In May 2020, 21 artists from across the globe came together online to stand in solidarity with the entire entertainment and live events communities and recorded a unique take on Katy Perry’s hit song ROAR, culminating in the release of an inspiring video today, #ReInventYourROAR.

No matter where in the world we find ourselves, and in whatever circumstances, everyone has been affected by COVID-19. We are all trying to re-assess, re-adjust and re-invent ourselves in these uncertain times.

It was on one of these days in early May when an idea came to David Bloch, Executive Show Producer, Creative Director and Stage Director for high-end events in South Africa and abroad. David felt that now more than ever, it was important for the entertainment and live events industries to show love, support, understanding and compassion to each other.

What was planted in his mind as an idea has now blossomed into this epic music video, recorded by individual artists in 15 cities from 11 different countries, all artists that David has had the pleasure of working with over the past 21 years.

#ReInventYourROAR is about resilience and the power of the human mind, body and spirit to overcome ANYTHING! The message is – no matter what… these industries WILL soldier on!

Bloch believes this video can definitely mean so much to so many, depending on what one is feeling on any given day. It can be inspiring, reaffirming, empowering, joyful and almost defiant if you will, of the situation in which we all find ourselves. It really depends on the mood of the listener.

Ultimately he wants this song to be one of belief; a genuine, impassioned and unquestionable belief that these industries will recover. A belief so strong that their Roar will never be silenced.

Alongside incredible international appearances, #ReInventYourROAR, features the remarkable talents of South Africans living both here and abroad, namely; Lelo Ramasimong and Graeme Watkins from Johannesburg, South Africa, Chad Saaiman from Cape Town, South Africa, Fem Belling from Melbourne, Australia, Sifiso Mazibuko all the way from London, Richard Stirton from Liverpool, Melanie Scholtz from Berlin, Germany, Lyle Anthony from Los Angeles in the States, with Naz Holland and Shaun V from the United Arab Emirates.

International artists include The Clarisse Sisters from Mauritius, Shanay Shah from Mumbai, India, Appassionante from Rome, Italy, Cristina Ramos from Gran Canaria, Spain, Tal Vaknin from Jerusalem, Israel and Christina Bianco, from New York, USA.

The song was re-arranged by Bryan Schimmel with the track produced and mixed by Bluberry Entertainment. Backing Vocals were provided by Tima Reece and Kurt Herman, and the music video was edited by Even Flow Media with footage provided from all artists.

“The time has come, to # #ReInventYourROAR

To our entire entertainment and live events families, we say STAY STRONG!

To our audiences, fans, supporters, families, friends and colleagues from all over the world, we say;

We WILL return to our stages

We WILL put on our make-up

We WILL dress in fabulous outfits

We WILL be supported by the most incredible technical crews

We WILL hear YOUR applause again

You WILL hear OUR voices again

but until then… you WILL continue to hear us ROAR!”

The post #ReInventYourRoar – We Will Return to Our Stages appeared first on Stage and Screen.

The character of Nettie is the sister of the story’s protagonist, Celie, and shows her sister unconditional love and support. Although Nettie doesn’t bare her own children in the story, she is noted as acting as Celie’s protector and cares for Celie’s children. This caring, maternal nature is true of Sebe Leotlela herself, who recently gave birth to a little girl.

The role of Nettie is a significant one for Leotlela and she was acknowledged for her powerful performance by being nominated for a 2019 Naledi Theatre Award as best supporting actor in a musical.

Leotlela is excited to be returning to her role in the April 2020 season of The Color Purple. Since becoming a mother, she is set to instill many of the lessons from the novel and musical in her daughter.

The musical’s director in South Africa, Janice Honeyman, is also excited to know that Leotlela will be reprising her role as Nettie.

Sebe also played the role of the Disco Diva Candy in Bernard Jay’s production of Saturday Night Fever at The South African State Theatre. She has performed in two of Janice Honeyman’s pantomimes, Pinocchio and Snow White. She is currently serving as assistant choreographer in this year’s pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk.

