'South Pacific' brings questions of racial prejudice to IU Auditorium

IU Auditorium will present Tony Award-winning musical “South Pacific” tonight and Wednesday.

Set during World War II, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s famous musical follows multiple love stories at a U.S. naval base in the South Pacific islands, including the romance of Emile de Becque and nurse Nellie Forbush.

The plot explores several questions about racial prejudice in romantic relationships.

“This fresh, lavish production of ‘South Pacific’ based on the recent Broadway run at Lincoln Center showcases the classic story built on timeless themes of love, camaraderie and prejudice,” IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said in a press release. “It will be a night you won’t soon forget.”

Forbush is forced to evaluate her existing prejudices when she learns of de Becque’s mixed-race children. Lt. Joseph Cable faces a similar predicament when he falls in love with a native woman from the island named Liat.

Shane Donovan, who plays Cable in this production, said his character is an all-American boy from the 1940s and was raised as a “white picket fence kind of guy.”

“His concept of racism is very strong,” Donovan said. “He meets Liat, and his whole world turns upside down. It’s not until that happens that he questions everything he’s been raised on.”

As well as a rich storyline, the musical features well-known songs such as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.”In “Man,” Nellie is fed up with Emile de Becque and sings, “You can’t fix an egg / when it ain’t quite good.”

“And you can’t fix a man when he’s wrong,” the chorus of women replies.

Many of the songs feature a back-and-forth style between male and female characters.
“I think the musical is so popular because it’s such a classic,” Donovan said. “The music is timeless. These are the songs our grandparents grew up listening to.”

An April 2008 New York Times article described the “South Pacific” new revival as “deeply, fallibly and poignantly human.”

This musical is more than happiness and jazz hands, Donovan said.

“Students should definitely go into the show with an open mind,” Donovan said. “This show definitely has a huge story to tell and a huge lesson to be learned.”

— Kate Thacker