PUBLIC REVIEW

For: Waterford Musical Society

Production: South Pacific

Venue: Theatre Royal, Waterford

Credits: Rodgers and Hammerstein

Adjudicator: Tony McCleane-Fay

Date: 2 May 2019

Love Island

Waterford Musical Society staged Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific in

Waterford’s Theatre Royal this May, directed by Bill Stafford with choreography by
Donna Murphy and musical direction by Wayne Brown.

Based on a series of stories by James A. Michener, South Pacific was a huge hit
when released on Broadway in 1949 and won ten Tony awards and the Pulitzer
Prize for Drama in 1950. The musical focuses on a group of American sailors and
Navy nurses stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Ensign Nellie
Forbush, a nurse, befriends and quickly falls for Emile de Becque, a French
expatriate and plantation owner who has mixed-race children, and Lt. Joe Cable
finds himself in a passionate affair with Liat, the young daughter of Bloody Mary, a
local grass-skirt wheeler-dealer. As the war against Japan escalates, reality sets in
for both Forbush and Cable, who struggle to reconcile their unconventional love
affairs with their own inherent racism.

Nellie Forbush was played by Susan Boyce who had a really lovely Doris Day quality
to her voice. Ms Boyce played Forbush as a confident, outgoing happy-go-lucky
young nurse who fell for an older man. Her singing on “I’m Gonna Wash That Man
Right Out-a My Hair” one of the show’s enduring numbers, with her colleagues was
excellent; on “A Cockeyed Optimist” she gave a jauntiness to her singing and the
duet with Emile “Twin Soliloquies” was quite divine. Her reprise of “Some Enchanted
Evening” was performed with a sad longing in her voice but “I’m in Love With a
Wonderful Guy”, with its impossibly long end phrase, was full of elation and
lightness. Ms Boyce had a fabulous voice full of expression and depth of feeling and
was a joy to listen to.

As her lover, Emile, Dermot Keyes demonstrated a terrific baritone in the role and
played Emile with sensitivity, showing his disappointment in Nellie’s fickleness and
racism. “Some Enchanted Evening” is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s more
famous songs and is reprised three times in the musical after its first outing by Emile.
He sang it extremely well, and the audience were most appreciative. His duets with
Nellie, “Twin Soliloquies” and “Some Enchanted Evening” were beautiful. Mr Keyes
had a sensational voice which suited the music in this show. His Polynesian servant
Henri, played by Thomas Rogers, was suitably subservient and had a very authentic
look and accent.

Lt. Cable was played by Adam O’Neil. He struggled a little with his singing on “Bali
Ha’i” and a lot on “Younger than Springtime” but sang “You’ve Got to be Taught”
quite well. His scenes with Liat were slightly awkward and they didn’t seem to really
gel on stage. Emma Walsh played Liat as a very young girl. She did not really have
any lines or songs, but her sign language and focus were good. Liat’s mother,
Bloody Mary, was played by Lynsey Penkert. Ms Penkert had good comic timing and
she sang “Happy Talk” and “Bali Ha’i” quite well, but did come across as a bit of a
racial stereotype.

The comic relief in this show came in the form of sailor Luther Billis, here played by
Jonathan Kelly. Mr Kelly gave a charming performance and was easily the most
natural player on the stage. He didn’t seem to act the role, he became Billis.
Impressive in his dance and singing, Mr Kelly brought a freshness and truth to the
show. He took the lead on “There is Nothing like a Dame” and was eminently
watchable as the small-time swindler. His fellow Seabee, Quale was nicely played by
Killian Delahunty.

Damien McDonnell played Commander Harbison, who had a good presence and
showed the character’s lighter side well as being the side-kick and foil of Paul
Dillon’s Captain Brackett. Mr Dillon gave a gravitas and an avuncular and quite
wistful quality to the character. His scenes with Nellie were quite well done and his
scene with Billis enjoyably funny as Billis frustrated him. As Pilot Buzz Adams, Jack
Cunningham presented a gung-ho ‘fly-boy’ demeanour, which really suited the
character. Radio Operator, McCaffrey was well-played by Tom Rodgers.

Donna Murphy’s choreography was quite interesting in that some motifs were
repeated throughout the show. “There is Nothing Like a Dame” was excellent, the
dancers were faultless and used the stage very well. “Bali H’i” was quite simply
directed and had a nice wave-like quality to it, and a similar choreography was used
on “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy” with the nurses. “I’m Gonna Wash That Man
Right Out-a My Hair” was nicely moved and quite delicately performed on the towels.

Musical direction by Wayne Brown was quite nice but I would have liked more
harmonies on some of the bigger songs. However, his work with Emile and Nellie
was excellent. A thirteen-piece orchestra ensured we experienced the big Richard
Rodgers score fully. Strings were lush and the woodwind earthy with the brass
cutting through to give an almost symphonic sound.

Set design by Ben Hennessy followed the island theme, with grass huts and wooden
and bamboo beech style cabanas. Flowers were spread liberally around, a small
stage with a red drape backdrop was trucked on in the second act. Lighting design
by Paul Browne was generally quite well designed for the show, but there was an
odd use of colour at times. Sound by Jody Trehy was good, but a little more bass
would have been nice.
Costumes were hired from Nomac and Theatrical Costume Hire and co-ordinated by
Avril Musgrave and Elaine Tighe. They were of the era, except for Bloody Mary’s
leggings! Hair and make-up design by Marina Murphy and Derek Harvey was good,
but the eye make-up on some performers looked very heavy. Paul Greene stage
managed the show and did a good job.

The show was quite well blocked by Bill Stafford. The pacing was very slow at times
and although some of the staging was very well-thought out, some scenes didn’t
work as well as they were set too far upstage. It was good interpretation with some
excellent performances.

Tony McCleane-Fay, May 2019