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?* . 'South Pen By Mark Chevalier Entertainment Editor Picture yourself for the next few minutes in ; tropical paradise nestled amidst the deep blue water of the South Pacific. Palm trees gently sway in th warm ocean breeze, and the sound of breaking wave and exotic birds lull you into a trance. Then suddenly as if you knew it were too good to be true, you awak to the creaking of wheels and your paradise roll away on coasters and a curtain haphazardly unroll before you and you know you're back in the states. So much for the grand illusion. Russell Green must have invisioned such a illusion, minus, of course, the creaking wheels an the haphazard curtains, when he set out to direct th first USC production of the season, South Pacific Mind you that producing a play such as South Pacifi is no easy task, even in a simplistic manner, but your sensibilities run to the grandiose, you could g< intnrpal trnuhln Richard Hamon was imported from New York Cit as "guest" scenic designer, and his staging was bot inventive and elaborate. The problem was not wit the individual scenes however, but with the constai changing of scenes, 12 changes for each of the tw acts. This created literally non-stop backstag nnmmAtiAn nrKinh in m\i Anininn corimiL-lu nnrlnrm VV/llll?lV/VIV/llf Wllivil 111 111 J upilliuil OV1 IUUOIJ UI1UU1 V.I anything the music or actors strove to create. Yet not all of South Pacific was so disturbing, i fact, other than this the show was rather well dow South Pacific, though, is a classic, and can rise abo\ most any obstacle with wonderful song and dance. The story itself deals with American militai personnel stationed in the South Pacific and the nronf inn urtf K fU/% r> 1 r\ r> n TU/\ U ? unci a v. nun wim uic laiauu iiuuvca. i i ir: cciiii a i men revolves around the romances of two separal couples. The first romance involve a French planU and island resident, Emile, portrayed by Joli Breland, and a Navy nurse, Nellie, played fc Kathryn Butler. The second romance involves Lt. Jc i he Polk By David Baker Gamecock Staff Writer living. AS it 1 "We don't consider ourselves fact that we 1 anything," said Sting (Gorden into a much Sumner), the bass guitarist and than we wou lead singer of the Police, when attempting asked if the group could be merciality." classified as a "new wave" band. .. .. . . ... The Poll we are wnai we are. it s ~ , , , . . . , Outlandos c everyone else s job to classify, it s than Qne mjl] t?urs." and the g The Police do support the "new tor a wave though, according to fatp hflvin0 arummer Stuart Copeland, , ? "because it represents a change in D . r ? the music and the shakedown of Brltam' Me the music industry. The industry is "It (the getting rid of all the boring old devastating crap which has been causing the "because w cost of records to rise through struggle in t irresponsible overspending," he had to figli added. because ther Tho atmnvnl * * iv wmiwj/i Overspending is something The and the pres Police doesn't do, "We don't have the coals ev to have hit records because our get, like they expenses are so low," Copeland the very begi said. "We could be an underground "But* the I group and still make a decent album, after papers, wen . which rri read r(;^l g|RBB?HHBHHBmH five quinn iri and voted fj B|nn^PH^H mind what tn ^^/^BSBsOK CopelandJ ... ? a <; \ v j I a another goo / J? \ |j said, adding a I MR is nnitp riiffoi c , repeat the s taaie the first reco dfic,'paradise < s p|||gg||MKi!lffiffiffi^^'^ l^^pj October 5-7, 9-13 in Drayton Hall fe n Hi 8 P'm> Tuesday through Saturday h 3 o.m. Sundav tei ^ 9 e |j|? ii__ii i DR^ON H/1LL I in Bjpjl 1111 e. Illl|lp] LVp ir r _,^ . jgli ie ft ^KS?3 ^ ~T, ^JSi^ e MMMI >y - }C BMHBMBBBMaMMMBMMKBBBBHMMMMBaMMBMMBaaaiWaiMMflaMW :e' unaffected spawned the current leans all those people ^ iews, then with their n . their hands went out ' hB HotiCG FOCKB or the Police, never e journalists said." . _? - . r . necurumg uie sucunu aiuum wu? wnen we re< ana Ming agree tnat mucj1 easier than recording the album, all um s success did not according to Copeland. somebody tow side pressure on the ?.When we recorded the first and a lyric an< duce a second hit. It ai^um we had not done all that hours, we'd he personal pressure, many gjgs We'd done a lot of and backing tr U,Y" \ <"iUW rehearsing, but with the new [) succumb to any ajy)um wc didn't do any rehearsals "And all thr< n outside. done very qui< pressure we felt was at an We've been on the road four week p< made one good album constantly. Once we recorded the more sophistic re wanted to make one xhe mi d album, Copeland fjrst album we hit the road in much more that "The new album America and that's when the sound we're better rent from the first. We 0f band really came into focus. studio with ea< Fferent chances on this took on the last one. "All the jamming that we do In the future lake any attempt to onstage is really good for the Police hope to iuccessful formula of group, it forces the musicians to Copeland has I ?* t>xnlnr<> parh other a lot And <uv films fnr spvp iu, r ? ? v on coasters _ Cable and a native island girl, Liat, played by Sfpnhon HraHlpv :mH Poooi Miirrfmi rofi-ui/.iiir/ilu V.V*. MKV4 a v i?IV7l I VH , A vopvv.1 I VLIJ . I The show's comic characters are Bloody Mary and Luther Billis, both of whom are opportunists who mice n nnn it. rL,^lx,v.,,k.,4 1.. ??? ?? ..^v J I.. . Iwv,vv-1 ill I.TO ?.? IUII. 111UI I r> i id i liwwjr ctl III V pui II ctYCU UV Connie Blankenship. and Billie is hammed up perfectly by Stanley Ashley. The show stealer in act I is Billis and his fellow sailors lamenting over life without women in. "There i< MnthilrlO I ilro -J I Vi m n " Tliii' nn.v.k,i^ ? " 11 . I.W . M 1VUIUV . A IIID 1 1U1 1 1 L/U1 1 ITU 1 1 > livened-up a rather slow beginning and seemed to awaken the audience to the potential the music possessed. "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa my Hair" was another lively number, this time with Nellie and her fellow nurses. The real shower and hair washing was a surprise, but the shower continued to drip throughout the rest of the scene and virtually I destroyed the second number, "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy." I kept hoping someone would dance out and turn it off.which might have looked odd,but would have been better than letting an entire song be destroyed by so trivial a thing. Bradley proved captivating and sensitive in Lt. Cable's love ballad to Liat ;n "Younger than Snrinetime " Mirhaol Rrill <shnnlH h*> oivon I credit for effective lighting that created a mellow glow which greatly enhanced the scene. Act II was highlighted by two wonderful songs. "Happy Talk" and "Honey Bun," both classic examples of Rodgers and Hammerstein at their finest. Note should also be given to Fred VV Teuber ,, ? A 41,.. LV..tU ?~? /\ 1 1 f r: Ianu nit: ouuiu rdLiiii. waiicbiia lui a lint,' performance. Aside from apprehension and concern over scene changing, which I believe everyone felt, and like myself, strove to ignore. South Pacific was a rather ^1 lively number. by success Bp^; l W^^SilH KvwHPw^ ' - ' fl^.X'- j. ^;:v,":Hr'--:S-v^-- s?|&a -^v' ^v;^v"bb^ m - hSI Hk^S I ?wm nnor?Y? ? UAIWtUUUK d RHUU Thursday night orded the second is currently starring in the film it took was for version of The Who's hip out some chords "Quadrophenia" (due for an I within two or three American release sometime in ve an arrangement November). "Sting s the John ickforthesonc. Travolta of England rieht now." Copeland said. >ugh the album was kly, over a three to In addition, the group members l ??.: , t it i : :?i_ Tioa, lis aciuany are unmuig lurwai u u? piayin^ wan ated than the other other musicians. "We're all very sical textures are much into keeping our diversity," under control and Copeland said. "We like to play at working in the with other musicians because, if h other." you always play in the same group, , the members of the y?? begin to go stale." branch-out into film. "We're staying together," he is >een making Sur cr 8 quick to point out, "but not exral years, and lg clusively."