Forte Theatre Company To Present SOUTH PACIFIC In October
Production runs at the Saber Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 22, 2025
Forte Theatre Company will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific October 11–19, 2025 at the Saber Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Directed by Randall Dodge and Karl Miller, this production marks the company’s first mainstage musical of its sixth season.
Winner of 10 Tony Awards, South Pacific is set on a World War II island where Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French planter Emile de Becque grapple with love, loss, and deeply held prejudice. Alongside them, Lt. Joe Cable must face his own forbidden romance. Featuring such beloved songs as “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Bali Ha’i,” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” the musical remains one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most enduring works.
“This show is, at its heart, an homage to the Greatest Generation and the power of sacrifice for one’s country and one’s ideals,” said director Randall Dodge. “It also brings in the human element of the rekindling of hope when it seems that all is lost. This theme is told both in the military story of the turning of the tide in the Pacific Theater of WWII, and in the love stories of the main characters.”
The cast will feature Randall Dodge (Oliver!, Skylight Music Theatre) as Emile de Becque, Megan Miller (Newsies, Sunset Playhouse) as Ensign Nellie Forbush, Josh Pope (Grand Hotel, Sunset Playhouse) as Captain von Trapp, and Sheila Gimenez (Emily Song and the Queen of the Night) as Bloody Mary.
The creative team includes co-directors Randall Dodge and Karl Miller (Hello, Dolly!; She Loves Me), music director Jim VanDeusen (Dear Evan Hansen, Wauwatosa West), set designer Robert Sagadin (Hello, Dolly!), choreographer Karl Miller, Costume Designer Nikki Heiniger (The Secret Garden), and lighting designer/stage manager Abby James (The Secret Garden).
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