Joan Almedilla, Michael Canu, Bobby Conte, and More Join SOUTH PACIFIC at The Muny

Joan Almedilla, Michael Canu, Bobby Conte, Michaela Marfori, Robert Crenshaw, John El-Jor, Michael James Reed, Jeffrey Cummings, Grace Moore and Josiah Paik will star alongside previously announced Paulo Szot and Taylor Louderman in the Muny production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific this summer in Forest Park.

One of Broadway’s most enduring works, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific runs July 6-12 and is presented by the Centene Foundation.

The creative team is led by William Carlos Angulo (director), Karla Puno Garcia (choreographer) and Roberto Sinha (music director/conductor).

“How thrilling to welcome this great American masterpiece back to our stage,” said Muny Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. “Audiences will be swept into an enchanted evening of timeless truth.”

Additional casting will be announced. The Telsey Office is the official casting partner of The Muny.

The design team for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific includes Connor Schwantes (associate choreographer); Arnel Sancianco (scenic designer); Raquel Adorno (Costume Designer, with some costumes originally designed by Catherine Zuber); John Lasiter (lighting designer); Joshua Hummel (sound designer); Yee Eun Nam (video designer); Ashley Rae Callahan (wig designer); Ralph Stan Lee (production stage manager); and The Telsey Office/Rachel Hoffman, CSA (casting).

The Muny artistic staff includes Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson, Associate Artistic Director Michael Baxter, Director of Production Tracy Utzmyers, and Music Supervisors Michael Horsley and Evan Roider.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s sweeping American classic returns for its first Muny production since 2013. On a lush island during World War II, Navy nurse Nellie Forbush falls for charismatic French planter Emile de Becque — only to question her own assumptions when she meets his children. South Pacific is a galvanizing story with powerful themes and some of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s greatest songs, including “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.” Discover the joy, heart and timeless melodies of this legendary masterpiece.

South Pacific has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener.

Cast Biographies

Paulo Szot (Emile de Becque) received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards for his Broadway debut in South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theater and an Olivier nomination for the same production at the Barbican, London. He was born in São Paulo and studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Other work in musical theatre: My Fair Lady, Candide, Chicago (Sao Paulo); Evita (Sydney, Melbourne, The Muny); Chicago, & Juliet and Hadestown (Broadway); Here We Are at Royal National Theatre (London). Opera: 10 seasons with the Metropolitan Opera; collaborations with La Scala, Paris Opera, Teatro Real (Madrid), Bayerische Staatsoper, Canadian Opera, Washington Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera di Roma, Opéra de Bordeaux and Opéra de Marseille. Concerts: multiple collaborations with Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New York Pops, American Pops, OSES, Barcelona Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. Albums include Jardim Noturno and Broadway cast recordings of South Pacific and & Juliet.

Taylor Louderman (Ensign Nellie Forbush) is a Tony-nominated actress, educator and philanthropist, best known for originating the role of Regina George in Broadway’s Mean Girls. She made her Broadway debut leading Bring It On: The Musical and went on to star as Wendy in Peter Pan Live! (NBC) and Lauren in Kinky Boots on Broadway. Favorite Muny credits include Chess (Svetlana Sergievskaya), Aida (Amneris), Grease (Sandy), Hairspray (Amber), Kinky Boots (Lauren) and Muny Teens. Her TV credits include series regulars on NBC’s Kenan and Nick Jr.'s Sunny Day, as well as roles on The Good Fight (CBS), Evil (CBS), The Loudest Voice (Showtime) and High Maintenance (HBO). Beyond performing, Taylor co-wrote a teen musical, Pitch In, now being performed in middle schools nationwide, and founded the nonprofit Write Out Loud Project, which supports emerging musical theatre songwriters. She is a proud St. Louisan and arts advocate.

Joan Almedilla (Bloody Mary) is a Filipina American Broadway artist, returning to The Muny. Most recently, she collaborated with director William Carlos Angulo on CTG’s LA premiere of Here Lies Love as Aurora Aquino; she debuted as Imelda Marcos at Carnegie Hall. Best known for her Broadway debut as Kim in the original production of Miss Saigon , Joan was the first AAPI actress to play Fantine on the national tour of Les Misérables and starred as Lady Thiang in The King and I, directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher. Additional credits include Master Class, Mamma Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar, Passing Through, Chess, Songs for a New World and Assassins. Television credits include Griselda, Mayans M.C., Pam & Tommy, Bupkis, New Amsterdam and Shatter Belt.

