Paramount productions rarely fail to surprise me, sometimes in ways that are, well, surprising.
The Aurora theater’s current musical – the season finale playing through June 14 – is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic “South Pacific,” which follows two romances on a tropical island during World War II. So even though I expected plenty of paradise when the curtain opened, I was still struck by the lushness that greeted the audience.
The stage is drenched in towering palms, jungle foliage and flowering vines, all of which frame the lagoon’s blue horizon that, through the magic of an LED screen and talented video projection designers, produces flying birds and warplanes as well as floating puffy clouds.
The intimate beauty of this environmental fantasy is so captivating there were times I took my eyes off the performers just to drink it all in.
But not when the beefcakes were on stage.
Which was a lot. And when they were front and center, all eyes were on these swaggering, muscle-bound Seabees anxious to show off their guns that had nothing to do with ammunition. I’m not just talking about actors in good shape. Many of the 15 guy performers were a cut above that – with physiques that could make the females in the audience forget the plot for a minute.
Trent Stork isn’t at all surprised by this reaction.
“My 72-year-old mother will love this show when she sees it,” the co-director told me, noting that the opening in the James A. Michener book on which this 1959 Broadway musical is based, describes the “steaming heat of the islands,” with air so humid that clothes were never dry and skin itched as these servicemembers waited for something to do other than roast in the sun.
Stork insisted the goal was not so much about casting gym rats as it was to hire “military-looking actors,” all of whom were assured upfront they could show off those pecs to the degree it felt comfortable. Four chose to go shirtless and others went with tight-fitting tanks and tees that illustrates just how much hard work goes into maintaining those muscles.
Turns out the men’s dressing room has indeed morphed into a mini-gym, where that 30-minute call time before the curtain goes up is used to pump iron, do squats and Bruce Lee ab work, even engage in friendly pushup challenges to get the blood flowing into well-toned muscles.
Michael Brown, who plays Navy pilot Lt. Buzz Adams, even recreated an apparatus his grandfather – a real Navy pilot serving in the South Pacific during WWII – made from a weight attached to a rope and stick that, when twisted, works the forearms.
“I have never been in a cast with this many dudes,” said 30-year-old Chicago-based actor Chris Khoshaba, who grew up in Skokie.
“I can almost guarantee that any time I walk into the dressing room they are on the floor, ready for push-ups or sit-ups and passing dumbbells around,” added the 6-foot-4, part-time certified fitness trainer, who keeps his shirt on in his role as Stewpot but is happy to show off his quads in a pair of skin-hugging shorts.
While Khoshaba is certainly focused on the scene at hand, he also admits to being “aware my legs are out there for the world to see.”
There’s a certain amount of vulnerability to roles like this, especially when going shirtless – as does ensemble member and Stewpot understudy Marek Zurowski, who was raised in River Forest but has lived in New York the last 10 years and describes himself as “a bit of a gym rat.”
Zurowski performed with a “pretty buff” cast in the U.S. Regional Tour of “Miss Saigon,” he told me, but added that “it’s not common” to have this much “big beef” in a show.
“Every day more weight equipment keeps appearing,” said the 33-year-old performer, who hits Planet Fitness four or five times a week. “We have fun. We keep pushing ourselves to come together as a well-oiled machine – just like our bodies.”
That last line was tongue in cheek by the way. Not all these Seabees are ripped, but there’s no body shaming going on, the men insist.
There’s more to a show, after all, then flex appeal.
“When you have a three-hour Golden Age musical, we need to give the audience beautiful things to look at to keep their attention for that long,” said Stork.
Of course, the director is also talking about the magnificent set of “South Pacific,” which looks like a million bucks, despite the city of Aurora dramatically slashing funding for the Paramount this past year, forcing the theater to confront major budget pressure.
When I asked Stork about how the staff was able to get so much bang for that buck, I got another surprise.
“Rubber bands – 10,000 rubber bands” were used with PVC pipe and paint to supplement the real bamboo that was purchased at discount from a Florida farm.
“There is a lot more work and creativity that has to go into these productions,” Stork said. “We had to be really intentional with where we put every dollar.”
Speaking of surprises, the director who wowed audiences with technical theater muscle in “Frozen,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the circus version of “Cats,” did not expect “South Pacific” to become a personal favorite.
There’s just something special about this old musical, Stork explained, with its “complex interesting characters” set against a “gorgeous” backdrop and “with a cast of truly talented classical singers.”
The Seabees I spoke with assured me they too are having the time of their lives, so much so there’s been talk among themselves about putting out a “South Pacific” calendar as a fundraiser for the Paramount Theatre.
“We are all,” said Khoshaba, “having such a blast.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
