The actor, singer and dancer said it was the second time she's been in the musical, but unlike her Year-12 production, this time she's in an all-singing, all-dancing role.
Back in high school, Ms Anu said she played Liat, the 17-year-old daughter of Bloody Mary.
But in this Opera Australia production she plays Bloody Mary herself, a Tonkinese woman who's trying to set up Liat to marry a US Lieutenant.
South Pacific was significant when it was first created for confronting racism in 1949 through its subplots of interracial romances and cultural clashes.
The famous musical is centred on a love story about a nurse played by Lisa McCune who falls in love with a French settler played by Teddy Tahu Rhodes.
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"Working with a highly regarded institution like Opera Australia in this musical was a challenge," Ms Anu said.
In her starring role as Bloody Mary, Ms Anu is unkempt, dressed in rags, and almost toothless.
She said these days she is less conscious about image and attracted to roles that challenge her.
'This is something that I want to do more of," Ms Anu said.
This second season of South Pacific opens tonight at the Dame Joan Sutherland Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. The show will run for two weeks before it heads to Perth in November and Adelaide in December.