Joining Sebe Leotlela on stage in The Color Purple next year are acclaimed South African actors Didintle Khunou as Celie, Lelo Ramasimong as Shug Avery, Neo Motaung as Sofia, Thokozani Nzima as Mister and Yamikani Mahaka-Phiri as Harpo.

The Color Purple

Joburg Theatre

2 April to 12 April 2020

Tickets are available at www.joburgtheatre.com

Theatre patrons can also book online and pay at selected Pick N Pay stores.

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In 2017, RADA sought out to record an album of cover songs sung by South Africa’s top musicians. What came out of it was more than just an album. RADA created a movement. RADA Inspire. Using music as a vehicle for change, RADA released, to critical acclaim, a power anthem featuring 31 of South Africa’s top artists titled We Stand Together.  This new Album is available on all digital platforms.

RADA Inspire was launched in March 2018, by the non-profit organization to create a shift in perspective. The aim was to show people that change doesn’t necessarily require physical or monetary effort, but can be brought about by a shift in mind-set and a move towards positive and meaningful living, using the slogan: Be the Way. Be the Change. One day at a time.

Taking the message to the streets in a new and dynamic way, RADA undertook an unprecedented ten month campaign, creating awareness and on-the-ground engagement through various activations and initiatives. These included highlighting issues around taxi and road user awareness, bullying in schools and the workplace, negativity in the service industry, recognizing the need for extra humanitarian care and more.

Throughout 2018, RADA Inspire was featured in numerous publications including Country Life, Essentials Magazine, Living and Loving, Your Family, Food and Home, as well as in-depth monthly coverage on Stage and Screen.  Their Campaigns also featured on television with inserts on Expresso Morning Show on SABC 3 and the Afrikaans music programme Kliphard on SABC 2.

With such a successful movement in 2018, RADA has decided to turn RADA Inspire into an annual campaign, because we realise that change is a lifelong endeavor that comes about through consistent renewing of the mind daily. RADA Inspire will continue in March 2019 with the same ten month campaign, only bigger and better.

RADA will continue to use music to bring the message of positive change to the world with the eventual release of the RADA Inspire album, additional music videos and singles featuring South African talent. RADA will also continue to seek out new artists through the RADA Unearthed project, assisting musicians in their career and using the arts as a medium to communicate the RADA Inspire message.

RADA Inspire Forecast for 2019:

March – Taxi and Road Rage Awareness Month

April – Service Industry Month

May – Bullying Awareness Month

June – Family Support and Elderly Awareness Month

July – Comfort Month

August – Women’s Month

September – Heritage Month

October – Drug and Alcohol Awareness Month

November – Orphans, homeless and community awareness month

December – Celebratory Wrap Up and Year in Review

The post RADA Inspire: 2019 appeared first on Stage and Screen.

Producers Joburg Theatre and Bernard Jay announced that The Color Purple would be extending its run on The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre for Women’s Month in August 2018.

Popular actress and vocalist Lelo Ramasimong, who achieved a great personal success playing the role of Darlene in The Color Purple in February, will now step into the lead role of the troubled blues singer Shug Avery.

Lelo Ramasimong became a house-hold name in SA when she made it into the top 10 on Idols SA. Since then she has performed as a vocalist in major venues all over the country and was voted by Seventeen Magazine as the Top Young South African Artist. She also became a finalist in the Cosmopolitan Most Awesome Women of the Year.

Lelo’s theatre career has included award winning performances in Little Shop of Horrors, Dreamgirls, African Footprint, Under African Skies and Burn the Floor.  She was the lead female vocalist in the popular television show Strictly Come Dancing and was one of the artists in the new television series Coke Studio, collaborating with well known producer 37MPH to create the hit single Shine.

