Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) presents a new production of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein's prize-winning musical classic South Pacific, directed by Bartlett Sher, this spring at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Previews of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific begin Saturday, March 1 at 8pm. Opening night is Thursday, April 3 at 6:30pm.

Based on James Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples -- US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush & French plantation owner Emile de Becque and Navy Airman Joe Cable & a young local native girl Liat -- and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of the war and by their own prejudices.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific premiered at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949 and went on to enjoy a five year Broadway run winning countless awards including nine Tony Awards including Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Considered by many the finest musical ever written, the score's songs include such musical theater classics as Some Enchanted Evening, Younger Than Springtime, Bali Ha'i, There is Nothin' Like A Dame and A Wonderful Guy.

Lincoln Center Theater's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific features a cast of 40 headed by Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush, Paulo Szot as Emile de Becque with Matthew Morrison (Lt. Joe Cable), Danny Burstein (Luther Billis), Loretta Ables Sayre (Bloody Mary), Sean Cullen, Victor Hawks, Luka Kain, Lu Jun Li (Liat), Laurissa Romain, Thomas G. Waites, Noah Weisberg and Becca Ayers, Wendi Bergamini, Genson Blimline, Grady McLeod Bowman, Charlie Brady, Matt Caplan, Christian Carter, Helmar Augustus Cooper, Jeremy Davis, Margot de la Barre, Christian Delacroix, Laura Marie Duncan, Mike Evariste, Laura Griffith, Lisa Howard, MaryAnn Hu, Zachary James, Robert Lenzi, Garrett Long, Nick Mayo, George Merrick, William Michals, Kimber Monroe, Emily Morales, Darius Nichols, George Psomas, Andrew Samonsky and Jerold E. Solomon. Lincoln Center Theater gratefully acknowledges that Mr. Szot appears in Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific with the permission of Actors Equity Association.

The production's musical staging by Christopher Gattelli, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber, lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer and music direction by Ted Sperling, conducting a 30 piece orchestra performing the original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett and dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.

Tickets to Rodgers & Hammestein's South Pacific are available now at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street), at telecharge.com, or by visiting www.lct.org.