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Why The Hit Musical ‘South Pacific” Remains Relevant Today

The cast of South Pacific
VanderVeen Photographers
The cast of South Pacific

In 1949 composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein premiered their hit musical “South Pacific.” It tells the story of how an American nurse and lieutenant find new love across cultural and racial lines. 

The production is set against the backdrop of  a military stopover in the South Pacific during World War II. Since its debut, the musical has remained popular on and off Broadway. It also received a Tony and a Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Host Frank Stasio previews a new staging of the production at the Triad Stage in Greensboro. He talks with producer Rich Whittington, music director and conductor Justin P. Cowan and actress Kristin Wetherington.

“South Pacific” runs from Sunday, Sept. 17 to Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Triad Stage in Greensboro.  

Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for WUNC.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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