Breathing fresh life into an often-performed musical that is such a favorite as “South Pacific” is a challenge, but one that director Jennifer King and her cast live up to in the new production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that opened last weekend at Napa Valley College.

An imaginative staging draws on nostalgia for the era; the play is set on a remote island during World War II. Replicas of vintage recruiting posters framed the set, and more images of posters were flashed on the screen that forms the backdrop during the overture, performed by the orchestra conducted by Richard Riccardi.

King added a moving moment by introducing a veteran who fought in the South Pacific, Eva Jacques, who came onstage in her wheelchair and shared a few memories with the audience.

King also livened things up by changing the order of scenes: This production opens with the scene in which the exiled French planter, Emile de Becque, sings the romantic “Some Enchanted Evening” to Ensign Nellie Forbush, the nurse from Little Rock, Ark. It goes straight to the heart, as it were, of the conflict in a story in which passion and love runs up against the brick wall of racism.

The star of this show is Ted von Pohle as Emile — he not only looks the part of the suave Frenchman who intrigues the naive Nellie, but he plays it with warmth and tenderness; and, of course, as anyone who saw him last year in “Kiss Me Kate” knows, he has the voice for those songs that make “South Pacific” a classic. He ranges from the doubtful lover, wondering if he dares woo Nellie in “Twin Soliloquies,” to the man with shattered dreams regretting “This Nearly Was Mine,”  and although his “Some Enchanted Evening” is magnificent, one has to note he is also pretty swell when he mimics Nellie washing him “right out of her hair.”

The role of Nellie is played by Alice Grindling, who also possesses a wonderful voice for songs like “A Cockeyed Optimist” and “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy.” She captures the spirit of the young nurse who wants to learn about the world beyond Little Rock, and although she is teased by her colleagues for being “Knucklehead Nellie” who doesn’t believe the war-torn world is ending, she is confused most of all by what she discovers about herself.

Serafino Barnabei turns in yet another fine performance as Lt. Joe Cable, the young marine whose involvement with a Tonkinese girl (Maria Bello) leads to heartbreak. As the handsome, intense and doomed Cable, Barnabei is captivating.

A special note must be made of the two youngest and most enchanting cast members, Naomi Borrayo and Nano Konigsmark, who play de Becque’s children from a previous relationship with a Polynesian woman.

 Kevin Granger takes on the role of the enterprising Luther Billis, the Seabee who is always contriving ways to make a buck or get into trouble, or most often, both. Granger plays the role with an unusual degree of reserve. His affection for Nellie is touching, but the comic inventiveness often associated with Billis is left more to Nolan Kenmonth, a talented senior from Napa High, who plays the role of his sidekick, Stewpot.

The cast is rounded out by Lisa Thomas as Bloody Mary, Jorge Covarrubias as de Becque’s servant; Brandon Hollier as the Professor; Bill Shea as Capt. Brackett; Ken Salas as Cmdr. Harbison; James Porter as Lt. Buzz Adams; Steve Cairns as Yeoman Herbert Quayle; Michael Sundin as Bob the radio operator; and Barbara Pond as Ensign Dinah Murphy. Chris Vogt and Kevin Barey join the others in the military ensemble. Making up the nurses ensemble are Jennifer Deterville, Nouria Harris, Saira Juarez, Midori Lynne Morgan, Jeanette Pierce, Nicole Seiffert, Sheena Smith and Courtney Williams.

If there is one flaw in the show, it seemed that there was a paucity of voices in the chorus. The stage seemed a little bit empty; it was disconcerting to see Lisa Thomas, a good dancer and almost too attractive to convincingly play the scheming Bloody Mary, reappear in the nurses’ ensemble. One wonders if it’s a question of timing — “South Pacific” opened a week after Napa High’s “Music Man” — which was filled to the stage’s brim with performers from the community — closed. Now that the high schools’ musicals have roared back onto the stage — and the community loves them — it might be time for the college to coordinate schedules and share this enthusiastic wealth of talent.

‘South Pacific’

Napa Valley College Theater

March 16, 17, 23 and 24, 8 p.m.

March 18 and 25, 2 p.m.

Tickets: $18 adult, $15 students and seniors

Info, 259-8077