The fully staged show is a collaboration among the Dayton Opera, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Wright State University’s School of Performing Arts.
As artistic director of Dayton Opera, Clawson is responsible for choosing the productions that will be performed each opera season. “A couple of seasons ago we collaborated with Wright State on a Sondheim evening and it was so wonderful,” Clawson said. “The students loved it and gained so much by working with professionals so I began thinking of what the next vehicle for us might be to work on together.”
When she discovered that this year marks the 75th anniversary of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s award-winning classic musical “South Pacific,” Clawson thought it would be a perfect fit. The “crossover” piece has long been a favorite among opera and musical theater fans alike. The musical was adapted onscreen in the 1958 film starring Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor and in a 2001 made-for-television film starring Glenn Close and Harry Connick, Jr.
Joe Deer, founding head of Wright State’s musical theater program, is directing the production.
“I’ve never worked on a project that involved so many different members of the arts community,” said Deer, now retired from Wright State. “We’ve got current students, alumni, current faculty and emeritus faculty plus many members of our staff all involved in the creation of this project. They are from all over the country. On campus it involves students from the acting program, the musical theater program and the music program. To bring all of them together with the Dayton Opera and Philharmonic is really exciting.”
The set you’ll see at the Schuster was designed by Wright State Emeritus Theatre Professor Pam Knauert Lavarnway with projections designed by Jessica Drayton, a Wright State alum. When it’s time for Nellie to “wash that man right out of her hair” there will be a working shower on stage. Clawson said they’ll even have the beach.
If there’s any flaw in “South Pacific,” Clawson said, it’s the length of the original production. When she heard about a pared down version starring Reba McEntire and performed at Carnegie Hall, she requested permission to use that tighter script in Dayton. “None of the music has changed, there’s just less dialogue,” she said. “It has all the songs everybody knows and loves.” The Dayton show will run 120 minutes with one intermission.
A timely story
Set during World War II, the story takes place on a tropical island where two love stories unfold. The plot is based on James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1947 book “Tales of the South Pacific.”
The show was an instant hit when it premiered on Broadway at the Majestic theater on April 7, 1949. Starring Mary Martin in the role of Nellie and Ezio Pinza in the role of Emile, “South Pacific” won 10 Tony awards as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the second musical to earn that distinction.
When Nellie learns that the mother of Emile’s children was an island native, she refuses Emile’s proposal of marriage, unable to overcome the prejudices with which she was raised. Lt. Joe Cable falls in love with a Tonkinese girl named Liat, but he, too, denies himself a future due to the same fears that haunt Nellie.
Deer said in its time “South Pacific” was as revolutionary as “Hamilton” or “Rent” or “Hair.”
“It was revolutionary to do a contemporary story that talked about a war which had just ended four years before,” he explained. “The people in the audience had been in the war, their families had fought and died. Rodgers and Hammerstein were very clever in the way they lured the audience into loving characters who then had to confront their deep flaws and prejudices because of their great love. ‘South Pacific’ forces the audience to see racism in themselves.”
The role of Liat will be played by Wright State senior Juno Brosas.
“This musical was very progressive for its time with a message that still resonates today,” she said. “It’s about the racial injustice at the time and really, it’s about racial and cultural barriers as a whole.”
Brosas can relate. “I grew up as a woman of color –half Filipino, half white,” she said. “I’ve been lucky to have been in communities that are welcoming of all people. I grew up in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta and my county was the most diverse county in the state. It was wonderful to grow up with people from all walks of life.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
However, Brosas said, social media makes the world a lot smaller.
“I saw racial injustice happen all over, especially the wave of Asian hate that occurred when the COVID pandemic hit. Luckily, I didn’t face any of it directly but I remember scrolling on Instagram and seeing what was going on in the world.”
Brosas, who hopes to join a cruise line or tour in a show after graduation, believes there are important lessons to be learned from “South Pacific.” She said when Cable sings “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” he’s referring to racism and the fact that it isn’t inherited, it’s learned.
“I think the overall message of the show is that you confront your biases and check in with yourself because everyone has some sort of inherent biases. Take time to educate yourself about different races. Make sure there’s nothing lurking deep down that you may need to confront.”
Playing Nellie
Wright State alum Robin Dunavant has been singing “Cockeyed Optimist” and “I’m in love with a Wonderful Guy” since she was a kid.
“Nellie is a dream role for anyone who loves Golden Age musicals like I do,” Dunavant said.
Her Wright State musical theater education has given her “great preparation” for her career.
“I owe all of my success to Wright State; I think it is a great place to go to learn to collaborate with other artists. In addition to learning practical skills like singing, acting, dancing, we also learned to understand who we are as artists and cultivate our individuality. That’s very important when you go to New York and go into such a huge market of actors.”
How to go
What: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” adapted by David Ives
When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 22
Where: Schuster Center, Winsupply Theatre, 1 W. Second St., Dayton
Tickets: $7.50-$134 at daytonlive.org or call 937-228-3630
Related programming: A pre-show talk will be conducted before each performance.
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