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.

By Louw Mulder

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of today’s life, it is just refreshingly entertaining to sit back, relax, and let the magic of a feel-good, almost panto-style musical take over. And that is a little understatement of how much I enjoyed Shrek, The Musical, which opened last night at the Lyric theatre in Gold Reef city.

Telling this very famous tale of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona on stage, on the back of a very successful and well known animation film, can seem to be a daunting task, but KickstArt Productions did very well doing just that. Normally I would start a review by praising the cast, but before doing so, I believe it will be most appropriate to lead this write-up with the amazing job the creative team did.

Lead by director Steven Stead, the South African production, based on the original Broadway show in New York was staged in just as a colourful and energetic fashion, as the overseas original. I must make special mention of the costumes, originally designed by Tim Hately, which was perfectly brought to life by South Africa’s Shanthi Naidoo. With freaks from all genres of different fairy tales, it was a perfected task, fitting all these roles into character.

Award-winning Choreographer, Janine Bennewith, stepped up to the party in a fabulous way. The dancing was simply spectacular, bearing in mind her work had to take into consideration the limitations in movements, brought on by the identifiable costumes and the prosthetics. The costumes and choreography, which never lost any of its energy, was without a doubt the winning combination that brought life into the story, played out on the Shrektacular Music, composed by Jeanine Tesori. The score is being conducted to the right sounds in this South African production by Naledi Winning MD, Rowan Bakker.

The reason why I referred to this musical in my introductory paragraph as almost panto-style, was by no means condescending, but in fact a crucial component of this experience. Even the farting-fight and burping-battle between Shrek and Fiona, got that beautiful sounds of children’s’ laughter to fill the auditorium. As Stead explained in his radio interview before the show; visually, it is for the kids, but if you as an adult let yourself go and follow the dialogue, it is just as much a show for the adults, as for the little people.

The puppets’ contribution to the holistic enjoyment of the fantasy, was executed in the most fascinating way, and hats off to the puppeteers who were responsible for doing so. From exploding singing birds, cheerful little mice, to even the larger-than-life purple dragon, played their part in making this production so worthwhile for the kids, but also surprisingly pleasant for the grown-ups. Well done to designer Greg King, one of KickstArt Productions’ founding members, and former Puppet master at the Playhouse Puppet Company. This work was magical to watch.

So, with all the creative sides done, only one aspect of this musical still remains. That will be the voices, feet and faces on stage telling the story – the cast. Applause to the very young and talented company, which was built up with sheer delight within their core. From Lyle Buxton as Shrek, Rory Booth as the beloved Donkey, Jessica Sole as Fiona, to even Graeme Wicks and Shani Mclea as Pinnochio and young Fiona respectively, every actor owned their character, and the complete dedication was noticeable.

But the performance of the night, and I am sure will be throughout their season, is that of Jacobus van Heerden, in the role of Lord Farqaad. Lord Farqaad is the corrupt, very short and arrogant prince, who need to marry a princess in order to become king. With the stunning costume design, van Heerden played his part on his knees, and managed to do so quite convincingly. His dedication to his role, the choreography while acting on your knees, and the sheer mastery of his acting talents, were all put together to create one of the most enjoyable villains I have ever seen on stage. There is still much to be spoken about van Heerden’s talent, but it is best experienced live on stage.

Names in the ensemble include Megan Restall, Luciano Zuppa, Senna Moreira, Ashleigh Harvey, Devon Flemmer, Senzesihle Radebe, Haylea Heyns, as well as talented stage stars such as JP Rossouw, Adam Dorè, Samuel Hyde and Tumelo Tokgwi to name but a few of the 30-member cast. Well done to all of you, and you are not freaks.

Shreck is not a serious musical, so please do not go and expect such. Go there to be entertained as much as I was. If you let your inner youth out, and just sit back to take it all in, you might find yourself seriously entertained. If I could, this musical would have received 7 Curtain Calls from us.

Shrek and the team from his Swamp will still adore audiences at the Lyric theatre, Gold Reef City until the 17^th of July 2016.

Photos by Mariola Biela

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