Broadway sensation SOUTH PACIFIC plays at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts from April 20th to May 13th. Broadway World sat down with multi-talented actress Jodi Kimura who is essaying the role of Bloody Mary in the production. As you will see, Kimura is really into this role.
What is it about Bloody Mary that everyone loves? She is so brash, you listen… but end up really caring about her.
Well, I can’t really speak for why other people love Bloody Mary, but I love her because she’s a survivor and because she’s a strong, powerful woman in a man’s world making her OWN way with no apologies. I love her because she’s a single mother, an immigrant rising well above her lot in life and running her own successful business. And I love her because of her sense of humor, her curiosity, her intelligence, and her wit. But mostly, I love her because, despite her difficult circumstances, she has SO much hope and fights for it with everything she has.
Is there anyone in your life that you are patterning your interpretation of the
role after?
Absolutely! I am fourth generation Japanese Hawaiian and much like Bloody Mary who came from Tonkin, China (modern-day Vietnam) to work on the French Plantations, my ancestors came from Japan to work on the sugar and pineapple plantations in Hawaii. Like Bloody Mary, they learned “pidgin” English and like Bloody Mary, they did everything they could to provide a better life for their kids. My Mary is very much inspired by my grandmother and aunties: how they spoke, how they’d kill two-inch cockroaches with their bare feet and how they’d do anything for me.
There is a moment in the show when Mary thinks Cable is proposing to Liat, and she is overcome with pride, joy, and relief that she has “won” and her daughter will have a good life. And I think of my grandma every time. She always wanted to be a singer and I know she would have been so proud to see me living out her dream. Sadly, she died when I was in college before I even stepped foot onto a stage. So the fact that I get to bring her to life every time I do this role means a lot.
Click here for the entire interview of Jodi Kimura from SOUTH PACIFIC by Broadway World
Source: Broadway World | Photo Credit: Jodi Kimura