South Pacific: A musical statement against racial prejudice

Dynamic choreography

After its glorious staging last February, South Pacific, the Broadway musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics), based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction in James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, had its glorious comeback last September 12, Saturday, at the Proscenium Theatre in Makati City, where it is scheduled to have another series of performances.

UST’s Dean Ma. Alejandra I. Chua

In her opening remarks, Dean Maria Alexandra I. Chua said that its comeback was due to the “wonderful response” of the viewers to its staging last February, such that more viewers should have the “opportunity to experience it!” The presentation was part of the 80th anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Conservatory of Music. It will benefit the UST Conservatory of Music Scholarship and Production Fund.

She added that its presentation had a “special” connection of sorts with the conservatory’s anniversary, as it was written about the same period the conservatory was being established, and the issues the musical raises “remain very much with us.”

National Artist for Dance Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan, with his better half, choreographer Edna Vida, led the appreciative audience who came to watch the show.

Indeed, the musical was a telling metaphor for an ideal harbor for belonging sans racial prejudice. In his notes, director Paolo O’Hara, said that “the island becomes more than a setting,” where “transformation took place in the journey of Nellie Forbush, from ‘simply romantic’ to ‘moral.’ Indeed, she confronted who she was, and affirms who she chose to become.”

Ciara Soto essayed the role Nellie Forbush with a commanding presence, combining both thespian ability and vibrant singing. She delivered the song I’m Gonna Wash That Man Outa My Hair with wit and sarcasm, after finding out that the mother of Emile de Becque’s children was a Polynesian. The song crowned her racial prejudice.

A high point in her acting and singing was seen when she sang I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy towards the end of Act 1. She showed ease singing in the passagio, so to speak, placing well her voice in the middle and high range from the low range quite effortlessly, which allowed for clear tonal registration.

Jose Luis Meer Perez as Emile de Becque embracing Ciara Sotto as Nellie Forbush and his two children, Maria Regina Roldan as Ngana and Liam Gabriel Bautista as Jerome

On the other hand, Jose Luis Meer Perez, who essayed the role of the Frenchman Emile de Becque, showed a dynamic presence. There was absolutely nothing more to be desired in his acting, so convincing and emphatic. Equipped with a buoyant baritone voice, he sang the song Some Enchanted Evening with alluring dispatch. He displayed such moving sentiment in the heart-breaking song This Nearly was Mine, that grieved his rejection by Nellie, well-projected and resonant. He, however, should avoid that shaking sound effect (tremolo) that at times obscures the delivery of a smooth or legate musical line.

Sean Nolasco, as Lieutenant Joseph Cable, sang comfortably as he revealed the tenor sheen of his voice. He drove home the theme of the musical in You’ve Got to be Taught, that spelled the truth about prejudice, that it is not inherited, but is “carefully taught.”

Mezzo soprano Nenen Espina as Bloody Mary

Nenen Espina, as Bloody Mary, an itinerant vendor who sells grass skirts, and matchmaker, was a stand-out! She was practically introduced by the sailors who sang the chorus, Bloody Mary, who chewed betel nuts. As Liat’s mother, she arranged her daughter’s marriage to Joseph Cable

She combined both singing and acting with sensitive ease. Her deep mezzo voice was perfect for the songs she sang with aplomb. In the first act, she conveyed ease and intense ardor in Bali Ha’i, a song about an ideal, imaginary island, where “dreams bloom,” precisely as racial prejudice does not exist.

In the next song, Happy Talk, her singing carried an upbeat mood, as she concocted a match between her daughter Liat and Lt. Cable, in a lively bouncy tune: “If you don’t talk happy; An’ you never have a dream, Den you’ll never have a dream come true!”

The other members of the cast lent their support for a ensuring a successful production were: Erika Salas as Liat; Rod Samut as Luther Billis; Sherwin Sozon as captain George Brackett; and Raymond Yadao as Commander William Harbison. The ensemble, composed of some 24 people, was made up of students from the UST Conservatory, including some of the main cast, many of whom are graduates or students in the conservatory’s Music Theatre Program.

And of course there were the two children of Emille de Becque, Maria Regina Roldan as Ngana and Liam Gabriel Bautista as Jerome, who sang Dites-moi.

The action on stage was enhanced by the sensitive lighting effect by veteran John Neil I. Batalla. The dynamic choreography that defined appropriate theatrical movements was by Anthony Arnold Trinidad. Those movable sets were intelligently designed by Emilio Martin Infante, what with the limited space on the stage. Rommel Padillo Serrano appropriately designed the costumes, and Manolito Manalang, Jr. engineered a fine sound design that ensured aural clarity throughout.

In the pit was the UST Symphony Orchestra (USTFO) with conductor Daniel P. Bartolome on the podium, that provided sensitive rapport with the singers and ensemble to bring out the splendor of Hammerstein’s music that has, indeed, become a classic.