Seventeen of the original twenty cast members signed to reprise their roles, including acclaimed Didintle Khunou as Celie and Aubrey Poo as Mister.  Janice Honeyman, Bernard Jay and musical director Rowan Bakker then embarked on another round of auditions to find the three necessary replacement cast members.

Well known actress and vocalist Lelo Ramasimong, who initially played the role of Darlene in The Color Purple, will now be stepping into the leading role of Shug Avery.  Lelo created her own fan base during The Color Purple’s first season with her spine-chilling vocalisation of the role of Darlene.  Now her fans can’t wait to experience the gutsy, blues singing she will feature as Shug Avery.

After several audition sessions, the creative team identified the three highly talented people to join the cast: Masego Mothibakgomo, Terrence Ngwila and Lebo Borole.

Masego Mothibakgomo takes over the role of Darlene from Lelo Ramasimong. Masego obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Drama from the University of Pretoria.  Her theatre work includes roles in Disney’s The Lion King, Romeo and Juliet, Alchemy of Desire/Dead man’s Blues directed by Ball State University’s Wendy Saver-Mortimer and Seussical. Masego is also embarking on a career as a singer/songwriter in the commercial music industry.

Terrence Ngwila will be playing the role of Grady. He is trained in American Latin, basic Tango, and Jazz-Ed but he describes himself mostly as a hip-hop and dub-step dancer. Terrence was also trained and awarded an introductory teaching certificate in Jazz-Ed by one of South Africa’s dancers on Broadway, Pinto Ferreira.  He was part of the award winning South African ‘soapie’ Generations: the Legacy and worked with Paul Grootboom on The President’s Man.  Terrence played the lead in the production 1606, which received an Ovation Award at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in 2015. Other theatre roles include Marikana The Musical, Freedom and Sophiatown – all at The State Theatre in Pretoria.

Lebo Borole also joins the company. Lebo studied drama and performance at the National School of the Arts and continued her studies at the University of Witwatersrand, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She has worked as a radio personality at Trans World Radio and performed in an acapella music group called Blacklace. She toured Hong Kong in Disney’s The Lion King as Nala. Lebo was also cast as the lead in the musical Milked Voice and is currently featured in the new musical Tsotsi in Cape Town.

The Color Purple will re-open at The Mandela at Joburg Theatre on August 7th 2018 and will run until September 2nd.  To book you can call 0861 670 670, go online at www.joburgtheatre.com or book in person at the Joburg Theatre box office.  Theatre patrons can also book online and pay at selected Pick N Pay stores.

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The Color Purple, as a musical, was originally produced on Broadway in 2005, by a team of producers, including Oprah Winfrey and received eleven Tony nominations.  Now, this musical is to be seen on a South African Stage, as directed by Janice Honeyman, and Rowan Bakker as Musical director with an all South African cast.

Enter our competition here, and hope the luck of the purple draw is on your side…

The Color Purple Competition Form

[contact-form-7 id=”7224″ title=”The Color Purple”]

Please Note:

1. Competition Closes on Monday, 5 February 2018.
2. Tickets are only valid for the specified dates and performance times, and my not be upgraded, or exchanged for cash, or for alternate performances.
3. The prize comprises of two tickets per Price Winner.
4. No-Shows will not receive replacement tickets.
5. By entering this competition, the participant agrees to the terms and conditions.
6. Excess entries may cause your email to be seen as spam.

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In August 2016, director Janice Honeyman, executive producer Bernard Jay and musical director Rowan Bakker embarked on a search for the two women who would be chosen to play the lead roles of Celie and Shug Avery in the Tony Award winning musical The Color Purple, to be staged for the first time in South Africa in 2018 and with an all-South African cast.

After gruelling auditions in Cape Town, Pretoria and Joburg of over 250 performers, the team finally found South Africa’s answers for the two currently most coveted female roles in musical theatre. Today, we are excited to reveal the two South African actresses who will be playing these roles in the first major international production of The Color Purple since the Broadway revival.

