Tickets on sale for 'South Pacific'

COSTA MESA - A new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's prize-winning musical "South Pacific" will visit the Orange County Performing Arts Center Oct. 12-24 to open the center's 2010-11 Broadway Series."South Pacific" swept the 2008 Tony Awards, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher. The national tour of "South Pacific" will be led by David Pittsinger and Carmen Cusack. As Emile de Becque, Pittsinger (who performed the role on Broadway) was hailed as "sincere and vocally thrilling" by the Chicago Tribune. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the romantic story of two couples - U.S. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque, and Navy Airman Joe Cable and a young local native girl Liat - and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. Considered by some to be the finest musical ever written, the score's songs include such classics as "Some Enchanted Evening," "Younger Than Springtime" and "Bali Ha'i." The new production features a cast of 34 and a full orchestra of 26 members - the largest orchestra of any touring Broadway production. Tickets to see "South Pacific" start at $20 and went on sale Sunday. They are available online at www.ocpac.org or by calling (714) 556-2787.

********** Published: August 26, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 19