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Carole Mikita ReportingBroadway theatres do it almost every year -- put new energy into an old favorite. Hale Centre Theatre is hoping to capitalize on the idea.
Creating the atmosphere, the sights and sounds of a tropical island, takes lots of hard work and plenty of raw materials. The technical crew at Hale Centre Theatre has gone this route before with a life-sized carousel for 'The Scarlett Pimpernel' and a real waterway with rafts for 'Big River'. A revival of 'South Pacific' called for 14 tons of sand.
Andrew Barrus, Set Designer: "With the sand, well, Bali Jai, made sense to have a mountain, since they talk about volcanoes and things like that. And if you have a mountain that's a volcano, you might as well have water that comes down and it's a waterfall. And if you have a beach, why wouldn't you have water washing up onto the shore?"
The cast and crew of this show say that the whole purpose of Hale Centre's theatre-in-the-round, is that when audience members come through the doors, they enter into another time and place.
Sally Dietlein, Artistic Director: "I think part of the reason people come in droves is to kind of see how we're gonna do it. But the other part is because of the intimacy, all of the sudden they're really in the piece."
'South Pacific' has some of the most memorable music ever written. It is part of what audiences come for, but in order to both update and stay true to the time period, took new creative minds.
Mearle Marsh, Director: "What was the music of that era? Well, it was the big band, and so, three very talented arrangers employed, to recreate the score in that style."
With a record number of season tickets sold and recent recognition as one of the most successful arts organizations in the state, Hale Centre Theatre cast and crew believe looking to the past will help it move into the future.
'South Pacific' has performances at Hale Centre Theatre's West Valley location through July 3rd.
