![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/thumbnail_South-Pacific_9-e1544688291537.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo by Jeanne Tanner, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
And theirs is a lovely production of it. It\u2019s awesome to hear those beautiful, timeless songs sung live.<\/p>\n
This is actually a big production for such a comparatively small stage, so kudos to them for making it work. There was a gigantic cast, too\u2014twenty-eight in all!<\/p>\n
But what makes it all feel not cramped, nor the stage ever too crowded, are the gorgeous projections around the entire top of the stage. The images of the beach, palm tress, birds, etc. really set the scenes perfectly, and give the whole presentation sort-of a movie feel. They\u2019re impressive, as are the sets. Major kudos to Mike Billings, who designed them both.<\/p>\n
And a quick shout-out to costume designer Pamela Shaw, as well. Outfitting so many bodies in vintage wardrobe could not have been an easy task.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n
In case you don\u2019t know, South Pacific<\/em> is a Broadway hit dating back to the \u201940s! It\u2019s based on James A. Michener\u2019s Tales of the South Pacific<\/em>, and is set during World War II in\u2014guess where?–the South Pacific, of course! There are two love stories, a colorful island woman wheeler-and-dealer, and lots of Navy men antics. There\u2019s both comedy and drama, the latter of which I could not wrap my head around when I first saw this show as a little girl. (More on that aspect in a minute.)<\/p>\n As much as I\u2019m still not a fan of the dramatic bits, the comedy is fun, and I care mainly about the music. (I\u2019ve seen South Pacific<\/em> so much that I already knew every lyric when I was a very young girl. How strange is that<\/em>??? And I can still go through them all with missing nary a word, even \u201cbromidic,\u201d which I still puzzle over.)<\/p>\n Madison Claire Parks and Ben Davis. Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n And the Rubicon does it all with just two pianos playing the entire score! Granted, that does make some of the numbers sound a bit tinny, but overall, the songs and some of the voices are so powerful that it doesn\u2019t matter at all; it\u2019s really quite the accomplishment. I didn\u2019t even miss the rest of the orchestra! (But I do<\/em> wish the pianists had come out for a deserved round of applause during the curtain call.)<\/p>\n The best voice, by far, belongs to Ben Davis, who presents lead character Emile de Becque as quite the attractive older man. The theatre is very lucky to have gotten him for the role. His powerful rendition of This Nearly Was Mine<\/em> was my favorite song of the evening. (And, interestingly, he guest-starred on that week\u2019s Blue Bloods<\/em>, which I watched a few days later. I recognized him right away, even without the gray stubble of \u201cEmile!\u201d)<\/p>\n But the rest of the opening night audience went nuts for the comedic cross-dressing number, Honey Bun<\/em>, which is always one of the highlights of this musical, in general. (The photo at the top of this page is of that song.)<\/p>\n Notice how far back the shower is in this scene. Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n On the flip side of the musical numbers, I feel that a bit more could be made of the hair-washing in I\u2019m Gonna Wash That Man<\/em>. (The rest of that lyric is \u201c…outta my hair.\u201d The title alone sounds like she\u2019s going to wash an actual man\u2019s body<\/em>!) The character really does wet and shampoo her wig right on-stage, which is usually a highlight of the show, and I had been wondering how this under-two-hundred-seat theatre was going to do that. But do that they did! The only problem is that the \u201cshower\u201d is sort-of in the background, behind the dancing girls, so the effect of washing her hair right in front of our eyes is sort-of lost, unless one is looking for it specifically.<\/p>\n (L-R) Jamie Yun, Alex Neww, and Jodi Kimura. Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n There\u2019s one aspect of this story that took me by surprise, (although it should not have. I\u2019ll explain in the next paragraph.) Both love stories involve racism, which I thought I had never noticed in all the times I had seen this show and film. I went home wondering how I had missed it for all those years. I came to the conclusion that it was probably because, as one of the show\u2019s songs explained, You\u2019ve Got To Be Carefully Taught<\/em>, (meaning\u2014to think like that,) and thank goodness, my parents never taught me bigotry. Quite the opposite, actually, which are stories for other times.<\/p>\n But then, as I was writing this review, and doing research for it, (even though a lot of South Pacific background is very handily right in the program,) I began to think that I had seen the musical much more recently than when I was a youngster.\u00a0 So, I looked over my INAM<\/em> archives and discovered that I had seen it just eight years ago! When I read my review of that<\/em> production, I found-out that I was shocked by the racism angle back then, too.\u00a0 I realized that I\u2019ve been blocking it out all this time!\u00a0 I have one of those great memories, so how disturbing to me is that<\/em> part of story for me to have continually blocked it from my mind, and as recently as in the last decade?!<\/p>\n No worries, though, because it all works-out in South Pacific<\/em>, perhaps way too easily, but, as my father used to tell me about disconcerting entertainments, this is just a story, folks, so just go with it. I\u2019m not warning<\/em> you about it; I just felt the need to discuss.<\/p>\n Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n Some words about the Rubicon Theatre: This is a wonderful opportunity afforded to the community, to have such a well-respected and caring not-for-profit regional theatre company right in their own backyard, who put on shows like this one.<\/p>\n Also, one very nice thing that they do is to not start the performance until the rest rooms are clear. (I know that for a fact because I was the last one in there that night, and they waited for me<\/em>!)<\/p>\n (L-R) Ben Davis, Joseph Fuqua, Andrew Umberger, and Alex Nee. Photo by Jeanne Tanner.<\/p><\/div>\n But speaking of the restrooms, I have to let you know that there is no easy access to them. They\u2019re down several stairs and at the far end of a long hall, so just be aware of that, in case you\u2019re ambulatorily-challenged.\u00a0 And maybe wear Depends when you see this show, because the first act alone is an hour and a half!!! Just sayin\u2019. (But, I swear, that act doesn\u2019t seem that long. I was shocked when I looked at my watch at intermission!)<\/p>\n Also, if you\u2019re short, opt to sit up-close because the slope of the seating in the auditorium of this venerable theatre is almost non-existent. Or bring a booster seat! (At least the stage is very raised.)<\/p>\n But no matter where you sit, how you get there, or which performance of the show you see, if you\u2019re a fan of classic musicals, you should not miss the Rubicon\u2019s South Pacific<\/em>! But hurry\u2014the run ends in just ten days!<\/p>\n South Pacific<\/em> running through December 23, 2018<\/strong> SOUTH PACIFIC Even though I feel like I\u2019ve seen the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific, a million times, I jumped at the chance to see it again at Ventura\u2019s Rubicon Theatre last week-end. I hadn\u2019t been to that venue in several years, and this was just the show to get me up there.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Rubicon Theatre 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura 805-667-2900<\/strong>
\n www.rubicontheatre.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"