Monthly Archives: June 2016

60 talented local performers bring this story to the Mason High School Auditorium for four performances 

The Children’s Theatre of Mason is proud to present SOUTH PACIFIC, June 17-19 in Mason. SOUTH PACIFIC is set in an island paradise during World War II, where two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war.

The show will run for four performances – Friday, June 17 at 7:00pm; Saturday, June 18th at 2:00pm and 7:00pm; and Sunday, June 19th at 2:00pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for the Friday and Saturday evening shows for $25 each.  General admission tickets for any show are $12 each.  All tickets can be purchased online at www.ctm-kids.com through June 16^th at 5pm and at the door starting one hour before each show.

James Michener, a book editor and university professor, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1942. In April 1944, he was sent to the South Pacific theatre where he was assigned to write a history of the Navy in the Pacific, which allowed him to travel widely. From his travels, which took him to a village named Bali-ha’i and also led him to meet a woman named Bloody Mary, he wrote a collection of stories titled Tales of the South Pacific for which he won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. These stories were the basis for the musical SOUTH PACIFIC, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  The original Broadway production premiered in 1949 and was a huge success running for 1,925 performances.  It won ten Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score.  The original cast album was also the best selling record of the 1940s.  In 2008, SOUTH PACIFIC, enjoyed a successful musical revival, running for 996 performances and winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival.

Set during World War II on an island in the South Pacific, 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.  Both Nellie and Joe find themselves struggling to reconcile their own cultural prejudices with their feelings of love, all the while under the dark cloud of a war that is coming ever closer to their island paradise.

The Children’s Theatre of Mason is proud to welcome Veterans to SOUTH PACIFIC!  Veterans from WWII and the Korean War or Veterans over the age of 65 will be able to enter a raffle for the Tri-State Honor Flight.  Honor Flight is free for Veterans and CTM will pay for a guardian to escort the Veteran on the Honor Flight (a $450 value).  Tri-State Honor Flight must approve the Veteran and the guardian after an application has been submitted.

Fans can follow The Children’s Theatre of Mason on Facebook (Children’s Theatre of Mason, Inc. – CTM), Twitter (@CTMkids) and Instagram (CTMKIDS). 

About The Children’s Theatre of Mason
CTM produces two large-scale productions each season, from “Shrek the Musical” and “The Wizard of Oz” to “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Les Miserables” as well as many other popular favorites. CTM offers children from ages 7-18 from all over the Cincinnati area the opportunity to take part onstage as performers as well as off stage as crew members, make-up assistants and many other behind-the-scenes roles. To volunteer, donate or learn more, visit www.CTM-Kids.com or call 513.398.0116.