You’ve probably seen South Pacific before — either a high school production or the classic 1958 film with Mitzi Gaynor, perhaps the 2001 TV movie with a curiously mature Nellie Forbush played by Glenn Close. You might’ve even caught the Carnegie Hall concert version starring Reba McEntire a few years ago on PBS. But unless you’ve been to Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theater recently, you probably haven’t seen anything like the national tour that Theatre Under The Stars brings to Houston this month. After all, this is The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, directed by Bartlett Sher, which won seven 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and Best Director. Talk about a Bali Ha’i … Fortunately you’ll have plenty of time to row over, as the musical moors at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for a lengthy tour of duty: March 9 through 21.

Need a briefing? This is the show that gave the world such standards as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Younger Than Springtime,” “There is Nothing Like a Dame,” “This Nearly Was Mine” and the abovementioned siren song, “Bali Ha’i.” The time is World War II; the setting, a tropical paradise; the complication, two sets of star-crossed lovers who must wrest with prejudice and duty to find their destinies.

This production enlists a cast of 34 and the largest orchestra of any touring Broadway production, with 26 members. As the tour finishes its run in Lincoln and targets Texas, the cast includes Carmen Cusack as Nellie, Grammy-nominated baritone Rod Gilfry as Emile de Becque, Anderson Davis as Lieutenant Joseph Cable, Keala Settle as Bloody Mary, Sumie Maeda as Liat, Matthew Saldivar as Luther Billis, Gerry Becker as Captain George Brackett and Genson Blimline as Stewpot.

TUTS is saluting South Pacific with a roster of associated events. On Wednesday, March 3, see the 1958 film as it was meant to be seen: on the big screen, exclusively at Angelika Theatre downtown. Through March 7, partake in the Bloody Mary Cocktail Contest at participating restaurants including Mockingbird Bistro, Cadillac Bar, Ouisie’s Table and Backstreet Café (full list, tuts.com). On Thursday, March 11, there’s a post-show event with OUT@TUTS at Artista Restaurant. Are you the ultimate fan? Then splurge on The South Pacific VIP Experience on Sunday, March 14, with premier seating, an exclusive talk-back with the cast after the show, a souvenir program and a complimentary beverage.

Tickets to South Pacific start at $24. To book passage or find out more about the special events, visit tuts.com. And to explore the show itself, head to southpacificontour.com.

 

Images: Above, Keala Settle's Bloody Mary entertains the troops in South Pacific. Below, Carmen Cusack washes that man right out of her hair as Nelly Forbush in South Pacific. Photos by Peter Coombs.