After a six-decade absence, South Pacific, the most Tony-decorated musical of all time, returns to Broadway and other stages across the nation thanks to its revival by Director Bartlett Sher and the Center Theatre Company. The touring production will roll into Grand Rapids for a week's worth of performances this September.

South Pacific follows the intertwining lives of U.S. Navy officers and Pacific islanders during World War II and explores the possibility of romance in the midst of deep-seated racial prejudices and wartime tensions-a set of concerns not far from the American psyche today, what with our first biracial President in office and two ongoing wars overseas.

Pending his special undercover mission, Lt. Billy Cable (played by Anderson Davis) is awarded a few days leave, which he spends on the neighboring island of Bali Ha'i, enticed by Bloody Mary, the flirtatious, middle-aged Tonkinese grass skirt seller, and egged along by the lusty yet lovable Luther Billis, a fellow American sailor. Unbeknownst to Lt. Cable, Bloody Mary plans to play matchmaker, hooking Lt. Cable up with her daughter Liat in order to secure her a better future.

Meanwhile, Ensign Nellie Forbush, a U.S. Navy nurse, is smitten with the French plantation owner, Emile de Becque-until she discovers the two golden-skinned girls frolicking around his plantation are his daughters.

"Love conquers racism. Of course it's not as groundbreaking as it once was," said Actress Jodi Kimura, who plays the role of Bloody Mary. "But the brilliance of this production is that it lets the relevance of the plot and characters shine through in nuanced ways while staying true to the classic."

South Pacific certainly broke ground once. When it debuted in 1949, the musical affirmed the legitimacy of interracial romance 18 years before a 1967 Supreme Court decision deemed anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. According to the laws on the books at the time, some of the original scenes between Lt. Cable and Liat were borderline felonies.

To his credit, Director Sher doesn't dumb any of the sensitive tensions down, which is the habit of high school and smaller stage productions. Instead, he lets the ugliness of prejudice and the urgency of war retain their full force on the conflict.

"A lot of these smaller productions really misunderstood the musical," Sher said in an interview with The Oregonian. "They underplayed the serious elements and only headed to the songs, the dances and the fun parts. It became a staple of high schools and community theatre groups because of the great Rodgers and Hammerstein songs and the high jinks. But that's not at all what they were writing about in 1949. They were hugely ahead of their time."

Other Theatre Events in September

This gut-busting, knee-slapping smash-hit of a musical, pegged as "'South Park' meets 'Desperate Housewives'" by the New York Sun, chronicles the woes of the residents of a hyperbolically stereotypical trailer park.

Agoraphobic housewife Jeannie hasn't been outside their doublewide in almost 20 years, inducing her brewski-draining husband Norbert with a severe case of cabin fever. Norbert needs relief, and finds it in the new neighbor, a luscious "dancer" named Pippi. The romantic conflict (and hilarity) that follows is more than enough to embarrass the King of Trailer Park Conflicts himself, Jerry Springer.

Besides agoraphobics, alcoholics, and adultery, in this blue-collar microcosm one will also encounter Ted Nugent fanatics and unabashed '80s nostalgia, strippers and spray cheese, F-bombs and flan, disco, Daisy Dukes, John Deere machinery, teenage pregnancy, Tina Turner hair, and kleptomaniacs.

"There's even a song about roadkill," says Gina Maria Chimner, a Kalamazoo native who plays Betty, the owner/manager of Armadillo Acres. "And the wigs alone are worth the price. There are definitely some caricatures, and we include every stereotype imaginable, but then we kick it up about 20,000 watts. But they're not hurtful. We're all on the same planet. There's good and bad in all of us. Just some of us are a little misguided."

But the lovably misguided characters of scorching Starke, Fla., along with their smorgasbord of a musical score, including R & B, rockabilly, and, of course, some country balladry, are what make this the perfect summer show, according to director and member of the artistic board at Farmers Alley, Laurel Scheidt, who is also from Kalamazoo.

"This is summer escapist theatre at its best," says Scheidt. "If you have problems, you'll forget 'em for the next two hours."

TGATPM found its way back on the summer season schedule at Farmers Alley Theatre after a slew of sold-out performances in June 2009.

"People who came once before were coming back a second time with two, four, eight friends," Chimner said. "It's just that funny. From onstage I saw people take hankies to wipe their eyes out they were laughing so hard - real gut laughter."

