‘South Pacific’ upcoming classic film feature at State Theatre
The Classic Film Series continues at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown with a movie musical about racial tolerance and intolerance, set in an era when the world was at war. Audiences will be treated to two screenings of the 1958 film “South Pacific,” 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on May 15.
“South Pacific” follows the lives of U.S. military men, nurses and residents of a Polynesian island during World War II, based on James MichenerĢƵ “Tales of the South Pacific” set to music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. This epic musical romance centers on a group of American sailors and Navy nurses stationed on the island of Tonkin.
Arkansas native and U.S. Navy nurse Ensign Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) befriends and quickly falls for Emile de Becque (Rossano Brazzi), a French expatriate and plantation owner, and Lt. Joe Cable (John Kerr) finds himself in a passionate affair with Liat (France Nuyen), the young daughter of Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall), a Tonkinese grass-skirt peddler who pressures the young officer to marry her daughter.
NellieĢƵ affection for Emile recoils upon discovering that heĢƵ fathered two mixed-race children. When Nellie leaves him, the heartbroken Emile agrees to take on a dangerous espionage mission. Nellie struggles to reconcile her prejudices with her love for him — and after she spends time with his children and comes to care for them.
As the war against Japan escalates, reality sets in for both Forbush and Cable, who struggle to reconcile their unconventional love affairs with their long-held prejudices and insecurities.
The musical score includes familiar songs like “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “ThereĢƵ Nothing Like a Dame,” “Younger Than Springtime,” and what was considered quite controversial for the time, “You Have to Be Carefully Taught.”
The movie is the seventh in this seasonĢƵ series, which is supported by the ĢƵ, Buy Local program and the Downtown Business District Association, along with the theater, to create an event around each of the two viewings of the monthly movie.
Moviegoers will have an opportunity to play the South Pacific Airplane Challenge game for a chance to win a $50 gift card prior to the start of the movie.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and children.
The remaining films in this seasonĢƵ series will be “Father of the Bride” (June 19), “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (July 17) and “Dirty Dancing” (Aug. 14).
Visit HeraldStandard.com for a video clip of this monthĢƵ film.