Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC Opens at LPAC April 10th

03 Thursday Apr 2025

Posted by Carol Kassie in Broadway at LPAC, Clients, Lauderhill Performing Arts Center

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Alex Jorth, Allyson Rosenblum, Bill Brewer, Brittni Taylore Rhodes, Broadway at LPAC, Casey Sacco, Christopher Wynters, Cilfford Spullock, Collin Salvatoré, Corey Vega, Dan Carter, Dru Loman, Dytan Deray, Eli Flynn, Emily Morgan, Emily Rose Cardenas, Eric O'Keefe, Izaiah Scott, Jennifer Fraser, Jorge Amador, Joseph Long, Justin Lore, Kevin Barrett, Larry Toyter, Lauren Wickerson, Lovell Rose, Marisol Morales-Dow, Michael Ursua, Musical Theatre, Penny Williams, Rachel Whittington, Rachel Wresh, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Santiago Garza, South Pacific, Tanner Fults, Thaylin Maria, Theatre in Lauderhill

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
South Pacific
Opens at LPAC
April 10th

“…Essentially this is a tenderly beautiful idyll of genuine people tossed together in a strange corner of the world; and the music, the lyrics, the singing and the acting contribute to this mood.”
Brooks Atkinson – The New York Times, April 8, 1949

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

April 3, 2025

LAUDERHILL, FL: “Some Enchanted Evening”, “Cock-Eyed Optimist”, “Bali Ha’i”, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific added some of the most beloved standards not only to Broadway history, but to the American Songbook. South Pacific will be the Broadway at LPAC series final production of the 2025 season, and will run at the Lauderhill Lauderhill Performing Arts Centerfrom April 10^th through April 27^th.

Based upon James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific, the musical centers on Ensign Nellie Forbush, an American nurse stationed on a south Pacific Island during World War II, who falls in love with Emile de Becque a middle-aged expatriate French plantation owner, but struggles to accept his mixed-race children. A secondary romance between US Marine lieutenant Joseph Cable and Liat, a young Tonkinese woman, explores his fears of the social consequences should he marry his Asian love. “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught”, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s moving musical exploration of racial prejudice is as applicable today as when it was introduced in 1949.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific – the story itself is beautiful,” says the production’s director Michael Ursua. “Then there is this panorama of the south Pacific pitted against the narrow-mindedness of bigotry and the horror of the war that was taking place at that time. We see an awakening for some of the characters when they do their own introspection and the whole idea that people are searching for something or running away from something, or better yet, running to something, is fascinating. And the show’s message on racial tolerance is as relevant as anything written before or since.”

Director Ursua will also serve as the show’s Musical Director. He has cast Christopher Sanders as Emile de Becque, Casey Sacco as Ensign Nellie Forbush, Marisol Morales-Dow as Bloody Mary, Lovell Rose as Luther Billis, Collin Salvatore as Lt. Joseph Cable, Thaylin Maria as Liat, Bill Brewer as Lt. George Brackett, Dan Carter as Cmdr. William Harbison, Eytan Deray as Stewpot, and Eli Flynn as Professor.

South Pacific will also feature Jorge Amador, Emily Rose Cardenas, Jennifer Fraser, Tanner Fults, Santiago Garza, Dru Loman, Emily Morgan, Eric O’Keefe, Brittni Taylore Rhodes, Allyson Rosenblum, Izaiah Scott, Larry Toyter, Corey Vega, Rachel Whittington, Lauren Wickerson, and Rachel Wresh.

South Pacific will be choreographed by Alex Jorth. The production’s Lighting Designer is Clifford Spullock, Sound Design is by Christopher Wynters, the Costume Supervisor is Penny Williams, Justin Lore will provide the production’s wigs, and Joseph Long will serve as the Production Stage Manager. South Pacific is produced by Kevin Barrett and ACM Theatricals.

Tickets for South Pacific are on sale now and can be purchased online at https://www.lpacfl.com or by calling 954-777-2055. Ticket prices range from $45 to $65.

