Li Jun Li: My Summer Vacation in the Real South Pacific
Playing a role that's all but silent, Li Jun Li makes a strong impression in Lincoln Center Theater's smash-hit Broadway revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific. As Liat, the innocent daughter of Bloody Mary, Li inspires love at first sight and its anthem, "Younger Than Springtime" from Lt. Joe Cable when he arrives at Bali Ha'i. The Shanghai-born and New York City-raised young actress won the chance to make her Broadway debut during open auditions held in Chinatown. She's a veteran of the North American tour of Miss Saigon and has appeared in several regional productions, but South Pacific is her big break—and what better place to spend her summer vacation than the very islands that inspired the show she's appearing in right now? Li kindly agreed to share her vacation snapshots—and her impressions of Tahiti—with Broadway.com readers.
"I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific…. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description."
While hiking through Faarumai Waterfalls in Tahiti, I came to understand the wonder behind these words that open Tales of the South Pacific, the book of stories by James Michener on which the musical South Pacific is based. I am lucky enough to be playing Liat in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of this wonderful show—and I recently got to visit the places Michener wrote about more than 60 years ago.
I learned that Tahitians don't believe in road signs, and if you drive long enough, you end up right back where you started. A supposedly 20-minute trip turned into an hour-long detour. Luckily, with the help of a kind local, some hand gestures and my "un peu" French, my mom and I finally made it to our beautiful home away from home overlooking Matavai Bay.
I set out immediately to explore the islands. In Moorea, I took a canoe to a pearl demonstration, befriended a stray cat at my lunch table in Tiki Villiage and took a safari tour. On the climb up to Belvedere Point on the northern coast to see a panoramic view of Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, our shoeless driver drove up the 60 degree incline…backwards. I was in the open-top jeep, holding on to the cage for dear life trying my best not to fall out, as the vehicle accelerated backward and upward to the top of the mountain. Theme parks have nothing on Moorea!
In Bora Bora, I snorkeled in the reef, had a Polynesian Motu picnic, went swimming with sharks and pet sting rays. On a day trip via speedboat around the islands, I fell in love with the lagoons. The sights were indescribable. At one point, on a boat trip to the main island, listening to a Frenchman play his guitar and taking in the colors of my surroundings, I thought something I've never felt before: "This is all I need."
In New York, I am constantly on the go, feeling guilty when I take even 15 minutes to sit in the park. I habitually check my crackberry, allotting myself just enough time to make it early to my next audition. In Bora Bora, I gained a sense of peace. It was okay to step aside and enjoy my time—or, as some would put it, "live in the moment"—without the pressures of city life.
The week seemed to end more quickly than my 13-hour flight, but I was ready to come home to my two puppies. Tahiti is a place I've always wanted to visit, and there couldn't have been a better time for me to experience it than now.
When I started rehearsals for South Pacific, I imagined Bali Ha'i as a simple tropical paradise: lagoons, rich forests and waterfalls. Having had the opportunity to visit Moorea, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Tahiti Iti, I found that my imagination couldn't do them justice—nothing compares to the peaceful solitude and untamed natural environments that enrich these islands. There is great meaning when Lieutenant Cable says to Emile de Becque, "All I care about is right here."