The MTM Players to Bring SOUTH PACIFIC to The Kelsey Theatre Stage

The MTM Players will be presenting Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific for the first time ever on the Kelsey Theatre stage on the campus of Mercer County Community College located in West Windsor, NJ for eight performances October 10th - 19th, 2025.

Based on the anecdotes of a real-life U.S. Navy commander who was stationed on an island, South Pacific follows two intercultural love stories: Nellie, a spunky Navy nurse from Arkansas, and Lieutenant Cable who both find themselves struggling to reconcile their own cultural prejudices with their amorous feelings, all while under the dark cloud of a war that is coming ever closer to their island paradise.

SOUTH PACIFIC is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The plot is based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific and combines elements of several of those stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed they could write a musical based on Michener's work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, send a strong progressive message on racism - themes that still exist today. The original Broadway production won ten Tony Awards - a Tony record that held until THE PRODUCERS surpassed it with twelve in 2001 - including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto, and it is the only musical production to win Tony Awards in all four acting categories.

This production is helmed by the same NJACT Perry Award-nominated team of producers from last year's NUNSENSE - Rob Michael Lasky and Deb Lasky of The MTM Players along with musical direction by Joe Nappi and choreography by Emily O'Sullivan. Asked why deciding now to bring this classic to the stage at this time, Producer/Director Rob Michael Lasky quipped, "With the confrontational climate of today facing us each and every day, it's important to realize that prejudices existed for a long time and sadly, still exists today."

The cast is lead by NJ community theater veteran Joe Zedeny as Emile De Becque and the super-talented Alexis Bellhorn as Ensign Nellie Forbush. They both shine in their performances showing the proper mix of emotions of falling in love, rejection of Emile's Polynesian children and their subsequent reconciliation with very recognizable songs A Cockeyed Optimist and Some Enchanted Evening.

Rounding off the principal cast is Luke Basile as Lt. Joseph Cable - a Marine on a special spying assignment who meets a Tonkinese native Liat (played by newcomer Fiona Wang) and falls in love, but stops just short of commitment due to their mixed races. Jennifer Hsiao mesmerizes as Bloody Mary - Liat's mother and shrewd native businesswoman. J. Ryan Harmer portrays Luther Billis - a Seabee that has more cons than the shadiest Three Card Monte huckster. His antics along with his sidekicks Stewpot and Professor - played by Jordan Schonberger and Aster Kiesche, respectively - provide comic relief to this otherwise very serious story.

The rest of the ensemble is filled with spirited actors that portray Island Commanders, Seabees, Sailors, Nurses and Island natives. They bring an energy to such numbers as There is Nothing Like a Dame, I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair, and (I'm in Love with) A Wonderful Guy.