Kids Coop Theatre is bringing Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical to the Derry Opera House this July! Set against the dramatic background of an idyllic South Pacific island during WWII, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific intertwines the themes of romance, duty, and prejudice to create a story that is all at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. Based on the anecdotes of a real-life U.S. Navy commander who was stationed on an island, the musical follows two intercultural love stories: Nellie, a spunky nurse from Arkansas, falls in love with Emile, a French plantation owner on the island who has two children from his late Polynesian wife; at the same time, U.S. Lieutenant Cable falls for a beautiful island native named Liat. Both Americans find themselves struggling to reconcile their own cultural prejudices with their amorous feelings, all the while under the dark cloud of a war that is coming ever closer to their island paradise.
This production is Kids Coop Theatre’s annual Teen Show featuring 42 teenagers from Auburn, Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry, Pelham, Salem, Windham, NH and Groveland, MA. It is directed by Rachael Longo, with music direction by Amanda Morgan, and choreography by Bethany Cassidy. The directing trio also directed Kids Coop’s successful 2014 Teen Show, West Side Story.
Kids Coop Theatre is a 501(c)3 educational charity founded in 1997 with a mission to provide children ages 8-18 a fun, safe, non-competitive environment to develop talent, self-esteem, learn teamwork and leadership skills, and make life-long friends through acting, music and dance.
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