This is a reprise of an old Broadway classic. Over the years, I’ve heard the old classic tunes that originally came from this musical such as Bali Ha’I, Happy Talk, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and our personal favorite, Some Enchanted Evening. That particular song would be our favorite request because Max could dance to that slow, very romantic tune.
I won’t recap the story since it is a classic, but surprisingly, I’ve never seen the original musical or movie. I’ve seen short segments of certain songs being performed, but I’ve never seen the whole thing. First, my only comment about the characters would be regarding Bloody Mary. She is a special character who sells odd native artifacts as souvenirs such as shrunken heads, but she repelled me. I would imagine her teeth being sharpened to complete the picture.
What I thought was interesting was the culture or accepted norms back in the 60’s depicting the wartime era versus today. Lt. Cable lamented over his newly discovered love, Liat, Bloody Mary’s daughter. How could he possibly bring her home to meet his family and be accepted? It was a doomed relationship.
Then there was the scene when Ensign Nellie rejected Emile when she discovers that his late wife was a native. Hello…he is an older man living on the island for many years. What did she expect?? She was horrified, but later accepted the situation and lovingly cared for his children. Okay, I forgave her blind prejudice.
The story was an interesting study of that time of our history in a musical format that entertained.
