Arts & Culture

UK's Opera, Theatre Productions Test Love's Limits

of

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2015)  While love may be in the air, the characters in University of Kentucky Opera Theatre's production of "South Pacific" and UK Department of Theatre and Dance's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest" must try to overcome momentous obstacles to find their happily ever after. From issues of prejudice to a serious lack of trust, the road to love is met with many hazards.

"South Pacific," by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, is based on the James A. Michener Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, "Tales of the South Pacific," which sends a strong progressive message about racism through the power of love. Set in an island paradise during World War II, two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war.

UK Opera Theatre Director Everett McCorvey talks about the upcoming "South Pacific" production. Video by Jenny Wells/UK Public Relations and Marketing.

Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile’s marriage proposal. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl he’s fallen in love with out of the same fears that haunt Nellie. Tragedy must come to the couples before they realize life is too short to hold such prejudices.

While "South Pacific" happened to be a great fit for current talent in UK Opera Theatre, it also was a very timely choice with issues of race, politics and love still very much part of the national dialogue.

"This show was important to me because of its comments on love, race and politics. Of course in this show, the conflict is with the lead character, a navy nurse stationed in the South Pacific who grew up in the South in Arkansas and had values taught to her by her mother of looking for a man of the same color with the same political persuasion. And what does she find? A man who is French, which was okay, but he fathered two Polynesian children, which was not OK with Nellie," said Everett McCorvey, director of UK Opera Theatre. "She actually calls the children 'colored.' Finding out that he had 'colored' children and that he had been married to a 'colored' Polynesian was all too much for her." 

"Also the story of love and race runs through the character of Lt. Joseph Cable from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who falls in love with a Tonkinese girl named Liat. He can’t envision marrying her because she too is 'colored.' He is torn up by this because he really loves her and he sings one of the most powerful songs ever written for the musical stage. It is only 90 seconds long but has reverberated for generations."

The song McCorvey is referring to, "You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught," explores how hate is a taught emotion, not something children are born with. The lyrics are:

"You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!"

Many wanted Rodgers and Hammerstein to cut the song from the show but they refused. "It is the heart of the theme of 'South Pacific.' A theme that resonated in 1949 and still resonates today," McCorvey said.

Though decidedly lighter in its presentation, "The Importance of Being Earnest" also takes on an all too serious matter when it comes to couples in love — trust. The couples at the center of the farcical comedy must decipher if it is true love or just romance and a love for being "in love."

Oscar Wilde's satirical wit shapes the masterpiece, which brings to life a case of mistaken identity. "The Importance of Being Earnest," which premiered in 1895, comments on the hypocrisy of Victorian society, the conflicting values of morality and sincerity.

Who is Ernest? Is he the disreputable (and fabricated) brother of the honorable Jack Worthing? Is he the pseudonym of Algernon Moncrieff, Jack’s best friend and avid supporter of the so-called “Bunburyists”? Their fiancées certainly would like to know. "The Importance of Being Earnest" takes audiences on a jaunt into a world of illusion, deception and Victorian societal decorum.

What begins as the men just telling lies of convenience increasingly gets complicated as the women start to tell lies of the their own and eventually the truth must be revealed.

"They tell one lie after another until everything blows up and they realize what they want — the truth  has been there all along. Or, what Jack comes to find out is that actually, in the end, all his lies are really true," said Nancy Jones, chair of UK Department of Theatre and Dance. 

"South Pacific" will begin 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 8-10, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10-11, at the Lexington Opera House. "South Pacific" tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or in person at the Lexington Center.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" will take the Guignol Theatre stage 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 8-10 and Oct.15-17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 and 18. Tickets for the production are $15 for general admission and $10 for UK students with a valid ID through the Singletary Center box office. To purchase tickets, contact the box office at 859-257-4929, visit online at www.scfatickets.com or purchase in person during operating hours.

UK Opera Theatre is part of the UK School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition and music theory.

The UK Department of Theatre and Dance at UK College of Fine Arts has played an active role in the performance scene in Central Kentucky for more than 100 years. Students in the program get hands-on training and one-on-one mentorship from the renowned professional theatre faculty. The liberal arts focus of their bachelor's degree program is coupled with ongoing career counseling to ensure a successful transition from campus to professional life. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu