Bartlett Sher’s production keeps South Pacific younger than springtime.

It’s easy to forget that South Pacific was controversial when it premiered in 1949. The seminal musical classic features some of the most toe-tapping tunes ever penned by Rodgers and Hammerstein, taking place on a romantic island and full of memorable characters. But at its heart are two parallel stories about racism and interracial relationships: Nellie struggles to accept that the man she loves was previously married to a Polynesian woman, while Lieutenant Cable can’t bring himself to marry the Polynesian woman he’s fallen deeply in love with, knowing their relationship would never be accepted back home in the United States.

It was these stories that incensed early American audiences, particularly when the show toured to the South in the 50s. Two Georgian legislators attempted to have the song You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught banned on the basis that it “contained an underlying philosophy inspired by Moscow”, and a desire to maintain their ‘pure blood lines’ in the South. But as the controversy died down over 60 years of performances, directors have had a tendency to treat the racial elements in the show as just another part of the story, rather than...