At a media junket, held at Joburg Theatre, it was revealed that Didintle Khunou will be playing the role of Celie – a caring and gentle girl whose resilience is truly miraculous and ultimately a tribute to humankind – and Molebatsi Lekgetha will be playing the role of Shug Avery – the archetypal blues woman, with her earthy wisdom and singer lifestyle.

Didintle Khunou, 25, is a Wits School of Arts graduate, having obtained a BA Honours Degree in Dramatic Arts. She has made many television appearances, the most recent being the second season of SABC2’s popular Sotho drama series Mamello, directed by SAFTA award-winning director Zuko Nodada.

Born and raised in Pretoria, Molebatsi Lekgetha, 33, began exploring her talent as a performer in primary school. Her love and passion for the arts directed her to study and complete a BA (Drama) Degree at the University of Pretoria. She immediately landed a lead role in Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Market Theatre, for which she received a Naledi Award Nomination for Best Performance By A Newcomer. .

Didintle and Molebatsi join a talented all South African cast, which features Zane Gillion, Sebe Leotlela (as Nettie), Dolly Louw, Andile Magxaki, Yamikani Mahaka-Phiri (as Harpo), Venolia Manale, Namisa Mdlalose, Phumi Mncayi, Neo Motaung (as Sofia), Tshepo Ncokoane, Thokozani Nzima, Funeka Peppeta, Aubrey Poo (as Mister), Senzesihle Radebe, Lelo Ramasimong, Zolani Shangase, Ayanda Sibisi and Lebo Toko.

The director is Janice Honeyman, musical director Rowan Bakker, production designer Sarah Roberts, lighting designer Mannie Manim and The Color Purple is produced by Joburg Theatre and Bernard Jay in association with MNet and 702.

The Color Purple is based upon the 1982 novel written by Alice Walker and the 1985 Warner Bros/Amblin Entertainment Motion Picture, directed by Steven Spielberg. The musical’s book is by Marsha Norman and the music and lyrics are by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The musical The Color Purple was originally produced on Broadway in 2005 by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones, receiving eleven 2006 Tony Award nominations. The recent Broadway revival enjoyed tremendous success, boosted by its major Tony Award wins in 2016 and Grammy Award in 2017.

The musical will have preview performances in The Mandela at Joburg Theatre from January 31st 2018, with its official opening night on Sunday February 4th and running until Sunday March 4th 2018. Tickets from R240 are already on sale: telephone 0861 670 670, go online at www.joburgtheatre.com or book in person at the Joburg Theatre box office. Theatre patrons can also book online and pay at selected Pick N Pay stores.

The post The Color Purple appeared first on Stage and Screen.

August is the month to celebrate and highlight dynamic women and this will be done in spectacular fashion on The Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre with Supreme Divas.  The show will run from Thursday 11 August to Sunday 14 August for four performances only.

Supreme Divas will delight audiences old and young as they celebrate the powerhouse female singers that have become legends through their music over the past few decades.

Homage is paid to “old school” divas including Etta James, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer and many others while younger audiences will relish the celebration of hits from “new school” divas including Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Adele and others.

A fitting tribute will also be made to a few of South Africa’s own divas including Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Miriam Makeba and Claire Johnston.

Taking centre stage will be the insanely talented vocalists Tia Herman, Lelo Ramasimong, Tracey-Lee Oliver and Elizca Coetzer, with Born To Perform teenage sensation Marianthe Panas joining them as she makes her professional theatre debut.

Along with the dynamic 9-piece band led by Music Director Llewellyn George, audiences will thrill to instantly recognisable hits including R.E.S.P.E.C.T., Somewhere, If I could turn back time, I’m every woman, Hot Stuff, Stop in the Name of Love, Vulindlela, Valerie, Unqombothi, Do You Know where you’re going to, If I were a boy and many more.

Supreme Divas is the ultimate concert experience, honouring a selection of the many women who’ve made an indelible mark on the local and international music industry.

