Weather-wise, the timing seems just right for the Goodspeed Opera House to do “South Pacific.” With the recent humidity, thunderstorms and heat waves, the stage is already set for the balmy climes of Bali H’ai before you set foot in the theater. The breezy yet steamy climate is neatly sustained by a production that’s earthy, human-scaled and about as realistic as you could expect an exotic wartime spy adventure on a tropical island to be.
That sweaty, human approach is what makes this production at the Goodspeed Opera House work so well. There’s still fancy dancing and gorgeous singing and crazy comedy and more hit songs than any three other musicals. There’s not just one but two deep, soul-stirring love stories, and there’s the musical theater language of sweetness and beauty.
Yet, to the Goodspeed’s credit, the Pacific island environment is not falsely idealized as it often is. This “South Pacific” is not an enchanted paradise. There are characters who do courageous things, but they are not presented like mythic heroes.
The cast is not some uniform idea of what theatergoers are supposed to find attractive. They’re all shapes and sizes, all individuals, each striking and engaging in their own way. Other aspects of the production are equally low-key.
Rather than play the score as rich and syrupy, the eight musicians in the orchestra pit (overseen by the Goodspeed Musicals’ resident music director Adam Souza) behave more like a small 1920s jazz combo. T.