A month of enchanted evenings

Show Palace Dinner Theatre brings South Pacific, one of Broadway's all-time greats, to its stage.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 28, 2007

Liat, played by Regina Fernandez, left, is in love with Lt. Joseph Cable, portrayed by Jared Miller, right, with Madeline Thompson as Bloody Mary.
	[Bud Thacker | Special to the Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Bud Thacker | Special to the Times] Erin Romero plays Nellie Forbush with W.C. Green as Emile de Becque in "South Pacific" at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre.

The Show Palace Dinner Theatre is being transformed into a South Seas island for the classic 1949 musical South Pacific, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning stories from James Michener's World War II epic, Tales of the South Pacific.

The groundbreaking musical features many of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's best songs: Some Enchanted Evening, Bali Ha'i, Younger than Springtime, and the zany There Is Nothing Like a Dame.

The quality of the songs is matched by the stirring stories of two problematic romances, one between naive Navy nurse Nellie Forbush (Erin Romero, Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain) and wealthy plantation owner Emile de Becque (W.C. Green, King Marchand in Victor/Victoria), the other between Lt. Joseph Cable (Jared Miller) and the vulnerable island native Liat (Regina Fernandez), both making their Show Palace debuts.

Both stories exemplify the musical's major theme - the heartbreaks caused by racism, told in song by Lt. Cable in You've Got to be Carefully Taught.

Nellie, who hails from Arkansas, is troubled by the older Frenchman Emile's two children, Ngana (Samantha Gee/Caitlin Navarrete) and Jerome (Jason DeBello/Matthew Romeo), because their mother was an island native.

Lt. Cable is troubled to discover his own prejudices when he falls in love with a native girl.

Their tragic stories are balanced by the antics of the sailors and nurses who are determined to have as much fun as they can, considering the dangers of war that surround them.

There's Luther Billis (Candler Budd, Greater Tuna), who joins the fun when the fellows declare There Is Nothing Like a Dame, as well as a whole contingent of fun-loving nurses (Andrea Eskin, Lisa Katt Watson, Ashley Furlong, Mandi McDonough and Karen Webb).

The 24-member cast also has Show Palace veterans Troy LaFon, Tyler Fish, Rick Kistner, Susan Haldeman, Bo Price, and several Show Palace newcomers.

If you go

'South Pacific'

What:South Pacific

Where: Show Palace Dinner Theatre, 16128 U.S. 19, Hudson.

When: Oct. 5-Nov. 7. Shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays (doors open two hours before the show for buffet and cash bar); and 1:30 p.m. some Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (doors open at 11:15 a.m.)

Tickets: Dinner and show, $44; show only, $32.95; ages 12 and younger, $26.45 and $21.45, all plus tax and tip. Call (727) 863-7949 in west Pasco; toll-free elsewhere at 1-888-655-7469.

[Last modified September 27, 2007, 20:37:56]