'South Pacific' goes suburban at Rosemont Theatre

Score one for the suburbs.

The national tour of Lincoln Center Theater's seven-time Tony Award-winning 2008 Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" is set to play the Rosemont Theatre between Nov. 24-29.

The choice of the Rosemont Theatre for "South Pacific" is a bit of a surprise, since most big national tours typically appear downtown under the auspices of Broadway in Chicago.

But according to Ken Gentry, CEO of Networks Presentations and one of the "South Pacific" tour producers, it was the Village of Rosemont leadership that made overtures to have "South Pacific" play the Rosemont Theatre around the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Many of them had seen the show in New York," Gentry said. "And they were so enthusiastic about it that they wanted to bring it to their theater."

The Rosemont "South Pacific" run is relatively short, considering how the tour launches with a five-week stay in San Francisco starting on Friday, Sept. 18. There's also a bit of a financial risk for "South Pacific," since it will play the Rosemont Theatre without a built-in subscription audience.

But Gentry is confident that "South Pacific's" sold-out status on Broadway will translate on tour. And like the Broadway revival, Gentry says the tour will feature a full 25-piece orchestra playing the original orchestrations of Robert Russell Bennett.

"We all felt that was an integral part of the experience," Gentry said.

Tickets to "South Pacific" go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11, through the Rosemont Theatre box office and Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.