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South Pacific (1972)

The Advertiser (0ctober 19th 1972)

"South Pacific" probably ranks as the best known and most wept over film ever produced and the Majestic Theatre Group were aiming high when they decided to tackle it for only their second annual show.

But under the expert guidance of producer John Palin, an enthusiastic and accomplished cast made "South Pacific" a winner.

Perhaps the most important part of the show is the music which everyone knows and some of the large audience on Monday showed a marked tendancy to "sing along" with the cast which proved a bit distracting to those who would have preferred to hear the soloists.

All the soloists were good especially Carol Payne (Ensign Nellie Forbush), Sue Lancaster (Bloody Mary), Terry Hill (Emile de Becque) and Glyn Taylor (Lt. Jo Cable). It was unfortunate that the musical accompaniment by the Majestic Theatre Orchestra conducted by Wilma Mellor was not of the same high standard. The score was a difficult one but in parts the orchestra made heavy weather of it and they occasionally were in competition with the singers.

Stars

The stars of the show were undoubtably Carol Payne and Terry Hill who had obviously modelled themselves on the stars of the film, yet brought a charm of their own to the parts.

Carol Payne as the vivacious and empty-headed Nellie, was excellent. Her accent, mannerisms, sweet singing voice and enthusiasm for the part guaranteed her success with the audience.

Terry Hill as "the cultured Frenchman", Emile had obviously taken pains with his accent which he even retained during the musical numbers. One felt that he could have spoken louder during the first half and gave a mature and polished performance.

Sue Lancaster, who is always so good at character parts, showed her experience and considerable talent as Bloody Mary. Her singing of Bali Hai was one of the most memorable items in the show.

Glyn Taylor as Lt. Cable reproduced the all-American college boy image well, and if his performance was not quite so powerful as it might have been, he still brought out the pathos and humour of the character.

Amusing

Paul Connor and Richard Healy as the amusing duo Stewpot and Luther Billis raised plenty of laughs, and Emile's children, Ngana (Marion Hannah) and Jerome (John Morris) were natural and unselfconcious.

An experienced actor like Colin Read made light of the difficulty of maintaining the part of the trusty Capt. Brackett, and he was well complimented by Lew Pritchard as Commander Harbison, who unfortunately appeared to have a little difficulty with his accent.

Liaf was played by Glenda Meadowcroft. Professor by John Scofield and Henry by Brian Jefferson....

The presentation of a musical on this scale brought its own technical difficulties but these were very skillfully overcome by the production staff: Bert Goddard (stage manager) Ron Knight (lighting), Derek Pearn (house manager) Dorothy Brown (secretarial assistant) and Derrick Massey (assistant stage manager)......

Irene Boyne