In
the State of Florida, with the Trayvon Martin case being so prominent, a
song written 63 years ago, "You've Got To Be Caught", is as powerful
today as then and just as moving is the touring company revival of "South Pacific"  at the Broward Performing Arts Center .

Without the razzle dazzle of today's Broadway shows a musical written in 1949 has a book, and certainly a score, that has become a classic . At the core of the show are two love stories that reflect what is very much alive today, including a war being fought by young men and women.

The
book of the musical "South Pacific" was written by Oscar Hammerstein
and Joshua Logan based on the Pulitzer Prize winning short stories in
"Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener with Hammerstein also
writing the lyrics while his partner Richard Rodgers wrote the music.

Starring
as Nellie Forbush, the Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, is Jennie
Sophia who was the understudy until a little over a month ago when she
was give the role . She brings across the "Cockeyed Optimist"
that she sings about, shares the joy of "Washing That Man Right Out of
Her Hair" along with letting you know that she is in love with "A
Wonderful Guy" while at the same time holds the audience's
attention as she stands alone on stage singing a reprise of "Some
Enchanted Evening". While Jennie Sophia is sure of herself as a singer
of these enduring songs, puts across the naive girl from the sticks,
handles the comic moments as well as the dramatic scenes she doesn't
seem completely comfortable in the little choreography she has to do.

Marcelo Guzzo plays
Emile de Becque, the Frenchman who escaped to the island after killing a
man for being a bully and had two children with a Polynesian woman
which brings a complication to his romance with Nellie. Guzzo has a full
baritone that certainly does justice to "Some Enchanted Evening" and
brings a lump to the throat singing "This Nearly Was Mine". While you
could hear and understand every word he  was singing the same couldn't
be said when he was talking. Sadly there was very little chemistry
between the co-stars.

Shane
Donovan, as Lt. Joseph Cable, delivers "Younger Than Springtime" to
every woman in the audience and a burning "You've Got To Be Taught" to
anyone who has an ounce of hate in his heart. Tall, muscular and
handsome, also having a vulnerability, Donovan makes Liat, played by
Hsin-Yu Liao, seem even more delicate than she appears. When she and her
mother, Bloody Mary, sing "Happy Talk" it is an enchantment all its
own. Cathy Foy-Mahi, as Mary, gets all the humor of the character at the
beginning and when she turns on a dime to sell her daughter to Cable
you see a woman fighting for her daughter's life.

Christian
Marriner, as Luther Bilis, brings all his comic ability to the man
always on the make yet tender enough in his feelings for Nellie to make
him seem like a shy school boy. He and Nellie almost put "Honey Bun"
over the top but just miss. He leads the male ensemble in a rousing
"There Is Nothin Like A Dame" that equals the joy of the female ensemble
during Nellie's washing Emile out of her hair!

All
the technical aspects of the production run smoothly and add atmosphere
to both the small and large numbers taking us back to a Broadway that
didn't need or use special effects but just good old theatre magic and
songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The only thing missing from this
revival based on the Lincoln Center Theater production was the 30 piece
orchestra.

Act 1  1 hour and 34 minutes  Intermission 17 minutes  Act 2 1 hour

Continuing tour: Gainsville, Florida, April 23  Columbus, Georgia, April 24-25

Opelika and Birmingham, Alabama  April 26-29  Buffalo, N.Y. May 1-6

Coming next to the Broward Performing Arts Center Fort Lauderdale  "La Cage Aux Folles" June 12-24

Coming next to the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center Miami  "The Lion King"  May 15-June 10