Morrison, Burstein & Sayre Join Cast of 40 in 'South Pacific'

Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Matthew Morrison will play the role of Lt. Joseph Cable, Danny Burstein the role of Luther Billis, and Loretta Ables Sayre in the role of Bloody Mary, joining Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot as Emile de Becque in its upcoming production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific.The production, which will be directed by Bartlett Sher,  will begin previews Saturday evening, March 1 and open on Thursday, April 3 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. 

Matthew Morrison returns to Lincoln Center Theater where he created the role of Fabrizio in the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.  His other Broadway credits include A Naked Girl on the Appian Way, Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show and Footloose.  He appeared off-Broadway last summer in the musical 10 Million Miles at the Atlantic Theatre Company.  His TV and film credits include Dan In Real Life, Marci X, Primary Colors, Numb3rs, Ghost Whisperer, CSI:Miami, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Once Upon A Mattress.

Danny Burstein's Broadway credits include The Drowsy Chaperone (Tony nomination), A Class Act, Titanic, Company, The Seagull, Saint Joan, A Little Hotel on the Side and Three Men on A Horse.  He has appeared off-Broadway in Mrs. Farnsworth, All in the Timing, I Love You You're Perfect Now Change, Merrily We Roll Along and Weird Romance.  His many TV credits include Absolutely Fabulous, Ed, Third Watch and all three Law & Orders.

Loretta Ables Sayre, who will be making her New York and Broadway debut,

is a long-time resident of Hawaii where she has performed in concert and in nightclubs including opening for such groups and performers as The Beach Boys, Kenny Loggins,  James Brown and The Four Tops. As an actress, her television credits include the recurring role of Aunty on Nickolodeon's Beyond The Break, FOX TV's North Shore, NBC's Hawaii, Baywatch Hawaii and ABC's Byrds of Paradise.

Additional casting for the production, which will feature a cast of 40, will be announced at a later date.  Lincoln Center Theater gratefully acknowledges that Mr. Szot will appear in Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific with the permission of Actors Equity Association.

South Pacific has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.  Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener, the original production was directed by Joshua Logan.  The Lincoln Center Theater production will have musical staging by Christopher Gattelli, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer and musical direction by Ted Sperling, conducting a 30-piece orchestra performing the musical's original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett and dance and incidental music arrangements by Trude Rittman. 

Tickets to Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific are available now at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street), at Telecharge.com or by visiting www.lct.org.

Matthew Morrison: Photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd