The Suffield Players -- Photo Gallery/South Pacific page one

South Pacific, page one
May 2011


Nellie Forbush (Stephanie Devine), a Navy nurse from Little Rock, has fallen for Emile de Becque (Rich Moran), a plantation owner on a South Pacific island during World War II. Concern about the war abounds, but Nellie is confident all will be well as she sings "Cockeyed Optimist."	Emile has fallen for Nellie as well. Each wonders if the other feels the same way as they sing "Twin Soliloquies."

Emile admits he has loved her since they met at the officers' club dance and sings "Some Enchanted Evening." Nellie promises to think about their relationship.	Nellie returns to her hospital, and Emile sings a bit of "Dites-Moi" to Jerome (Bradshaw Mattson). Nellie is unaware that Jerome and his sister Ngana are Emile's children.
	The American seabees lament the lack of women on their island. Navy nurses, being commissioned officers, are off-limits! The only civilian woman, a Tonkinese vendor of grass skirts and shrunken heads, is known as Bloody Mary (Becky Rodia Schoenfeld). She tempts Luther Billis (Shaun O'Keefe) with a bracelet made from a boar's tooth.

Luther leads the rest of the seabees in "There is Nothing Like A Dame." (Left to right: O'Keefe, Zachary Gray, Michael Holt, Timothy Glynn, Tony Andruss, Andrew Holl, Hal Chernoff.)

Lt. Joseph Cable (Danny Viets), a Marine from Guadalcanal, arrives to take part in a dangerous spy mission crucial to the war effort. Bloody Mary urges Cable to visit the nearby island of "Bali Ha'i," saying it is his island. Billis encourages Cable, since he, himself, wants to go to the island—presumably to see the Boar's Tooth Ceremony, but more likely to see the French women.	Cable meets with the base's commanding officers, Commander William Harbison (Hal Chernoff) and Captain George Brackett (Mark Proulx). They plan to ask Emile for his help, since he used to live on the island where Cable's mission will occur.

The three ask Nellie to ascertain Emile's background and politics. There's a rumor Emile left France because he committed murder there. Someone suggests this actually may make him more suitable for the mission.	Acknowledging she doesn't know enough about Emile, Nellie decides to break it off with Emile and sings "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" with the nurses on the beach. (Left to right, Laura Markis, Amy Rucci, Devine, Grace Spelman, Mary Roberge.)

Emile unexpectedly shows up and invites Nellie to a party where he will introduce her to his friends. Asked about his politics, Emile avows universal freedom and says he fled France after choking a local bully in self-defense.	Realizing she still loves him, Nellie agrees to marry Emile. After Emile leaves, Nellie regales the nurses with "I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy."

Capt. Brarckett asks Emile to help Cable infiltrate a Japanese-held island and report on ship movements. Emile refuses because he wants to start a new life with Nellie. Brackett tells Cable to go on leave until he can change Emile's mind.	Billis convinces Cable to take him to Bali Ha'i. Billis takes part in a native ceremony, and Bloody Mary introduces Cable to her daughter Liat (Erica Bryan).

Cable and Liat are immediately attracted to each other. After lovemaking, he sings "Younger Than Springtime." Bloody Mary muses that Cable will be her son-in-law.	At Emile's party, Emile introduces Nellie to Ngana and Jerome (Kennedy and Bradshaw Mattson). Nellie is shocked to find they are Emile's children by a native woman, now deceased. She cannot overcome her prejudices and tearfully leaves. Emile is left to reflect on what might have been in a reprise of "Some Enchanted Evening."

Photos by Jerry Zalewski

More photos