Artist Spotlight: Paulo Szot Reprises His Tony-Winning Performance in ‘South Pacific’

Tony Award winner Paulo Szot will reprise his acclaimed performance as Emile de Becque when Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific returns July 6-12 to The Muny.

Szot, who made his Muny debut last summer as Juan Perón in Evita, returns to one of the defining roles of his career. He received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards for his 2008 Broadway debut in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of South Pacific. He also earned an Olivier Award nomination for the production’s London engagement at the Barbican.

After introducing the role to a new generation of audiences on Broadway, Szot is excited to revisit Emile at The Muny.

“I’m just so blessed to be able to revive the whole enchanted experience of South Pacific for the second time in my life,” he said during a break in rehearsal. “Every single song of this show is a hit. South Pacific is about love, it’s about discovery and it’s about making choices.”

One of Broadway’s greatest musicals, South Pacific was last staged at The Muny in 2013.

On a lush island during World War II, Navy nurse Nellie Forbush falls for charismatic French planter Emile de Becque — only to question her own assumptions when she meets his children. South Pacific is a galvanizing story with powerful themes and some of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s greatest songs, including “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.”

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific is presented by the Centene Foundation. Performances begin nightly at 8:15 p.m.