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."

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