What’s the Buzz? South Pacific carries a powerful message at MSMT
About this blog:
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What's the Buzz" covers what's happening, what might be happening, and what should be happening in the opinion of the author.
Eleanor Cade Busby is an unpublished award-winning writer, photographer and blogger & simply loves writing about herself in third person.She published this absolutely all true bio.
Busby grew up all over New England,a preacher's kid who set out to destroy every single stereotype about a "Minister's Daughter."
She attended Goddard College, The Rhode Island Conservatory of Music and The School of Life, majoring in everything she could stuff into her head. She once had her own office and a red stapler. Her employees learned quickly never to touch it.
Much of her very long life has been spent on or back-stage at theaters. She penned a couple of plays, directed many more and acted in scores of productions. She's done it all except hanging lighting. You can't make her climb a ladder.
She won awards locally & nationally for social services and customer care. Most recently she was awarded the PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award along with 3 million of her closest personal friends for "galvanizing a potent global movement to resist infringements on the rights and dignity of women and many other groups."
Busby has been a theater, art and dance reviewer and commentator for several publications, including CRACKED magazine.
Opinionated, obstinate, much-abused, and under-appreciated, she believes that if it isn't funny or relevant, it isn't worth it.
Eleanor Cade Busby lives in Midcoast Maine with two cats who like to stand on her head at 3 AM demanding a sacrifice, often her sanity.
Suggestions for topics and comments are always welcome at eleanorcadebusby@hotmail.com
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How a song from a musical became an anthem for civil rights… a backstory.
Maine State Music Theater opened their summer season with “South Pacific,” a favorite of many for the songs and lovely music Opening night was packed with fans of MSMT and of “South Pacific.” Rogers and Hammerstein brought songs into the story first on the Broadway Stage, There was no more “ tall, talk, now I’ll stand here and sing this song which has nothing to do with the story,” and in “South Pacific,” Rodgers and Hammerstein turned a spotlight on the hypocritical nature of racism. They started out with hints and eventually just brought out the hammer… just what Oscar Hammerstein II intended.
Long before his partnership with Richard Rodgers began, Hammerstein’s liberal and moral views were evident. His breathtaking libretto for “Showboat” (1927) was decades ahead of its time and honest in its look at the harsh nature of racial prejudice. In the 1930s, Hammerstein helped found the California Anti-Nazi League.
Profoundly moved by the plight of mixed-race children fathered by American servicemen he joined with his wife Dorothy and close friend James Michener to help author Pearl S. Buck found “Welcome House.” They had discovered that these children were not being placed for adoption. According to the Welcome House Website“…the Welcome House adoption program matched more than 7,000 orphans and children from around the globe with adoptive families in the United States. Most of the children were biracial.”
James Michener, the author of “Tales Of The South Pacific,” who shared the racial views of his friend Oscar Hammerstein , gave permission for his book to become a musical, Hammerstein took fragments from the book’s colorful stories and wove them into an entertaining but thoughtful narrative about Americans learning about racial prejudice in the South Pacific during World War II.
Rodgers and Hammerstein used the different backgrounds of three characters to create a story shows the stages of racism and how, sometimes, it is overcome. We have Emile, a French plantation owner who has never been a racist. Then there is Cable who discovers to his deep shame and sorrow that he is a racist. Finally, there is Nellie who initially reacts in a typical ‘raised to it” way to Emile’s bi-racial children yet successfully overcomes her racism.
The scene leading up to the true heart of the story is begun by a Thanksgiving show within a show. While the audience is roaring at “Honey Bun,” Emile sees the love of his life poking fun at the native peoples while her friend gyrates on the stage in nothing short of stereotypical gear. While it is done in the oblivious innocence of the time, it strikes him to the heart and he ultimately undertakes a dangerous mission.
The whole scene between Lt Cable and Emile DeBecque is brilliantly done. From the solo by Jake Goz in “Carefully Taught” where he confronts his own racism to the finale of the scene when William Michals responds with a magnificent, nuanced and beautiful “This Nearly was Mine” the audience was in the palm of their hands. They responded with thunderous applause. This scene alone is worth the price of attendance. It was a bravura performance made even stronger by the absolute believability of the two primary actors.
The musical's depiction of interracial romances ran contrary to the norms of a country where many communities practiced segregation. And the song "You've Got to be Carefully Taught" pulled no punches about the spread of racism:
‘You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
“You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” is the least melodic and least musically memorable number from the brilliant score. However, it is the very heart of what Hammerstein is trying to say. The song caused great controversy. Michener and Hammerstein each recounted pleas from critics and audience members, demanding the song be removed*.
At the time of South Pacific's release, its theme of racial and romantic tolerance was just too much for some. Some members of the military complained that "Carefully Taught" ruined the flow of the musical. When the show went on national tour in the 1950s, two Georgia state lawmakers were repulsed after seeing it, and said a song justifying marriage between races was offensive. One of them, Rep. David C. Jones, wrote in a letter, "We in the South are a proud and progressive people. Half-breeds cannot be proud."*
Southerners were horrified by the song. Many communities tried to stipulate that the song be removed in their town, but Rogers and Hammerstein insisted that if the song wasn't sung, then the show wouldn't play.
"You've Got to be Carefully Taught" became an anthem of the civil rights movement.
Leading the cast at Maine State Music Theater are William Michals as Emile DeBecque, Carolyn Anne Miller as Nellie Forbush , Jake Goz as Lt. Joe Cable, and Lydia Gaston as Bloody Mary.
Cast: Mark Aldrich (Seabee/Radio Operator Bob MaCaffrey), Mathew BautistaSeabee/Henry), Joe Capstick (Professor), Mary Beth Donahoe (Ensign Dinah Murphy), Mark Donaldson (Stewpot/Dance Captain), David Girolmo (Captain George Brackett), Jake Goz (Lt. Joe Cable), Gabriella Green (Ensemble), Matthew Irani (Seabee), Todd Lawson (Luther Billis),Esther Lee (Ensemble), Trevail Maurice (Seabee, Yeoman Herbert Quale), James Patterson (Cmdr. William Harbison), Alexander Ríos (Lt. Buzz Adams/Seabee), Camila V. Romero (Ensemble). The roles of Ngana and Jerome are played by Eliza Lawson and Troyli Fan Santiago.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, with book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. Directed by Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark, choreographed by Marc Robin. Ben McNaboe (Music Supervisor), Sam Groisser (Music Director).
Tickets for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific are on sale now and can be purchased online at msmt.org or by calling the box office at 207.725.8769.. Performances will run from June 5 through 22, with evening and matinee showtimes available.
Get tickets soon as this will surely be a sell-out, and go with eyes wide open.
Video HOPEFULLY attached is William Michals from hos You tube page, Singing in Paris,
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