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Aurora’s Paramount Theatre returns to one of the reasons it’s become the largest subscription theater in the U.S. – producing and presenting bold reinventions of classic American musicals – with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Performances of Paramount’s 2025-26 Broadway Series finale are April 29-June 14, 2026.

Get ready for one enchanted evening when Paramount delivers this American classic musical in a classy new way. Set in a tropical paradise with warm sea breezes, breathless sunsets and B-29 Bombers, South Pacific is arguably the most romantic musical of all time, and also an uplifting tale that reminds us all of the importance of celebrating cultural differences.

The story follows World War II armed services personnel through spy missions, war-time drama and romance. While balancing duties to their country with island expectations, U.S. Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and lieutenant Joseph Cable each suddenly find themselves irresistibly falling in love on foreign soil. But will that love translate back in the States?

Think “spectacle” when you think Paramount’s South Pacific. This production promises a talented cast of 36 actors/singers/dancers – one of Paramount’s largest ever – performing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s lush score played by a 15-piece orchestra, which even includes a harp. Add costumes hand crafted by Paramount artisans, and a tropical scenic design anchored by 20-foot palm trees with elements hewn from a half a mile of bamboo, 18,000-square-feet of netting and 10,000-square-feet of hand-painted muslin.

Of course, South Pacific is a 10-time Tony Award-winner, including Best Book and Best Score, and it features some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most memorable showtunes like “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and of course, “Bali Ha’i.” It’s also an iconic, complex and important piece of musical theater that reminds us to celebrate cultural differences and the value of people unlike ourselves.

“South Pacific holds such beauty - in the setting, in the romance, and especially in the score. What’s special to me, however, is the way that this iconic musical also brings a complex story about love, war and race to the stage,” said co-director Devon Hayakawa. “As a daughter to an Asian American dad and a Caucasian mom, South Pacific means an awful lot to me. When I saw it growing up, it marked the first time I saw myself truly represented onstage - in the most accurate way, with Ngana and Jerome, but also in seeing Asian and Pacific Islander bodies on stage at all. What Trent and I are particularly excited about is to utilize the text, along with the excellent historical work of our dramaturgy team, to really deepen the characters of Bloody Mary and Liat.”

“I'm beyond excited to have South Pacific on Paramount’s stage. For one, it has some of the best music in all of musical theater history, the show's genre defining, and there's not a bad song in the entire show,” said co-director Trent Stork. “South Pacific also has a profound story full of complex characters. We’ve got Nellie Forbush, who joins the Navy to get away from her mother, see the world, and meet different kinds of people, even though she’s unprepared for what that will ask of her. We have Emile de Becque with his two children from a previous marriage, falling in love again. Bloody Mary is actually the smartest person on the island, using the war to make money, get ahead, and provide a life for her daughter."

Ticket information

South Pacific begins previews Wednesday, April 29.  Performances run through June 14: Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Exception: No matinee Wednesday, April 29.) Tickets are $31-$106*,  a fraction of the cost to see a show in downtown Chicago. Plus downtown Aurora boasts easy, affordable parking and new restaurants all around. *Prices listed when tickets are purchased in-person. Additional fees apply for phone and online orders.

Paramount Theatre is located at 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora. For tickets, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days. For group discounts, contact Melissa Striedl, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (630) 723-2461.

Paramount: Making live theater accessible to all

Paramount will offer two Pay What You Can previews Thursday, April 30 at
7 p.m. and Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m. See ParamountAurora.com/Pay-What-You-Can for details. 

Paramount will offer open captioning Wednesday, June 3 at 1:30 p.m. and American Sign Language interpretation Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m. 

Paramount offers free assistive listening devices at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a device. If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office in advance at (630) 896-6666 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

South Pacific: Behind the scenes

Paramount’s cast for South Pacific features Allsun O'Malley as Nellie Forbush, Devin Archer as Emile De Becque, Anthony Maggio as Lt. Joseph Cable, Cindy Chang as Bloody Mary, Matthew Michael Janisse as Luther Billis, Louisa Darr as Liat, Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta as Professor, Joshua L. Green as Capt. George Brackett, David Rossetti as Cmdr. William Harbison and Chris Khoshaba as Stewpot. The ensemble includes Karmann Bajuyo, Matty Bettencourt, Michael Brown, Kristen Das, Loreto Delgado III, Nick Druzbanski, Dan Gold, Mai Hartwich, Emily Holland, Dario Amador Lage, Will Leonard, Carolyn Anne Miller, Ashton Norris, Mollie Peery, Callan Roberts, David Sajewich, Morgan Schoenecker, Allison Sill, Zachary Joel Smits, Tommy Thams, Shelbi Voss and Marek Zurowski. Youth performers Evelyn Dorough and Elle Laroco alternate in the role of Ngana, and Bennet Angsurat and Vin Laroco alternate as Jerome.

Paramount’s production team is led by co-directors Trent Stork and Devon Hayakawa, with Morgan DiFonzo, choreographer; Kory Danielson, music director, conductor and supervisor; Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Izumi Inaba, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Mike Tutaj, projection designer; Katie Cordts, wig, hair and makeup designer; Aimee Plant, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Britta Lynn Schied, associate director; Celia Villacres, associate music director and associate conductor; Matty Bettencourt, associate choreographer; Matt Deitchman, orchestra reductionist; Emma Rund and James Hayakawa, dramaturgs; Kendra Thulin, Dialect Coach; Greg Geffrard, intimacy director; Bailey O’Neil, young performer supervisor; Sean McNeely, orchestra contractor; Jinni Pike, stage manager; and Emma Franklin and Lanita VanderSchaaf, assistant stage managers.

Trent Stork (co-director, they/them) is Paramount’s Artistic Producer and Casting Director. Stork directed Paramount’s Chicago regional premiere of Come From Away, its circus-inspired production of Cats, and Paramount’s Chicago regional premiere of Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical, along with Billy Elliot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and School of Rock. They also won their first Jeff Award, Director-Musical-Large, for Paramount’s Kinky Boots in 2022. 

Devon Hayakawa (co-director, any pronouns) has collaborated with Stork on several productions including as associate director and dramaturg of Come From Away, associate director of Cats, and assistant director of Disney’s Frozen. They were also the dramaturg for Million Dollar Quartet and What the Constitution Means to Me. Hayakawa has also performed on the Paramount stage, including playing Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Joan in Fun Home and in the Waitress ensemble. They’ve also worked on stage and off at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman, Drury Lane and Remy Bumppo.

South Pacific is based on Tales of the South Pacific, James Michener’s collection of short stories, and features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. It opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on April 7, 1949, starring Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza and Juanita Hall. South Pacific received the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and for the first time the committee included a composer in the drama prize. It also received ten Tony Awards, a Grammy Award and countless other accolades. For years the second-longest running show in Broadway history, South Pacific has proven itself a classic in countless productions around the world. It was adapted onscreen in the 1958 film starring Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor and in a 2001 made-for-television film starring Glenn Close and Harry Connick, Jr.

Paramount Theatre’s production of South Pacific is sponsored by Closets by Design and Sikich. Broadway Series sponsors are the Dunham Foundation, BMO, Illinois Arts Council and the City of Aurora.