Lakeport >> Lake County Theatre Company is currently rehearsing and set-building daily for the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, “South Pacific,” scheduled to open in March. “People ask us why we started preparing for this show so early,” said the play’s producer, Sue Garrett. “I guess no one realizes the amount of work involved in putting together a big musical. We have been working on this show since September.”
And preparation has not been easy. “I think the entire county was in a state of shock after the fires”, commented music director Cathy O’Connell. “We were not even sure we could pull off a show this demanding. We needed singers, dancers, actors and a killer set. That was a lot to ask from a county that had just experienced that much tragedy and loss. We almost decided against it.”
But LCTC is so glad that they decided to move ahead with the show. When auditions were called in November, performers were there. Everyone wanted to be in South Pacific. “The music includes songs that we have heard all our lives…’Some Enchanted Evening’, ‘There’s Nothing like a Dame’, ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right out of My Hair’… Everyone has loved these songs forever,” said O’Connell. “I couldn’t resist working with this music!”
“South Pacific” takes place during World War Two when the Navy was stationed on an island in the Pacific, waiting to get into the battle. Enter a handsome Frenchman, a lonesome Navy nurse, a bunch of sailors, nurses and “island girls,” and you have a recipe for romance, laughs and music.
“Our version of SP will be fast-moving but sensitive at times. It’s a great story,” added the director, Suna Flores. “It makes you think at the same time that it makes you laugh. That’s hard to do, but this show does it. Several people have told me that they remember the show as having a message. I think they are right, but our updated version does not hit you over the head with it. This show will make you feel good.”
South Pacific will open at The Lake County Fairgrounds’ Little Theatre the first weekend in March. Advanced sales tickets will be available in February.
