezio Pinza. So it is here with Leslie Tennent, a veteran of New York City Opera's touring circuit and the Santa Fe Opera. He is obsessed with the character's French accent and big-vocal finishes, but he lends some dignity to his rendering of ``Some Enchanted Evening'' and ``This Nearly Was Mine.''
There should be an age difference between the lovers, but casting petite Vieira opposite mountainous Tennent makes it more Mutt and Jeff. The romance is given a new reading when you consider that the two look like father and daughter. Vieira stands on tip-toes and stretches mightily for the romantic scenes. It is a bit distracting.
Suzi Takahaski as the wily old native woman Bloody Mary seems neither old nor wily. Like everyone else, she is more interested in vocalizing than character development. She has two of the score's best songs, ``Bali Ha'i'' and ``Happy Talk.''
Christopher Cheaney is a level-headed but rather bland Lt. Cable, the young Princeton student whose Philadelphia background contrasts with the surrounding. His version of ``Younger Than Springtime,'' with Rebecca Keller's lovely Liat the object of his passion, seems heartfelt.
M. Seth Reines, director of Illinois' Little Theater on the Square, has a brisk sense of pacing. The sets, with the kind of hanging flat-pieces that travel easily, are whisked on and off by the actors themselves, which keeps the show moving fast.
It is becoming apparent that Chrysler Hall is booking some second-rate touring packages. This same stage that once hosted authentic national touring companies at similar prices. With or without ``star'' names, local audiences know the difference.
Any evening filled with this score is surely pleasant, but the truth is there have been local productions as good as this production. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Leslie Tennent, left, plays Emile de Becque in the ``South Pacific''
production at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk.
THEATER REVIEW
What: ``South Pacific,'' the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Cast: Marlene Vieira, Leslie Tennent, Suzi Takahashi, Christopher
Cheaney; directed by M. Seth Reines
Where: Chrysler Hall, Norfolk
When: Tonight and Saturday at 8, Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 2
and 7:30 p.m.
How much: $25 to $32.50
Information: 441-2161
by CNB