The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center is located at 3800 NW 11^th Place (33311), in the Central Broward Regional Park on the Northeast corner of Sunrise Boulevard and State Road 7. For more information about LPAC visit https://www.lpacfl.com.

For more information about South Pacific, to speak with anyone involved in the production, or to arrange to see a performance, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

South Pacific
April 10 – 27, 2025
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan
Adapted from James A. Michener’s novel Tales of the South Pacific.
Tickets: $45-$65
For tickets: https://w ww.lpacfl.com or
Call 954-777-2055
Performances:
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 pm
Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm
All performances will take place at
The Lauderhill Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
3800 NW 11^th Place
Lauderhill, FL 33311

(Click on each photo to expand, identify and/or download)

Boca Stage to present THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO October 24 – November 3, 2024

24 Tuesday Sep 2024

Posted by Carol Kassie in Boca Stage, Clients, Delray Beach Playhouse

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Alex Bakalarz, Alfred Uhry, Betty Ann Hunt Strain, Boca Stage, Christian Cooper, comedy, Delray Beach Playhouse, Hannah Haley, Keith Garsson, Liz DeBeer, Rachel Whittington, Shane Tanner, theater, theatre, Theatre in Delray Beach

“Using the manner and technique of boulevard comedy as its backdrop, “Ballyhoo” addresses some weighty issues with… [a] combination of ease and purpose…”
Greg Evans ~ Variety

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

September 24, 2024

DELRAY BEACH, FL: Boca Stage’s second production of the 2024-2025 season will be The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award/and Academy Award-winning playwright Alfred Uhry. The production will run from October 24th to November 3^rd in the Cabaret Theatre at the Delray Beach Playhouse.

“The Last Night of Ballyhoo is the second of playwright Alfred Uhry’s ‘Atlanta Trilogy’ which, although it follows Driving Miss Daisy, takes place twenty-five years earlier as World War II is just on the horizon and Gone with the Wind is about to become a movie sensation,” the production’s director Keith Garsson explains. (The third work in the trilogy, the musical Parade, recently enjoyed a successful revival on Broadway).

“In both Daisy and Ballyhoo, Uhry gives us characters who share a common experience of alienation yet cannot communicate with each other”, Garsson continues.

“Ballyhoo, told on a larger canvas, flips the traditional story of the assimilation of twentieth-century American Jews on its head,” he says. “Instead of the humorous Neil Simon tales of woe, neuroses and insecurities in New York City, Ballyhoo tells a much darker story with more serious themes of identity.

“The German-Jews of this story settled in Atlanta and became successful business folks. Yet, unlike their New York counterparts who continued to embrace their religion, the protagonists of Ballyhoo slowly shed their own backgrounds as they longed for acceptance in the upper crust of Southern society. Although the play may be seen as a search for identity, it is also by turns humorous, touching, and fascinating.

“We’ve all been outsiders at some point in our lives and Ballyhoo masterfully balances the sometimes-painful journey of a family that is forced to finally decide who they want to be.”

Director Garsson’s talented cast includes Hannah Hayley as Lala, Liz DeBeer as Reba, Betty Ann Hunt Strain as Boo, Shane Tanner as Adolph, Alex Bakalarz as Joe, Rachel Whittington as Sunny, and Christian Cooper as Peachy.

The Stage Manager for The Last Night of Ballyhoo is Joseph Long. The production’s Technical Director is Christian Taylor, Set Design is by Claudia Smith, Lighting Design is by Stevie Bleich, Sound Design is by David Hart, Costume Design is by Timothy Charles Bowman, and Jeff Davis will take care of Set Construction.

Tickets for The Last Night of Ballyhoo are on sale now. They range in price from $59 to $69 and are available online at delraybeachplayhouse.com or by calling 561-272-1281. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm. All performances will take place at the Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9^th Street, Delray Beach (33444)

The Delray Beach Playhouse is located at 950 NW 9^th Street, in Delray Beach, 33444. (561-272-1281). For more information about the Playhouse, visit https://delraybeachplayhouse.com.

