Cast Also Includes Armelia McQueen, Aaron Lazar and Michael McKean

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3 AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, AT 8:30 PM

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, AT 7:30 PM

August 3 Concert is Sponsored by Lexus; August 4 Concert is Sponsored by Fidelity Investments
KCET is the Media Sponsor

The Hollywood Bowl stage becomes an exotic island during World War II when South Pacific with Reba McEntire - in her Hollywood Bowl debut - and Brian Stokes Mitchell comes to the Bowl, Friday and Saturday, August 3 and 4, at 8:30 p.m., as well as Sunday, August 5, at 7:30 p.m. McEntire and Stokes Mitchell reprise their roles of star-crossed lovers Ensign Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque; they previsouly performed them in the concert presentation of South Pacific at Carnegie Hall two years ago. Also appearing in the performance is Academy Award-nominee Michael McKean as the entrepreneurial Luther Billis.

Joining the creative team for this production are director David Lee - a nine-time Emmy Award-winning director, writer, and producer for television - and Tony and Emmy award-winning musical director Paul Gemignani, whose recent Emmy win was for the 2005 PBS/Great Performances presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific in concert from Carnegie Hall.

Widely considered one of the best musicals of all time, Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific explores racial prejudice in a way that is particularly sensitive for a 1949 work. A number of its songs, such as "Bali Ha'i," and "Some Enchanted Evening," have become world-wide standards. The Pulitzer prize-winning musical is based on three short stories from James A. Michener's book Tales of the South Pacific, which also won a Pulitzer Prize.

From "Can't Even Get the Blues" in 1982, to "Somebody" in 2004, REBA MCENTIRE has been delivering No. 1songs for more than 20 years. Her name and voice are synonymous with country music. Her recent recording, "Reba #1's" is a celebration that 20-plus years that has included 33 No. 1 songs, 29 albums, multiple awards and countless shows and performances. As a mainstay on country radio, McEntire's music has become a soundtrack for the human experience. She has put words to heartache with songs like "You Lie", "Somebody Should Leave" and "Rumor Has It"; inspired with "I'm A Survivor" and "How Was I To Know"; and broke hearts with "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" and "And Still". Her talent has also brought her a slew of awards and honors, including 15 American Music Awards, 12 Academy of Country Music awards, seven Country Music Association awards and two Grammys. In a career that has expanded beyond music, McEntire is also a multiple award-winner in the acting arena. Her critically-acclaimed Broadway debut in 2001's Annie Get Your Gun was awarded both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics awards. Her self-titled television show, REBA, reigned as the WB's (now the CW) top-rated sitcom, and has landed McEntire a Golden Globe nomination and a People's Choice Award. McEntire's ever-expanding talents have also grown to encompass a clothing line as well. REBA, a woman's clothing collection of business and casual separates, entered the fashion place in the spring of 2005. While her career now stretches far beyond country music, McEntire has never forgotten her roots, which may be one reason she has sold more than 49 million albums in her career.

Dubbed "The Last Leading Man" by the New York Times, BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL has enjoyed a rich and varied career on Broadway, television and film, along with appearances in the great American concert halls. His musical versatility has kept him in demand by some of the country's finest conductors and orchestras with performances such as: selections from Porgy and Bess with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall; works by Aaron Copland and various contemporary composers at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batons of Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri; Broadway tunes at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch; and jazz and standards with Maestro John Williams at Walt Disney Concert Hall and with the Boston Pops. He has headlined the Carnegie Hall concert presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific with Reba McEntire, which aired on PBS and was released on DVD in 2006. Mitchell's Broadway career includes performances in Man of La Mancha, Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, King Hedley II, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly's Last Jam and David Merrick's Oh Kay! and Mail, which earned him a Theatre World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut. Mitchell's long television career began with Trapper John, M.D., and includes appearances on Crossing Jordan, Frasier and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Film appearances include One Last Thing and The Prince of Egypt. His latest recording venture was his 2006 release of the eponymous album as the inaugural artist on the newly-formed Playbill Records label.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 39th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2007, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the third year in a row at the 18th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007, AT 8:30 PM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2007, AT 8:30 PM

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2007, AT 7:30 PM

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific

HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

PAUL GEMIGNANI, musical director

DAVID LEE, director

MARK ESPOSITO, choreographer

Cast:

August 3 Concert is Sponsored by Lexus; August 4 Concert is Sponsored by Fidelity Investments

KCET is the Media Sponsor

Tickets ($7 - $111) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday - Saturday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.), or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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