Camaraderie helps ‘South Pacific’ stay afloat

“South Pacific”

Nov. 2-7

Directed by… “South Pacific”

Nov. 2-7

Directed by Bartlett Sher

Benedum Center

$27.50-$57.93 through Pitt Arts

www.pittarts.pitt.edu or call 412-624-4498

When Jodi Kimura left Denver 10 months ago, she knew she wouldn’t see her home for a long time. Now, after only a short return, she’s continuing her tour in Pittsburgh with her family away from home: her fellow cast members.

In 2009, Kimura joined the Lincoln Center Theater Production of the Broadway revival of “South Pacific,” the famous 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about members of the U.S. Navy during World War II. The play contains many Broadway standards, including “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “Bali Ha’i” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” Kimura plays Bloody Mary, a Tonkinese woman who intrigues American sailors with her souvenirs.

“A lot of my fellow cast members decided to go on vacation this week, but I really just wanted to come home and drink coffee from my own coffee pot and sleep in my own bed,” Kimura said.

While the break was a breath of fresh air for Kimura, she missed the 30-plus cast members of “South Pacific” that have made her experience worthwhile.

“It’s the nature of the beast — you work together and spend your time off together. When you create something together there is a bond that you have,” she said.

Kimura said there’s scarcely a moment she doesn’t spend with her fellow actors.

“We eat together, room together, stay in the same hotels and travel together … we are just one big, dysfunctional yet loving family,” she said.

The cast does eight shows a week — they pack on Sunday and travel on Monday. When they find that rare spare time to go out and explore a new city, Kimura and the rest of the cast like to discover the local eateries or coffee houses.

“The tour tries to organize fun things for us to do, so when we are not performing we have a chance to enjoy the cultural surroundings of each city,” Kimura said.

The cast’s schedule might be intense, but members do their best to make time for each other and celebrate the various birthdays and special occasions that do occur.

“We have birthday cake about two to three times a week. It’s always somebody’s birthday,” Kimura said.

Despite the on-set camaraderie, sometimes tensions do run high.

“I appreciate that we do have artistic squabbles, and I ultimately think it’s because people care so much about the show and care so much about what we are all doing. It’s about passion and being the best that we can be and sometimes people get frustrated,” she said.

Kimura and the rest of the “South Pacific” cast do their best to keep their characters fresh and genuine each time they step onto a new stage in a new city. Their ultimate goal is to evoke laughter, gasps and applause at the end of a show.

“That’s how you know you’ve told the story correctly,” Kimura said.

“South Pacific” owes a successful reception, in part, to high production values.

“The show has a 26-member orchestra, which is extremely impressive for a musical,” Annabelle Clippinger, the director of Pitt Arts, said. “Usually nine out of 10 musicals have recorded music.”

While “South Pacific” contains many lighthearted moments, Kimura said she views the play as fearless in its observations.

“‘South Pacific’ is so powerful by how it focuses on the truth of the characters, the truth of the times and the truth of the situation,” she said. “It shies away from nothing.”