Rod Gilfry Returns to SOUTH PACIFIC TOUR on January 19

Rod Gilfry, who had taken a hiatus from SOUTH PACIFIC to play Captain Von Trapp in Paris' Theatre du Chatelet's THE SOUND OF MUSIC, will return to his role as 'Emile de Becque' on January 19 when the next leg of the SOUTH PACIFIC tour makes its stop in Melbourne, Florida.

The National Touring Company of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC will be led by Rod Gilfry (Emile de Becque) and Carmen Cusack (Nellie Forbush), with Anderson Davis (Lt. Cable), Matthew Saldivar (Luther Billis), Keala Settle (Bloody Mary), Gerry Becker (Capt. Brackett), Peter Rini (Cmdr. Harbison), Sumie Maeda (Liat), Rusty Ross (Professor), original 2008 Broadway cast member Genson Blimline (Stewpot), Christina Carrera (Ngana) and CJ Palma (Jerome).
 
The ensemble will include Christopher Carl, Eric L. Christian (from the Broadway production), Jacqueline Colmer, Jeremy Davis, Mike Evairste (from the Broadway production), Kate Fahrner, Nicholas Galbraith, Alexis G.B. Holt, Chad Jennings, Christopher Johnstone, Kristie Kerwin, Jodi Kimura, Cathy Newman, Diane Phelan, John Pinto Jr, Travis Robertson, Josh Rouah, Tally Sessions, Kristen J. Smith, Matt Stokes, Gregory Williams and Victor Wisehart.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC swept the 2008 Tony Awards®, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher. This breathtaking new production is still selling-out at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in an open-ended run on Broadway, lauded by the critics as "Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!" (New York Post), "Ravishing and Overwhelming" (Variety) and "Rapturous and Revelatory!" (The New York Times).

Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan.

Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples -- US 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 many the finest musical ever written, the score's songs include such classics as "Some Enchanted Evening," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair," "Younger Than Springtime," "Bali Ha'i," "There is Nothin' Like A Dame," "This Nearly Was Mine" and "A Wonderful Guy."

The lavish new production features musical staging by Christopher Gattelli, sets by Michael Yeargan (winner of the 2008 Tony Award®), costumes by Catherine Zuber (winner of the 2008 Tony Award®), lighting by Donald Holder (winner of the 2008 Tony Award®), sound by Scott Lehrer (winner of the 2008 Tony Award®) and music direction by Ted Sperling. A full orchestra will perform the original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett (winner of a Special 2008 Tony Award®) and dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.

For more information on the production, please visit www.SouthPacificOnTour.com. Become a fan on Facebook (South Pacific on Tour).

Bartlett Sher (Director) Lincoln Center Theater: Joe Turner's Come and Gone, South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Awake and Sing (Tony nomination), The Light in the Piazza (Tony nomination). Artistic Director of Seattle's Intiman Theatre; credits there include: the world premieres of Prayer for My Enemy and Singing Forest by Craig Lucas (both also Long Wharf Theatre) and Nickel and Dimed; plays by Chekhov, Wilder, Shakespeare, Goldoni and Tony Kushner. Opera: Roméo et Juliette (Salzburg Festival), The Barber of Seville (Metropolitan Opera), Mourning Becomes Electra (Seattle Opera and New York City Opera). New York: Cymbeline (2001 Callaway Award for Best Director; first American Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Company), Waste (2000 Best Play Obie), Don Juan (all TFANA). He is a member of the TCG Board.

Rod Gilfry (Emile de Becque)
http://www.gilfry.com
A Grammy-nominated opera singer who has performed in all the world's music capitals, including Vienna, Paris, London, Munich, Zurich, Milan, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. His discography includes 23 audio and video recordings. Credits include: Stanley Kowalski, André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire (San Francisco Opera); Lionel, Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc (San Francisco Opera); Prospero, Thomas Ades' The Tempest (Santa Fe Opera); Nathan, Nicholas Maw's Sophie's Choice (Washington D.C.); De Guiche, Alfano's Cyrano (Valencia, Spain, opposite Placido Domingo); Count Danilo, Lehar's The Merry Widow (Los Angeles Opera); Joe, Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella and Lancelot, Lerner & Loewe's Camelot (both at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago). Assistant Professor of Vocal Arts at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.

Carmen Cusack (Nellie Forbush)
http://www.carmencusack.net/
An actress and singer whose career spans two continents, credits include The Phantom of the Opera (Christine), Les Misérables (Fantine) and Wicked (Elphaba) as well as numerous concerts, recordings and cabarets. Original London West End casts of The Secret Garden and Personals.

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