Seventy-five years ago, acclaimed musical theater duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II debuted "South Pacific" on Broadway, a musical about love and war that would run for nearly 2,000 performances.

"South Pacific" kicks off at the Fulton Theatre Friday, marking the penultimate (and oldest) production in the theater's self-proclaimed "season of joy." It runs through May 19.

The musical tackles themes of racism and colonialism, but also the beauty and love that can come from bad circumstances.

"In many ways, ('South Pacific') is a story about falling in love at first sight," says actor William Michals, who performs as protagonist Emile de Becque. "From the opening strings of the overture, (audiences are) going to be carried away with the romance of the score."

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"South Pacific" is set on a fictional south Pacific island called Bali Ha'i during World War II, and tells the story of Nellie, an American nurse stationed on the island, who finds love with a French expatriate, Emile. It also focuses on U.S. Marine Lt. Joseph Cable, who falls in love with a native woman named Liat.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Tales of the South Pacific" by James A. Michener, this musical debuted during a time when the nation was still divided legally by race. (The "South Pacific" movie, which released in 1958, is based on this musical.)

Despite the content being heavy at times, the story is still plenty upbeat and hopeful.

"There's joy in the show that is so palpable in the music and the way it was written," says actor Lydia Gaston, who performs as Bloody Mary, a Tonkinese (northern Vietnamese) woman who is local to where the American soldiers are stationed in "South Pacific." Bloody Mary is also Liat's mother.

Gaston's character, who is sassy and, at times, opportunistic, is not just important to the musical, but to the source material in which the musical is based. Michener wrote his novel with the help of a real-life woman named Bloody Mary, who painted her face red with betel juice.

"She's very wily and at the same time also protective of her home," Gaston says. "She sees the others as maybe the invaders ... But she's making the best of the situation and seeing how she can take advantage and make it work for her."

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'What are you for?'

Both Gaston and Michals say that "South Pacific" has themes that are still relevant today, even 75 years after its premiere.

Emile, who lives as a resident on the island, has two kids born to a Polynesian woman who later died. It's a point of contention between Emile and Nellie, as the nurse can't get past Emile having children of color.

Lt. Cable also struggles with his feelings about Liat, as she's a of different race.

"Young people in the cast, or young people in the audience, might think, 'I can't believe this was such a big thing, marrying someone of another race,'" Gaston says. "People I know ... they take things for granted that they have the freedom to do whatever they want."

(Interracial marriage was not legalized in the United States until 1967, after the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional to prevent people from being married on the basis of race.)

Michals says he feels connected to Emile, as he tries to fight for freedom for everyone, regardless of who they are.

"What Emile voices, in fact, is an idealized sense of what America says that it is, and imagines itself to be," Michals says. "All men are created equal, and there is freedom for people to self determine who they are and how they live their lives, so long as they're compassionate."

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There's a point when Emile asks the American soldiers a question that Michals thinks transcends the musical.

"He says, 'I know what you're against. You're against the Japanese. But what are you for? What are you fighting for?' and it stumped the American soldiers," Michals says.

Gaston says she wonders if the Rodgers and Hammerstein were perhaps asking America that question, too. 

"Theater can ask very universal and personal questions," Gaston says. "Whenever we say that the United States is the greatest country in the world, are we really living up to that? And what is our democracy like now?"

It's a dialogue with the audience, Gaston says.

Both Gaston and Michals say that the production's ability to offer entertainment, but also be educational and ask questions, is part of what has made "South Pacific" have such a lasting power.

That, and great music, of course.

"The writers' ability to come up with beautiful music while talking about something difficult — that's artistry," Gaston says.

Michals says that the song "Some Enchanted Evening," which is widely thought of as Rodgers and Hammerstein's best song, is "one of the masterpieces of American songwriting and American theater in general.

"It's the waves of romance and emotion and beautiful melodies that wash over the audience that really takes them away, and I think that helps make a piece of theater like this impactful," Michals says.

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