Kristen Mitchell, Charger Staff
Is this cold weather getting you down? Well, tomorrow you can take a trip to
the South Pacific islands in the Cookeville High School auditorium. 
South Pacific by Rogers and Hammerstein is a show about GI’s on
an island in the South Pacific. Parallel love stories involving nurse Nellie
Forbush and French planter Emile deBecque and Leiutenant Joe Cable and native
Polynesian girl, Liat, form the center of the story.
Mr. Bruce Anderson, the drama advisor and director of the show, chose South
Pacific because it is one of his favorite shows.
“It has both happy and sad elements; the music is fun. It has fun costumes,
and I wanted to bring summer to winter,” says Anderson.
Anderson says, “The casting for this play was extremely difficult. There
are so many capable people to play these roles. That is one reason the cast
is so large.”
About 70 students auditioned, and 52 were cast. By the completion of the play,
about 130 people will have worked with the show to make it a success.
The technical elements of the play will be somewhat difficult. Some elements
have never been done, so this will be an experiment for Anderson’s technical
theater class.
“The design of the set is difficult, but the execution is not,” says
Anderson.
The costumes in the play will not be demanding. They will consist of uniforms
or clothes that the characters would have taken with them for an extended stay
on the island or costumes from material they found there on the island.
This play is a slice of America during World War II and is one of the more
true-to-life musicals. This musical evokes every emotion from happy to sad,
funny, serious and anger.
Celeste Elmore will be playing the part of Nellie Forebush who falls in love
with Emile de Becque played by Sam Spurlock.
“Having a lead is very overwhelming,” says Elmore. “Everyone
in the cast is so encouraging, and I am having so much fun. I am honored to
be chosen to be in the play at all.”
Many moral lessons are expressed in the play. The play teaches the consequences
of racisim, the importance of love over everything, and the necessity of taking
every opportunity.
Probably the most important song, “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught,”
tells the perils of racism and how we all must learn to hate and fear those
who are different from ourselves.
This play will be performed at the Cookeville High School auditorium starting
February 13th-16th at 7:30 p.m. with a 2:00p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets
are $8.00.
The dialogue is realistic for the World War II period and audiences should
be aware that mature language is part of the production.
Come support the CHS drama department!
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