For more information about Boca Stage, the Delray Beach Playhouse, and Keith Garsson, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo
By Alfred Uhry
October 24 – November 3, 2025
Tickets: $59/$69
For tickets & information:
https://delraybeachplayhouse.com/off-broadway-series
561-272-1281
All performances will take place at
The Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9^th Street
Delray Beach, FL 33444

The Last Night of Ballyhoo Production Photos by Amy Pasquantonio
(Click on each image to enlarge)

Liz DeBeer, Hannah Hayley, Betty Ann Hunt Strain

Boca Stage’s WAIT UNTIL DARK Opens at the Delray Beach Playhouse October 26th

18 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by Carol Kassie in Boca Stage, Clients, Delray Beach Playhouse

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Boca Stage, Delray Beach Playhouse, Ellie Rose, Frederick Knott, Jeffrey Hatcher, Keith Garsson, Michael Coppola, Rachel Whittington, Rio Chavarro, Shane Tanner, Theatre in Delray Beach, Thriller, Troy Stanley, Wait Until Dark

Wait Until Dark
to be
Boca Stage’s
First Production at
The Delray Beach Playhouse

October 26 – November 5

“…gripping from start to finish… a riveting evening of theatre.”
~ Don Grigward, BroadwayWorld
“… one of the finest thrillers created for the stage”
~ The Berkshire Edge

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

September 19, 2023

DELRAY BEACH, FL: Boca Stage’s first production in their new home at the Delray Beach Playhouse will be Frederick Knott’s classic thriller, Wait Until Dark. The production will run in the Playhouse’s Cabaret Theatre from October 27th through November 5^th.

“Boca Stage has held off for years on producing a version of Frederick Knott’s Wait Until Dark because we felt his original script, with its roots in the drug-infested New York City of the 1960s and its myriad dated elements would no longer resonate with modern audiences,” says Keith Garrsson, Boca Stage’s Founder, Executive Producer, and the production’s Director.

“However, in 2013, playwright and author Jeffrey Hatcher (Tuesdays with Morrie), updated the 1964 script by resetting the show in 1944, just at the end of World War II while keeping its New York City locale,” he continues. “This newly updated script is now tighter, faster, and no longer dated.”

The plot: In 1944 Greenwich Village, Susan Hendrix, a blind yet capable woman, is imperiled by a trio of men in her own apartment. As the climax builds, Susan discovers that her blindness just might be the key to her escape, but she and her tormentors must wait until dark to play out this classic thriller’s chilling conclusion.

“The MacGuffin in this play is the cache of diamonds that has been, through some very strange circumstances placed somewhere in Susan’s Greenwich Village basement apartment and the quest of some very bad guys to retrieve it,” Garsson explains. “Blood will be spilled, people will die… Wait Until Dark represents our first time (stab?!) at a pure thriller, a cat-and-mouse chase complete with double-crosses, triple-crosses, and some very challenging staging.

“Fortunately,” Garsson says, “A top-notch cast and crew will make this endeavor a great ride through a theater classic.”

Garsson has cast Rachel Whittington as Susan, Shane Tanner as Roat, Rio Chavarro as Mike, Troy Stanley as Carlino, Michael Coppola as Sam, and Ellie Rose as Gloria.

The Stage Manager for Wait Until Dark is James Danford. Cindi Blank Taylor is the show’s Scenic Designer, and Andre Lancaster will create the Sound and Light Design, and serve as the show’s Technical Director. Backstage Managers are Anne Solomons and Eric Fields.

Tickets for Wait Until Dark range in price from $39 to $69 and are available online at delraybeachplayhouse.com or by calling 561-272-1281. Performances are on Friday and Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm, and on Sunday at 2 pm. There will also be a performance on Thursday, October 26^th at 8 pm. All performances will take place at the Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9^th Street, Delray Beach (33444)

For more information about Boca Stage, to arrange for interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

Wait Until Dark
October 26 – November 5, 2023
By Frederick Knott
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
Performances:
Thursday, October 26 at 8 pm
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm
Saturdays & Sundays at 2 pm
Tickets: $39-$69
For tickets: delraybeachplayhouse.com / 561-272-1281
All performances will take place at
The Delray Beach Playhouse
950 NW 9^th Street
Delray Beach, FL 33444