February 23, 2005
By Tabisa Mntengwana
THE Johannesburg Civic Theatre has a full line-up planned for the rest of the year, with a little something to suit all tastes.
As the weather cools down with the onset of autumn, Joseph Clark heats up the stage with "The Music of Queen". Featuring such well-known songs as "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You", Clark will ensure it will be a night to remember.
The performance is bound to dazzle, from the breathtaking melodies of "Bohemian Rhapsody", to raunchy rock numbers like "Another One Bites the Dust". Clark, a multi-award winning actor, singer and dancer, is kept company on the stage with some special elements from his triumphant European tour. The show will be at the Nelson Mandela Theatre from 2 to 10 April.
If pop is not your cup of tea, try the saucy and sexy "Chicago: The Musical" which opens at the Nelson Mandela Theatre on 26 April. After its revival debut in New York, the show became one of the hottest in the world, with more than 11 000 performances worldwide.
There are 23 South African actors and a 14-piece orchestra in the production, with the two female leads, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, played by Samantha Peo and Amra-Faye Wright, respectively. Wright recently played Velma Kelly in the British and European touring cast of "Chicago".
The cast includes Helen Burger, Timothy Le Roux, Natasha Stable and others. The production is sponsored by Investec.
Drag queens are in action at the Tesson Theatre from 5 to 28 May when The Tuckshop Girls perform their new show, "Extravagant Nights". The stylish new mix of dance, music, comedy and gender features three gorgeous boy dancers - Dimitri Zouves as Princess Daisy, Tony Zouriois as Nelly and Neil Holland as Holly.
"Extravagant Nights" takes a look at eastern nightlife, western decadence and luxury. A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the Avril Elizabeth Home for the mentally handicapped.
"Umoja: The Spirit of Togetherness" returns to the Nelson Mandela Theatre from 12 to 17 July. Black South African life is portrayed through music, drums and dance. The show depicts rural, city and township lives, in which music expresses the joys and sorrows of the people. It is chock-full of love songs, lullabies, gospel and other genres.
It has toured the world, from Swaziland and Canada to the Netherlands and Japan.
The heat is turned up a notch when spring warms the evenings, with The Chilli Boy, from 30 August to 25 September at the Tesson Theatre. In this unusual play, an Indian woman dies and is resurrected as a racist white gangster from Boksburg.
Then the 30-year-old gangster begins to have flashbacks from his previous life as an Indian woman. Gender, race and identity issues bring confusion, and he starts wearing a sari and cooking biryani. He also wants to stop brawling as his maternal instincts kick in. Mathew Ribnick promises to ignite the senses of the audience with his talent.
To wrap up the year, Janice Honeyman brings her annual pantomime to the Civic from 2 November to 31 December. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is the fairytale she turns upside-down this time, adding Goldilocks's mother, a circus and a loyal circus boy to the well-known tale.
Goldilocks has eaten the porridge, tried the chairs and fallen asleep. When she is woken by the three Grizzlies, she gets a terrible fright and runs off into the woods, never to cross the bears' doorstep again.
Enter her Mama, Gertie (played by Tobie Cronje), the proud owner of a creaky, timeworn circus staring closure in the face. When things are bad, they just get worse: a rival circus owner arrives in town, determined to put Gertie out of business. Who will save Gertie's circus from disaster? Which beautiful heroine will fall in love and live happily ever after?
Panto maestro Hugh Durrant will provide sumptuous costumes and sets. Preview performances are from 2 to 6 November and tickets will be discounted by R50.
Tickets for all these shows can be booked at Computicket. For more information, call the Johannesburg Civic Theatre on 011 877 6800.
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