Kumu hula Auntie Lani Lee has been cast as Bloody Mary in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s legendary Broadway musical “South Pacific,” the next production of Aloha Performing Arts Company.
Though a professional dancer since age 4 and the current kumu of “Na Kupuna O Kona Alii” halau, this is Lee’s first foray into theater. She will enchant audiences with songs such as “Happy Talk” and “Bali Hai” when the show takes the stage at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu Feb. 12 through March 13.
Jerry Tracy is director, assisted by Sarah Crawford.
The production will also feature a live orchestra under the direction of Bernaldo Evangelista. Musicians are Vanessa Norman, flute; Joel Gimpel, violin; Ramona Cannon, viola; Charley O’Kelly, trumpet; Garry Russell, trombone/tuba; Sharon Cannon, percussion; and Gloria Juan, piano.
“South Pacific” features music composed by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The show premiered on Broadway in 1949 and was an immediate success. It has since been revived on the Great White Way five times, most recently in 2008, featuring Hawaii’s Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary.
The story is based on James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book “Tales of the South Pacific.” Rodgers and Hammerstein believed that they could create a musical based on Michener’s work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, would send a strong message on racism.
Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $27 for adults, $22 for senior citizens and young adults, and $10 for children younger than age 18.
Purchase tickest online at www.apachawaii.org, by calling 322-9924 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, or at the box office one hour before show time.
Info: 322-9924, www.apachawaii.org.