Joburg City Theatres will be producing the show.  “We want to portray South African talent at its best,” says Claire Pacariz, Executive Producer for Joburg City Theatres.  “And with Women’s Day on August 9th, we thought it would be an ideal time to honour legendary women in song.”

Performances for Supreme Divas 

The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre.

Thursday to Saturday at 8pm

Sunday at 3pm on

Tickets range from R150 to R250.

These are available by visiting www.joburgtheatre.com or calling 0861 670 670, as well as through Webtickets.

For group bookings of 10 or more, please contact the theatre directly on (011) 877 6853/6815.

Supreme Divas is proudly brought to you by Joburg City Theatres in association with The CoLab Network and directed by Timothy Le Roux.  Vocalists will be dressed by Hollywood Costumes.

The post Supreme Divas appeared first on Stage and Screen.

The king of croon himself, Luther Vandross, will be celebrated by South Africa’s own “man with the velvet voice” Timothy Moloi in this non-stop nostalgia journey of musical delight. On stage, Moloi will be joined by Tia Herman, Lelo Ramasimong, Kurt Herman and Voices Unlimited Gospel Choir.

After a sell-out inaugural concert in August 2015 to rave reviews from media and audience alike, The CoLab Network is thrilled to present Always & Forever – A Tribute to Luther Vandross, this time at the Joburg Theatre for four shows only from March 31st to April 3rd, 2016.  Did you miss it?  See the highlights here:

Vocalist extraordinaire Timothy Moloi is backed by top vocalists Tia Herman, Lelo Ramasimong and Kurt Herman as well as some of South Africa’s finest musicians and the remarkable 16-strong Voices Unlimited Gospel Choir.

The audience will thrill to the sounds of timeless classics including Superstar, Always and Forever, Endless Love, Power of Love/Love Power, Dance with My Father and many more, as they enjoy a memorable trip down memory lane.

The Music Director is star-on-the-rise Llewellyn George who also penned the musical arrangements done especially for the show and will lead a dynamite 7-piece live band. Direction and Lighting Design is by Cito.

Simply put, Always & Forever – A Tribute to Luther Vandross is a unique concert experience that will take the audience on a nostalgic journey of Luther’s greatest hits from his early songs right up to his final album that featured his 2004 Grammy Award winning hit Dance With My Father, as well as the many great cover versions of classic songs that he made so popular.

Says Collett Dawson of The CoLab Network; “Timothy Moloi has long-since been credited by many with the title “the man with the velvet voice”, as was Luther Vandross himself. So for me, there’s no better feeling in the world than being able to have him and the 26 other artists, on one stage, showcasing the incredible local talent that we have, for the audience’s enjoyment of such a music legend as is Luther Vandross”.

She continues; “We took the decision not to go down the biographical route or have Tim imitate Luther Vandross. It’s a concert in the truest sense of the term, for  the die-hard fans and newly converted (to Luther’s iconic music) to come out to the Joburg Theatre for a great evening, sing and dance along to these unforgettable hits that defined a generation”.

Moloi responds; “I’m really excited to have this opportunity to celebrate the music of Luther Vandross once again after the incredible response we received for our concert last year. Not only did Luther’s music have such an influence on me growing up, but it holds so many memories for so many people. If our first concert was anything to go by, both the audience and all of us on stage are in for an incredible evening again.”

Four shows only at Joburg Theatre Thursday 31 March – Sunday 3 April 2016

Ticket prices range from R150 – R250. Bookings can be done online at www.webtickets.co.za or www.joburgtheatre.com or by calling 0861 670 670. Alternatively, you can purchase tickets at selected Pick ‘n Pay stores.

Discounted rates for groups of ten or more are available by calling Joburg Theatre directly on (011) 877 6853/6917. Pensioners also qualify for a 10% discount.

Always & Forever – A Tribute to Luther Vandross is an ideal evening for young and old to celebrate in the magic of this music icon’s legacy that he left behind.

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