Tag Archives: Artscape

MATILDA THE MUSICAL to Play Cape Town this Festive Season

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MatildaPieter Toerien and GWB Entertainment’s highly anticipated production of Matilda the Musical will play the Artscape Opera House from 9 December to 13 January. Billed as perfect entertainment for the whole family, the musical is currently entering the final leg of its Johannesburg run, where it has played to capacity houses at the Teatro at Montecasino, prior to its transfer to the Mother City next month.

Based on the much-loved 1988 Roald Dahl novel, Matilda the Musical tells the tale of a precocious young girl who uses her extraordinary powers to overcome obstacles caused by her family and school, also helping her teacher to find her way in life. The musical features a book by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.

The coveted title role of Matilda is shared by three uniquely talented young Capetonian  girls: Lilla Fleischmann, Kitty Harris and Morgan Santo. The young starlets are accompanied by Cape Town actors Ryan de Villers as the gigantic holy terror, Miss Trunchbull, and Bethany Dickson as Matilda’s devoted teacher, Miss Honey. Stephen Jubber and Claire Taylor play Mr and Mrs Wormwood, Matilda’s awful parents, and the lovable librarian Mrs Phelps is played by Nompumelelo Mayiyane.

The adult company is comprised of Jasmin Colangelo, Katrina Dix, Sinead Donnelly, Michael Gardiner, Kent Jeycocke, Weslee Lauder, Carlo McFarlane, Kenneth Meyer, Daniel Parrott, Adrianna Patlaszynska, Jonathan Raath and Logan Timbre.

Matilda the Musical. Photo Credit: Christian KotzePlaying the other pupils at Crunchem Hall Primary School  are Jack Fokkens, Keeran Isaacs, Robyn Ivey, Joshua LeClair, Levi Maron, Ipeleng Merafe, Megan Saayman, Taylor Salgado, Cameron Seear and Zac Gabriel Werb.

Matilda the Musical premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon, playing to sold-out audiences from November 2010 to January 2011. Capturing the imagination of young and old alike, the Royal Shakespeare Company transferred the production to London’s West End in October 2011 where the show continues to play to sold-out houses at the Cambridge Theatre. The production also played a season of 1 555 performances at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway.

The production reproduces Matthew Warchus’s orignal staging, as well as Peter Darling’s choreography, Rob Howell’s sets and costumes, Hugh Vanstone’s lighting and Simon Baker’s sound design. Additional music and musical supervision for the production are by Christopher Nightingale.

Tickets for the Cape Town season of Matilda the Musical are available online from Computicket or by phone via the the Artscape box office on 021 410 9838. Performances take place on Tuesdays through Sundays, with tickets ranging in price from R100 – R520. No children under five years of age will be admitted at evening performances.

Pinelands Players to Welcome Artscape Audiences to the 60s with HAIRSPRAY

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Hairspray (Pinelands Players)The Pinelands Players will kick off its 71st year of community theatre with its biggest production ever. The popular am-dram troupe is very excited to be producing Hairspray in 2019. Based on the cult John Waters film, the musical adaptation features a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan and a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Originally founded as St Stephens Pinelands Repertory Society in 1948, the Pinelands Players have produced 143 plays, 43 musicals, 22 pantomimes, 12 supper theatres and nine Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in venues such as St Stephens Hall, The Little Theatre, the Artscape Arena and the Pinelands Town Hall.

The society’s goal has always been to ensure a healthy balance between new, unseasoned talent and experienced performers in order to develop performing skills, transfer knowledge and experience, and mitigate risk.  Hairspray will feature a large cast of more than fifty performers, with many young and highly talented newcomers joining familiar faces in stage. Over the course of the run, four performances will feature understudies in principal roles.

Hairspray is set in Baltimore during the Civil Rights Movement. Tracy Turnblad, a quirky, plus-sized teenager with a plus-sized hairdo has a big dream to dance on the national television sensation, The Corny Collins Show.  Her successful audition transforms her into a local celebrity, but she faces discrimination because of her weight, her choice in friends and her hairdo.  Tracy becomes determined to use her influence to push for social change and racial integration in the show.

With memorable songs such as “Good Morning, Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop The Beat,” the show is a feel-good comedy with a timeless message that everyone should be treated equally regardless of social, cultural and physical differences. Hairspray is the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, as well as four Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.  A film version, starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Queen Latifah, James Marsden and Christopher Walker, was released in 2007.

Neil Leachman will direct Hairspray, also serving as the production’s musical director. Although this is his first outing in these roles with the Pinelands Players, Leachman is no stranger to the am-dram circuit, having directed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 2016 and The Producers earlier this year. Laura Bosman and Jared Schaedler will choreograph the production.

Hairspray runs at the Artscape Theatre from 2 – 16 February on Tuesdays through Sundays. Tickets, which range in price from R185 and R225, are available through Computicket.

Theatrics Club Deals With Theatre On the Bay – Including MATILDA and INTO THE WOODS

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MatildaTwo musicals are available as part of the Theatrics Club package celebrating the re-opening of Pieter Toerien’s Theatre on the Bay: Matilda, which will play the Artscape, and Into the Woods, which will play the now fully revamped popular Camps Bay theatre itself. Further shows in the season include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Mousetrap and 4 Love.

Pieter Toerien Productions’s Theatrics Club is all about audiences, affording loyal theatre patrons the very best shows in town at the best possible prices. Becoming a member of the Theatrics Club allows audiences to receive an amazing 50% discount on their tickets for all shows in the new season of six shows. To subscribe, members need to select and book for a minimum of four shows. Theatrics Club members will also receive exclusive offers for forthcoming productions from Pieter Toerien Productions.

Visit the Theatrics Club page at  Pieter Toerien Productions, call the box office on 021 438 3301 or 021 438 3300 or contact Theatre on the Bay via email for simple and secure savings on months of sensational entertainment today.