South Pacific, the hit Broadway musical from Rodgers & Hammerstein, is coming to the Artscape Opera House stage in Cape Town from 20 July – 10 August 2019.
The show is produced by G&S, Cape Town’s oldest and most reputable community theatre organisation and is making use of the best creative talents Cape Town has to offer. Each performance will be accompanied by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, under the batton of Alastair Cockburn. The directing of the show is under the steady hand of Kyla Thorburn, who has directed much-loved G&S productions like My Fair Lady (2016), The King and I (2008), and Annie (2010). The show will feature sets and costumes by acclaimed designer Michael Mitchell, who is known for his designs for Cape Town Opera.
Onstage we can expect great performances. Riaan Hunter and Stephan le Roux are taking on the leading role of Emile de Becque. Both come from classical music backgrounds: Hunter has starred in operas such as Don Giovanni, while Le Roux has been Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Sian Atterbury and Andrea Fourie are cast in the leading role of Nellie Forbush. Last year Atterbury starred as Rose Maybud in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore, while Fourie was in Dangerous Obsession with Milnerton Players. Charlene Martin from Kenwyn will be portraying Bloody Mary, a character that is sure to be an audience favourite.
The story of the musical revolves around American nurses and sailors stationed on an island in the South Pacific during World War II. Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with Emile, a French expat, while Lt. Joseph Cable finds himself in a passionate relationship with Liat, a local islander. As the war against Japan escalates, both Nellie and Joseph have to confront their long-held racial prejudices to save their unconventional relationships.
South Pacific features well-known songs, such as Some Enchanted Evening, There’s Nothing Like A Dame, Bali Hai, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Cockeyed Optimist, and many others that were immortalised in the 1958 film, starring Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor as Emile and Nellie.
G&S has recently brought other Rodgers & Hammerstein classics to Cape Town, such as My Fair Lady in 2016 and Oklahoma in 2014. South Pacific is guaranteed to be another entertaining musical highlight at the ArtsCape Opera House.
Tickets are available from Computicket