"And the not-frequent theater goers are the ones coming," says Scheidt. "The material is sharp and witty, satirical. It pokes fun of America. It's such a sassy, irreverent, cheeky show. It really appeals to the first-time theatre-goer."

All things considered, it's bound to be better than a gargantuan bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Other Theatre Events

Ladies, keep your purses closed. Gentleman, refrain from opening your wallets. Everybody, beware of talk of investment; do not disclose your financial information. There are swindlers in the room.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the musical comedy slated to start off Mason Street Warehouse's eighth theatre season, recounts the misadventure of two professional con men working the French Riviera who quickly discover the territory is too small for the both of them.

Lawrence Jameson, the incumbent con man played by Bernie Yvon of Ragtime and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fame, is a suave and sophisticated scammer who has amassed a mansion and a large bank account for himself by preying on the wealthy and naïve expatriates who vacation in the area.

Freddy Benson, played by Billy Konsoer, is the opposite of Jameson-crass and small-time-but keen to repeat Jameson's success. When Jameson and Benson realize two scoundrels in the Riviera are too many, they make a wager that requires the loser to leave town.

Their wager targets the affluent American Christine Colgate, played by Kristy Cates of the original Broadway cast of Wicked; the first one to sluice $50,000 from Colgate is the winner.

Director and choreographer for the musical, Kurt Stamm, who is also artistic director and founder of MSW, says DRS was chosen as the season opener because it will "open the floodgates, start the season with a bang."

"This musical is high-energy, full of ridiculous scenarios, and really smart ... one of the best I've seen in the last ten years," Stamm said. "The lyrics are incredibly witty. The score and the storytelling are so seamlessly integrated. It will really set the tone for the season and give us momentum. Also, it's just too big a production to do mid-season; best to do it when everyone's fresh."

Yvon is fresh, though he admits acting in a musical comedy is still a tall order, since so timing is so tricky, and so much depends on waiting for the audience's response. Nonetheless, he insists, this musical isn't one to be missed.

"DRS contains great songs, great comedy, and great characters, with all the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera thrown in," Yvon said.

Yvon should know: he visited the French Riviera a few years ago, though he's happy to be in Saugatuck for the production of DRS because it reminds him of his home-state Maine. A Chicago resident and no stranger to New York City, Yvon likes getting away from the big cities for a time.

"Frankly, there couldn't be a more charming town [than Saugatuck]. It was part of the appeal of working here for six weeks. Some consider it the art capital of the Midwest. The people are smart, savvy, open-minded. There's no better place for the showing of DRS."

And there's no better timing, as MSW, which nine years ago was Rich's Pie Factory, recently finished the last of its renovations. What used to be just a shell of a building is now the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, and MSW's theatre space sits where the old walk-in pie freezer used to be.

Dixie Longate wants nothing more than to be your Tupperware Lady. Leaving her children alone in an Alabama trailer park, Miss Dixie is goes on the road to pursue her dream. Her Tupperware parties are filled with hilarious tales, heartfelt accounts, and outrageous free giveaways. Her one-woman-show (or is she a man??) is a hit all over as she tirelessly travels across the country with only one thing on her mind: Sell Tupperware.

Annie
Circle Theatre, Grand Rapids
July 8-10, 14-18, 21-24, 7:30 p.m.
$25
cirlcetheatre.org, (616) 456-6656

This famed musical features timeless favorites like "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard-Knock Life." Set during the Depression-era, Annie is determined to find her parents and escape the horrid life of an orphan child. After deceiving the wretched Miss Hannigan at the orphanage, Annie escapes only to be brought back later where her fate is waiting for her. Come and watch the classic orphan musical where the adorable Annie sings her heart out and overcomes the great barrier that is poverty.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Spectrum Theatre, Grand Rapids
July 8-18, 8 p.m., 2 p.m. on Sunday
$10-$18
heritagetheatregr.org, (616) 451-2600

Considered one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is the smallest casted performance in all of his plays. The two gentlemen of Verona - Valentine and Proteus - travel to Milan, eager to learn about the world of courtship. Things prove difficult when the best friends fall in love with the same woman. As in many Shakespeare plays, there is a ploy of disguises, one of which being the infamous heroine-dresses-up-as-boy. The obscure play is a forgotten Shakespeare comedy that alludes to his more definitive style and techniques used later as a playwright.