How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? in musicals following the series. Aoife Mulholland was cast in December 2006 as Roxie Hart in the West End musical "Chicago", and took on the role of Maria in the West End production for two shows per week in April 2007 after Fisher's reduction in performances. In July 2007 Siobhan Dillon started in the role of Patty Simcox in the musical "Grease" and later went on to play the lead role of Sandy in January 2010. Fellow finalist Helena Blackman played Nellie Forbush in a UK tour of "South Pacific". Mulholland originated the role of Brooke Wyndham in the West
Tales of the South Pacific "Our Heroine", about Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque. Characters from other stories, such as Bill Harbison, Bus Adams, and Luther Billis, play minor or supporting roles. Some of the characters from the stories were merged and simplified to serve the format of the musical. For example, the coastwatcher in the musical is an American Marine (Lt. Cable) assisted by an expatriate French plantation owner (Emile de Becque). In Michener's short story "The Cave" the coastwatcher is an English expatriate assisted by native islanders, and is a disembodied voice on a short-wave radio identifying himself only as "The Remittance Man".