PA Shakespeare Festival Debuts Tonight

The Bard is back in Southern Lehigh.

The opens tonight at . The festival, who's mission according to their website is  "to enrich, inspire, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through first-rate professional productions of classical and contemporary plays," kicks off with the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical "South Pacific."

The festival runs through August and will also include classics like 'Hamlet', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'The Comedy of Errors', 'The Two Noble Kinsmen', 'Sleeping Beauty,' as well as the return of the popular play, 'Shakespere for Kids.' This year will also have two "One Night Only" performances, 'William Michaels: Broadway in Concert' and 'The Great Divorce.'

For the first time, the festival welcomes an actor direct from the Broadway version of a show to the stage. William Michaels will reprise his role as Emile de Becque in South Pacific, which debuts tonight and runs through July 3 on the Main Stage. The cast also includes Daytime Emmy-nominated (and DeSales graduate) Marnie Schulenburg as Nellie Forbush. Schulenburg in January to speak to theater majors at her alma mater about pursuing their passion. 

South Pacific, based on a novel by James A. Michner, tells the tale of a U.S. Navy nurse who falls in love with a plantation owner with a sordid past. It includes several classic musical tunes including "I'm Going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" and "Bali Ha'i."  Tickets run $36 to $39 tonight and tomorrow for previews, and $41 to $53 during the run. Discounts are available for seniors and students.