ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL AND THEATRE ASPEN ANNOUNCE ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PERFORMANCE OF SOUTH PACIFIC: IN CONCERT JULY 22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 

Contacts:

For the Aspen Music Festival and School
Laura E. Smith
    lsmith@aspenmusic.org
   970.205.5070

 

For Theatre Aspen
                Meredith Reed
      meredith@theatreaspen.org
   970.300.4288

THE ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL
AND
THEATRE ASPEN

 

ANNOUNCE ONE-NIGHT-ONLY
PERFORMANCE OF

 

SOUTH PACIFIC: IN CONCERT

 

MONDAY, JULY 22

IN THE BENEDICT MUSIC TENT

 

 

Aspen, CO (April 2, 2019) – The Aspen Music Festival and School (Alan Fletcher, president and CEO) and Theatre Aspen (Jed Bernstein, producing director) announced today that this summer, for the first time ever, their organizations will collaborate to present a very special one-night-only concert production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic musical South Pacific on Monday, July 22, at 7:30 pm in the Benedict Music Tent.

This iconic show will be helmed by Broadway director and Tony Award nominee Lonny Price (Sunset Boulevard, 110 in the Shade, A Class Act), along with conductor and Drama Desk Award winner Mary-Mitchell Campbell (The Prom, Mean Girls, Company), who will lead a 55-piece orchestra, chorus of Aspen Opera Center singers and a cast of Broadway’s brightest, who take the stage together to bring this timeless story to the Roaring Fork Valley.

Alan Fletcher said, “We have long hoped for a substantial collaboration with Theatre Aspen, and to present an iconic Broadway show in the Festival’s American-themed season is a perfect match. The sound of Broadway is a truly American sound, and this evening promises everything—artistry, energy, emotion, as well as good, old-fashioned American pizzazz.”

“We are so proud to be partnering with our good friends at AMFS for the very first time,” added Jed Bernstein. “We are looking forward to this production becoming a highlight of Aspen’s busy summer culture season.”

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical South Pacific is an iconic American work, set on an island paradise with two parallel love stories navigating the dangers of prejudice and war. Premiering on Broadway in 1949, the musical was an instant success and ran for 1,929 performances, winning ten Tony Awards including Best Score.

This concert adaptation captures the uproarious yet tender nature of the musical and focuses on the beloved score that made South Pacific unforgettable. Enduring songs include “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There is Nothing Like a Dame” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.”

Complete casting and the creative team for this special event will be announced shortly.

Tickets are $50 and $95. A limited number of $500 tickets include premier seating and a post-event cast party. They can be purchased at the AMFS Box Office by calling 970-925-9042, Monday–Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, or online anytime at www.aspenmusicfestival.com.

 

ABOUT

South Pacific: In Concert
Set in an island paradise during World War II, two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war. Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with a mature French planter, Emile. Nellie learns that the mother of his children was an island native and, unable to turn her back on the prejudices with which she was raised, refuses Emile’s proposal of marriage. Meanwhile, the strapping Lt. Joe Cable denies himself the fulfillment of a future with an innocent Tonkinese girl with whom he’s fallen in love out of the same fears that haunt Nellie. When Emile is recruited to accompany Joe on a dangerous mission that claims Joe’s life, Nellie realizes that life is too short not to seize her own chance for happiness, thus confronting and conquering her prejudices. Credits: music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Oscar Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Tales of the South Pacific” by James Michener. This concert adaptation was created by David Ives for the Carnegie Hall benefit concert of SOUTH PACIFIC in 2006.

The Aspen Music Festival and School is the United States’ premier classical music festival, presenting more than 400 musical events during its eight-week summer season in Aspen. The organization draws top classical musicians from around the world to this Colorado mountain retreat for an unparalleled combination of performances and music education. Many events are free, and seating on the David Karetsky Music Lawn and in the Music Garden is always free. Nearly 700 music students from 40 U.S. states and 34 countries come each summer to play in five orchestras, sing, conduct, compose and study with 200 renowned artist-faculty members. Students represent the field’s best young talent; many have already begun their professional careers. To learn more, visit aspenmusicfestival.com.

Since 1983, Theatre Aspen has been rekindling a sense of discovery in audiences who live in and visit the Roaring Fork Valley by producing big theatre in a small space with intimate storytelling. Each season at Theatre Aspen promises to bring world-class theatre dramatically closer, with innovative and imaginative productions of both plays and musicals, complemented by an assortment of community events including late-night cabarets, educational programs and performances, collaborations with other Aspen arts organizations and new works presentations. Theatre Aspen also boasts an impressive summer Apprentice program, one of the largest in the country, devoted to training the next generation of theatrical artists and administrators. To learn more about Theatre Aspen visit TheatreAspen.org or phone 970.925.9313.

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