Many reasons explain why “South Pacific” is so enduring in American musical theater annals.

Composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II created such memorable songs as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There Is Nothi”ng Like a Dame,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “Bali Ha’i” and many, many more.

Hammerstein and Joshua Logan based the 1949 Broadway hit’s book on James A. Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific,” published in 1947. Now Foothill Music Theatre is just the latest company to stage this beloved show. Carefully directed by Milissa Carey, it features outstanding singing along with some good acting.

Set on a Navy outpost in the South Pacific during World War II, “South Pacific” tells the story of the budding romance between a young Navy nurse, Ensign Nellie Forbush (Madison Genovese), and a middle-aged French planter, Emile de Becque (Daniel Cameron), who lives on the island.

There’s a parallel romance between Marine Lt. Joseph Cable (Sergey Khalikulov) and Liat (Amanda Nguyen), daughter of Bloody Mary (Jacqueline De Muro), an entrepreneurial native woman who sells souvenirs like grass skirts and shrunken human heads to the sailors.

Racist attitudes from their upbringings — Nellie’s in Little Rock, Ark., and Cable’s along Philadelphia’s Main Line– interfere with both romances. In Nellie’s case, the problem is that Emile was married to a Polynesian woman, now deceased. Nellie does like Emile’s two children from that union. Cable knows that his social set wouldn’t accept a Polynesian woman as his wife.

Both Cameron as Emile and Khalikulov as Cable are outstanding singers, but their acting can be stiff. On the other hand, Genovese as Nellie and De Muro as the bawdy Bloody Mary both act and sing well. Genovese tended to switch from classical to pop style in her first song, “A Cockeyed Optimist,” on opening night, but she settled into an appropriate legit style thereafter.

Supporting roles are ably filled by Steve Boisvert as Luther Billis, an irrepressibly enterprising sailor; Doug Brees as Cmdr. William Harbison and Vic Prosak as Capt. George Brackett, the base’s leaders.

The men’s and women’s chorus of nurses, Seabees and sailors do well as singers and dancers (choreography by Michael Ryken).

The energy level seemed low on opening night, perhaps because of how scorchingly hot it was during the day (the theater is air conditioned, though). Another reason might be that musical director Mark Hanson’s tempos seemed too careful. A faster pace might have helped.

Kuo-Hao Lo’s set is simple yet effective, especially with Michael Ramsaur’s lighting.

“South Pacific” won 10 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It’s easy to see why in this FMT production.

It will continue through Aug. 10 in Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. For tickets and information, call (650) 949-7360 or visit www.foothillmusicals.com.

After regaling Berkeley Repertory Theatre audiences with his one-man shows about composers George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, Hershey Felder has returned with yet another. This time it’s composer-pianist Fryderyk Chopin in “Monsieur Chopin.”

As directed by Joel Zwick, the multi-talented Felder frames the one-act show as a piano lesson taught by Chopin in Paris with the audience as his students on March 4, 1848. However, since the “students” are presumably beginners, he does all the of playing to demonstrate his points.

Chopin was born in Poland in 1810, wrote his first composition at age 7 and spent most of his youth there. Hence, Felder speaks with a Polish accent.

He left Poland in part because of the Russian occupation and wound up in Paris, where he spent most of the rest of his life. During that time, he became known as a prolific composer and performer as well as teacher. He also had an eight-year relationship with author George Sand, whom he called Madam. After ailing for several months, he died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39.

One of Felder’s most interesting stories concerned what happened after Chopin’s death. At his request, his heart was removed from his body and returned to his hometown of Zelazowa Wola Poland, where it was given a place of honor in a pillar in a church. When the Nazis laid waste to the town in World War II, a Nazi officer, apparently an admirer of Chopin, removed the heart, kept it safe and returned it after the war, when it was eventually installed at the restored church.

Felder plays excerpts and full versions of some of Chopin’s best known works on the Steinway grand piano that dominates the simple set by Yael Pardess. Lighting by Richard Norwood and projections by John Boesche and Andrew Wilder enhance moods and scenes.

After completing his scripted presentation, Felder, still in his Chopin persona, called on the opening night audience to ask questions. In one response, he said that his favorite composers are Bach and Mozart, but he doesn’t think much of Beethoven.

The post-performance session was highlighted by the Polish consul general of Los Angeles, Mariusz Brymora, who gave Felder a medal for promoting Poland and a drawing of a scene in Kraków. Felder’s father was a Polish Jew but left Poland when the Nazis threatened.

