This year, Southeastern will be taking its cues from Broadway with Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop’s upcoming performance of “South Pacific,” the famous musical set in the 1940s, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is to be one of the highlights of the 25th year of Southeastern Fanfare. Its opening night was yesterday evening, and it will continue through to Oct. 23, beginning each night at 7:30 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.

The book “Tales of the South Pacific” by James A. Michener inspired “South Pacific.” The story is set on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, and it concerns the lives and loves of various servicemen and native islanders. The “South Pacific” musical with serious underlying themes of conflict, racial strife, forbidden love and duty.

“Since it was 1949, they couldn’t deal with black on white prejudices directly, so they set it in the South Pacific during World War II,” said Chuck Effler, director of Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop.

This approach earned the original Broadway production many accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 10 Tony Awards, and upon its release in 1949, the play became an instant success.

But over the serious social themes are lighthearted numbers that older audience members will recognize. Famous songs include “Bali ha’i,” “Some Enchanting Evening,” “Dites-Moi” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.”

“Everybody who is middle aged and older will know these songs,” said Effler. “They’ll be humming all through the overture.”

Alton Geno is the guest stage director for the production. Geno has directed the Opera/Musical Theatre’s summer productions of “The Music Man” and “The Wizard of Oz” in 2005 and 2007 respectively. Among the cast are two local children, Cade Kershenstein and Olivia Maurer. The lead roles of Emile de Becque and Nellie Forbush are held by music graduate Colby McCurdy and senior music major Bridget Lyons, respectively.

Anybody wanting to attend should seek tickets through the Columbia Theatre box office as soon as possible, as this is the first time that South Pacific has been shown at Hammond in a quarter of a century. According to Effler, the show is expected to sell out quickly for all five performance nights.