When young Princeton graduate Lieutenant Joe Cable is flown in on a dangerous reconnaissance mission, love and fear become entwined as the island’s battle for hearts and minds begins. The scheming sailor Luther Billis runs a makeshift laundry to earn a quick buck, but he’s no match for the Polynesian Bloody Mary who’s intent on exploiting these foreigners. Nellie Forbush, a navy nurse from Arkansas, finds herself falling for the French plantation owner, Emile de Becque – a man with a mysterious past. On an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, US troops are kicking their heels amid the cacao groves while restlessly waiting for the war to reach them.The cast also includes Iroy Abesamis, Lindsay Atherton, Carl Au, Rosanna Bates, David Birrell, Leslie Garcia Bowman, Taylor Bradshaw, Bobbie Chambers, Charlotte Coggin, Danny Collins, Oliver Edward, Sergio Giacomelli, Shailan Gohil, Adrian Grove, Zack Guest, Cameron Bernard Jones, Amanda Lindgren, Matthew Maddison, Sera Maehara (as Liat), Melissa Nettleford, Rachel Jayne Picar, Kate Playdon, Pierce Rogan, Clancy Ryan, Charlie Waddell and James Wilkinson-Jones, with children’s roles played by Archer Brandon, Ellie Chung, Lana Lakha, Kami Lieu, David Ngara-O’Dwyer and Alexander Quinlan. * Alex Young( Me and My Girl, Guys and Dolls, Follies) shares the role of Nellie with Gina Beck, who is pregnant, at certain performances from 5 August and full-time from 23 August. It boasts one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most memorable scores, featuring songs such as Some Enchanted Evening, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and Bali Ha’i.ĭaniel Evans directs an outstanding cast led by Gina Beck ( Matilda, Show Boat, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera) as Nellie*, Julian Ovenden ( Bridgerton, Downton Abbey, Merrily We Roll Along, Grand Hotel, BBC Proms) as Emile, Joanna Ampil ( Avenue Q, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon) as Bloody Mary, Keir Charles ( Quiz, Back To Life) as Luther Billis and Rob Houchen ( Les Misérables, The Light in the Piazza) as Cable. This much-loved, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical opened in 1949 to huge success, becoming one of Broadway’s longest running hit shows. The production will also be streamed as live on selected dates in August and September. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific will be Chichester Festival Theatre’s summer musical for 2021, running from 5 July – 4 September, with a press night on Tuesday 13 July. Press performance: Tuesday 13 July at 7.00pm Streamed as live on 4, 9, 14, 18, 21, 26, 31 August & 3 September
Michenerĥ July – 4 September 2021, live in the Festival Theatre Joanna Ampil, Keir Charles and Rob Houchen inīook by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua LoganĪdapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A.