Miami's Jerry Herman Ring Theater Performance of South Pacific

¶ … miami./theatrearts/ring.html performance "south pacific" write a concise 500-word critical response Students of the University of Miami's Jerry Herman Ring Theater Alvin Sherman family stage put on a very credible performance of "South Pacific," which is running through the month of April. This work of drama is, of course, a musical. Therefore, it was highly significant that some of the most important actions that the audience witnessed during the performance were related to the singing, dancing, and music involved in this production.

It certainly helps that, since this musical was a Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner in 1950, many of the songs performed within the musical are classics, very famous, and were carried out in a polished manner. The two best numbers of the evening included "I'm Going to Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" and "Some Enchanted Evening." Andrew Leonard was involved in the latter, whereas the former utilized the talents of Becca Ortiz and a female chorus.

The choreographed numbers were performed very well, and helped to add to the sense of drama and intensity (and even comedy) that many of the songs gave the play. The choreographer was Christine Kellog, who should be commended for designing steps that helped to bring the words of the songs to life. "South Pacific" explores a fairly crucial theme, one that was particularly relevant for the time in which the play was initially performed (in 1949).

In those pivotal postwar years, this drama explores what ultimately resulted as the shrinking of the world as globalization began in earnest following the conclusion of World War II. However, the play deals with this thematic issue from a decidedly personal point-of-view, as it chronicles a pair of love stories in which there are significant cultural differences between the lovers.

Therefore, the major theme of the play is to determine if conventional notions of prejudice still apply in the newly developing world, especially when they are involved in something as crucial to human feeling as love. The intentions of the director, Michaeljohn McGann, seemed to be fairly clear. I believe the director was attempting to utilize as many different mediums and components of theater to convey the sense that true love is stronger than tradition or racial prejudice.

This hypothesis is supported by the full-on, multimedia package that South Pacific encompassed. The production was not only powered by acting, but also by the three-dimensional aspect of music in the dances of the performers, their singing, and in the craftsmanship of the musicians who accompanied the singers. There were also a number of disparate elements of theater that largely entangled the director to accomplish this goal.

These included, most saliently, the background scenery, which routinely changed during different acts and scenes to reflect an accurate visual depiction of the various physical locations the play took place in. The acting and directing were believable,.