Having been thoroughly entertained by the music and the story, the audience moved to the BRT courtyard to enjoy pierogi, a Polish favorite.

“Monsieur Chopin” continues in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley, through Aug. 10. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

In “The Great Pretender” by David West Read, a grieving man begins to recover from his wife’s untimely death and to connect with people other than his wife for the first time in his adult life.

The middle aged man, Roy Felt (Steve Brady), has been the low-key host of a TV hand-puppet show for children along the lines of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” His wife, Marilyn, had operated one of the puppets, Francis. The other, Carol the Pony, was manipulated by Carol (Suzanne Grodner).

The show has been on hiatus for about a year after Marilyn’s death when its director, Tom (Michael Storm), convinces Royto give a tryout to the young, overly eager Jodi (Sarah Moser), who can do a right-on imitation of Marilyn as Francis.

Thanks to Jodi and the friendship of Tom and Carol, Roy realizes that it’s time to stop grieving and move on with his life.

This world premiere play was the hit of TheatreWorks’ annual New Works Festival last year and was chosen as the mainstage show of this year’s festival. It deserves the honor.

Director Stephen Brackett has a rock-solid cast with Brady creating a gentle, genial Roy and Moser creating the somewhat ditzy Jodi, who proudly makes her own pants. Grodner has some of the play’s funniest lines as the salty Carol, while Storm’s Tom, who is gay, does a good job of trying to keep the other characters on track.

Read also wrote songs for the sweetly sentimental, yet absorbing show. David Valentine created the whimsical puppets. The TV studio set is by Daniel Zimmerman with lighting by Paul Toben, sound by Cliff Caruthers and costumes by Cathleen Edwards.

Running about 100 minutes without intermission, “The Great Pretender” will continue through Aug. 3. It will be followed by the rest of TheatreWorks’ 13th annual New Works Festival, featuring staged readings of three plays, two musicals and a late-night extra Aug. 9 to 17.

All performances are at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

“Moby Dick” by Herman Melville occupies a high spot on the list of great American novels. Another American great, Orson Welles, transformed it into a stage version called “Moby Dick– Rehearsed.”

Stanford Repertory Theater has taken on the challenges of this work in its second summer production featuring both Stanford students and Bay Area professional actors.

This one-act, approximately 100-minute play begins as casually dressed actors (costumes by Connie Strayer) rehearse Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” Dissatisfied with the director’s approach, they begin their own project, “Moby Dick,” starting with its memorable opening line, “Call me Ishmael.”

From there the 15 actors enact the epic story of a 19th century whaling boat, the Pequod, and its captain’s maniacal pursuit of the white whale, Moby Dick, that bit off one of his legs below the knee.

Veteran Bay Area professional Rod Gnapp plays Lear in the opening scene, then becomes the obsessed Captain Ahab in a memorable performance. Another standout in the cast is professional actor Peter Ruocco as Starbuck, the first mate and the only crew member who voices his doubts directly to Ahab.

Among the students, Louis McWilliams is noteworthy as Ishmael, the saga’s narrator.

Another professional in the cast is Courtney Walsh, who plays several roles and serves as movement/dance director.

Directed by Rush Rehm, the production moves fairly well with a few lulls in the middle. However, some of the actors need to work on diction, and the shouting is overdone in some scenes.

The scaffold set by Annie Dauber defines the ship, aided by lighting by Michael Ramsaur and the sound design by Michael Keck, who wrote some of the music. Music director Weston Gaylord elicits some fine choral singing, especially in “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” a.k.a. “The Navy Hymn.”

It’s significant that Welles incorporated an opening scene from “King Lear” in his play, for some parallels can be seen. The most apparent is the ascent into madness by Lear and Ahab. In addition, the off-kilter cabin boy, Pip (Maia Kazin), can be compared with Tom or the Fool in “Lear.”

This production is part of SRT’s 16th summer festival, dubbed Orson Welles: Substantial Shadows. Later this summer the company will present a theatrical re-creation of Welles’ famous 1938 radio broadcast, “The War of the Worlds.” Free showings of several Welles  films feature Stanford professors leading discussions.

A symposium about Welles and Melville is scheduled for all day Aug. 2. For details, visit www.continuingstudies.stanford.edu.

“Moby Dick – Rehearsed” will continue through Aug. 10 in Pigott Theater (Memorial Auditorium), 551 Serra Mall, Stanford. For tickets and information about it as well as “The War of the Worlds” and the films, call (650) 725-5838 or visit www.repertorytheater.stanford.edu.