Michael Canu (Lt. Joseph Cable) makes his Muny debut. Most recently: Romeo in the first national tour of & Juliet. Graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Bobby Conte (Luther Billis) Previous Muny: Frozen (Hans), Paint Your Wagon (William), 1776 (Edward Rutledge), Jersey Boys (Bob Gaudio), Les Misérables (Enjolras). Broadway: The Who’s Tommy (directed by Des McAnuff), Company (directed by Marianne Elliott), A Bronx Tale (directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks). NY theatre: My Fair Lady  (directed by Michael Arden); Starting Here, Starting Now (directed by Richard Maltby Jr.). Regional: Kennedy Center, Goodman Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Two River Theater, McCarter Theatre Center, Cleveland Play House, Paper Mill Playhouse. Film/TV: If Beale Street Could Talk (directed by Barry Jenkins), Lou (upcoming), Intervenors, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Madam Secretary, The Code. As a concert artist, Conte has sung with the National Symphony Orchestra, Carolina Philharmonic and as Tony in Oakland Symphony’s West Side Story. His debut solo album, Along the Way, is available on Broadway Records. Training: University of Michigan; RADA.

Michaela Marfori (Liat) is an Orlando native making her Muny debut. Broadway: West Side Story (OBC). National tour: MJ The Musical, Disney’s Frozen. Other select stage credits include Eurydice (Metropolitan Opera), A Chorus Line (Manila). TV: Emmy-winning opening number at the 76th Tony Awards, Saturday Night Live, Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade.

Robert Crenshaw (Stewpot) From his early training and performances at COCA and CVPA, to appearances with The Black Rep and other St. Louis theatre companies, Robert has built a dynamic career that now includes two Broadway national tours (Ain’t Too Proud and The Wiz). A St. Louis native and 2007 Muny Kid, he makes his professional Muny debut. He recently produced and directed the CVPA Relief Showcase, uniting the St. Louis arts community to raise funds in response to the school tragedy.

John El-Jor (Professor) is a Drama Desk- and Lucille Lortel-nominated actor known for his work in Mean Girls (Paramount), We Live in Cairo (NYTW) and American Idol (ABC). Additional film/TV credits include The Outlaws (Amazon Prime), Elsbeth (CBS), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), The Family McMullen (Warner Bros.) and Pavements (NYFF/Venice FF). Off-Broadway: The Lesson (Ars Nova), Hip Hop Cinderella (New Victory Theatre), Slanted! Enchanted! (Sheen Center), Rough Trade (The Public), SIMPS (IRT Theatre). Additional projects: Tell Them I’m Still Young (New York Stage and Film), Untitled … Hunter S. Thompson Musical (La Jolla/NYSAF), Come From Away (Paper Mill Playhouse), Shook (Northern Stage), Pump Up the Volume (ATF), Purple Rain (NYC Tier 3), Nikola (NYC Tier 3). He holds a BFA in musical theatre from Penn State.

Michael James Reed (Capt. George Brackett) Fourteen years of Muny appearances, including last year’s turn as older Tommy in Jersey Boys and past favorites Chicago, 1776, Fiddler on the Roof, Tarzan, West Side Story and Gypsy . St. Louis audiences have seen him frequently at The Rep, recently in Emma, Sherwood and August: Osage County. With St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Michael has appeared in more than 10 productions, including Love’s Labor’s Lost, Romeo & Juliet, Henry IV and Henry V . NYC credits include La Bête (Broadway), King Lear (Roundabout), Amphitryon (Classic Stage Co.) and A Forest in Arden (New York Theatre Workshop). Regional: Old Globe, Pasadena Playhouse, Alley Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse, South Coast Rep. Favorite TV: Numb3rs, 24, Six Feet Under, The Shield, King of Queens, That ’70s Show, Chicago PD. Graduate of Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.

Jeff Cummings (Cmdr. William Harbison) makes his Muny debut. St. Louis credits include The Tempest, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Love’s Labor’s Lost for St. Louis Shakespeare Festival; Million Dollar Quartet, Clue and Beautiful for Stages St. Louis; Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, Oslo and Hamlet for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; and Behind the Sheet, Hold On and Wedding Band for The Black Rep. Select regional credits include Brutus in Julius Caesar at Utah Shakespeare Festival; Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days for Indiana Repertory Theatre; and Berowne in Love’s Labor’s Lost, Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest, the Duke of Suffolk in Henry VI, Parts 1 and 2, and more in seven seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Jeff is also an Audie Award-winning narrator with recorded works by Dean Koontz, Philip K. Dick, Gore Vidal and Mark Twain.

Grace Moore (Ngana) was last seen on the Muny stage in Les Misérables (Young Éponine) and as a member of the Youth Ensemble in Disney’s Frozen. Grace also performs with the Muny Kids troupe. She was recently seen in Junie B. Jones (Grace) at her school. Grace is 12 years old and sings with her school choir. She studies dance at Performing Arts Centre and is a member of the competition team. Grace trains in voice with Kelly Stinnett Studios and Amelia DeMayo.