Montecasino is in full Celebrazione mode this Easter, and is pulling out the stops to deliver a non-stop playground for fun-lovers, food and drink aficionados, entertainment seekers, gaming enthusiasts, and the young at heart. Our approach remains to guarantee something for everyone. Montecasino’s list of top 10 things to do in the Easter holidays is not comprehensive – because there’s always something more to do – but it is inspiring.

Sound Of Music opens at the Teatro on 31 March. It’s the world’s most popular musical and it’s a chance to enjoy the performance of timeless classics such as My favourite things, Climb Every Mountain, Sixteen going on seventeen, The lonely goatherd, and many more. Take the whole family and then take in an after-show meal at one of our restaurants.

The Easter playground will feature six giant inflatables for jumping fun for adults and kids alike.

The Nerf Zone will offer great excitement to battle-hungry warriors of all ages – yes, adults too!

Visit one – or more – of the five new restaurants, which offer a fantastic selection of cuisines and flavours to tempt the palate and deliver exciting new culinary experiences – the Hussar Grill world-class steak house; Casa Bella, which deliciously fuses Italian heritage with contemporary finesse; the fun, fabulous and flavourful La Rosa Mexican Grille and Tequileria; Ocean Basket, for the best in fish and seafood; and the Fireroom, for excitement, sushi, and a tantalising taste of Oriental fusion.

The Montecasino Bird Gardens are always a treat with its exotic menagerie of beautiful birds, reptiles, and mammals – and well worth a visit. But this Easter there’s more on the Bird Gardens calendar. On Sunday 1 April at 11:30am and 1:30pm there will be treasure hunts for 200 children at each event, with the Easter Bunny and Beacon in attendance giving away sweets and Easter eggs.

The great holiday movie line-up at Movies@Montecasino from 30 March includes Ready Player One, Peter Rabbit, Winchester, Tyler Perry’s Acrimony, and The Leisure Seeker.

Take time for a belly laugh or two at Parker’s Comedy & Jive, the comedy club that showcases the best in local and international stand-up comedy, and the brainchild of SA comedian Joe Parker.

On the casino floor, the fabulous La Dolce Vita promotion will have its final cash and funky Mini Cooper Hatch giveaway to a lucky participating Rewards cardholder on 31 March. The Spoilt for Choice promotion launches on 1 April with close on R2 million to be won by participating Black Rewards cardholders playing slots or tables in 13 weekly draws, with a further close on R2 million in cash or cars to be won by all tiers Rewards cardholders in six Saturday draws – through to end June.

Darling of South Africa, Pieter Dirk-Uys (Evita Bezuidenhout) is back with ‘When in doubt say darling’ from 4 April at the Pieter Toerien Theatre, with his particular perspective and brand of humour on all things politics.

Have a delicious designer cocktail experience – at the Parisian flavoured Milk and Honey Bar, on the deck of Southern Sun Montecasino, or at 3Sixty Liquid Lounge. Then go and play the night away.

And then come back to Montecasino for more!

The post Montecasino's Celebrazione appeared first on Stage and Screen.

by Louw Mulder.

After a sold-out season in Cape Town, with raving and praising reviews, it was time for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to embark on its Johannesburg journey. Its run at the Artscape Theatre set the standard very high, and after the opening night in Johannesburg, Priscilla, the Musical, matched all expectations.

Over the years, the South African Theatre industry has proved that it can do justice to classical masterpieces like Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Sound of Music, but recently with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and now Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it has also shown that it can pull off the fun genres in musical theatre, to high acclaims. And that is what I am most proud of overall; the health of our Musical Theatre industry.

This show is colourful, crazy, and fun-filled with all types of elements that will make a theatre experience as entertaining as Priscilla was. The story is about the journey of a transsexual performer, and her two drag-queen friends who decided to travel across Australia, in their bus called Priscilla. The gay characters are played humorously, with no offensive scenes towards the more straight theatre goer.

There are many moods within this production of Priscilla.  From homophobia, to nobody cares, from the need for love, to the acceptance between a son and his gay dad.  Yes, it sometimes tickles the not-so-funny bone.  Be it as it may, it all adds up to a realistic tale, with more truths hidden in the storyline than just the super fun tale of three queens.  On a serious note, seeing this production on stage here in South Africa, with no censorship or rebellious campaigns against its main theme, made me as gay man myself, very proud of how far we have come.

With this Metro Goldwyn Mayer feature film adapted for the stage, this production flows with international standards, produced locally without flaw. The script is witty, cheeky, and creates delightful enjoyment during the whole journey. The music is well-known, and are anthems in their own right. The set is successfully a huge contributing factor to the whole experience; bus and all.

As with every gay-themed production, wigs and costumes, put the cherry on the cake, or more fitting, the tiara on the queen. It is big, extravagant, and spectacular. To say that this production uses 471 costumes, 45 wigs, 120 pairs of shoes and 200 hats and headdresses, you might get an idea of how huge the wardrobe department for Priscilla is. What is remarkable, is how quick and fast some of these costume, and make-up changes are. A fun fact of the show, is that the fastest wig and make-up change, is only 15 seconds – it sometimes just seems like magic.

But with a great script, loved music and awesome costumes, you still need a cast good enough to give these elements life on stage. Even this was done with a stellar cast, energetic and true to the show. The ensemble see names like Zane Gillion, Thembeka Mnguni, Michael Fullard, and one of my favourite actresses, Taryn-Lee Buys. David Dennis plays Bernadette as if he created the persona, while Tick and Mitzi were played by a very talented straight guy, Daniel Buys.

But then there was the role that stole the show. Everyone loved the rebelliousness and the cocky attitude of young Adam, or in some instances Felicia, the loose cannon of the touring threesome. Phillip Schnetler plays this role to the tee, and his role has been raved about in almost every review, even mine. His flamboyant attitude and camp, yet talented portrayal of this character, adds a different dimension to the show. At times it felt as if Dennis and Buys’ character was to support the role of Schnetler’s, and not the other way around.  I really enjoyed seeing Schnetler playing this role as it was clear he made this character his own.  I would look out for his name in future productions.

Overall, Priscilla, Queen of the theatre, sorry, the desert, is a production that will make every member of the audience feel good. It is like the serotonin of theatre, promising a feel-good, entertaining experience. But thinking back after the show, there was one thing that didn’t work for me as well as I hoped. The final curtain call was very short. With music of this nature, the very capable band, under the direction of Bryan Schimmel, I thought that a few minutes longer with a medley of all the songs, could have been an even bigger memorable finale… seeing that the whole house was on their feet in any case, after a given standing ovation.

Well done to everyone involved with this production. It is a must see, and so you must, before you miss the bus.

This journey to fabulousness is produced by Showtime Management, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, and Nullarbar Productions in association with MGM on Stage.  Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will be on stage at the Teatro in Montecasino, till the 18^th of June, 2017.

This review was edit by Bronwyn Kerry.  Photos by Nardus Engelbrecht

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by Louw Mulder

There are a couple of good reasons why we can celebrate the healthy state of South African Theatre, especially if I look at a couple of the highly acclaimed and professional shows I have seen lately; like Annie, Sound Of Music, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and now, Priscilla. But the real couple worth mentioning, is our country’s most successful Director and Choreographer duo, Anton Luitingh and his fiancé, Duane Alexander.

Anton and Duane met during the first touring South-African production of Cats, in 2001. This is after Anton obtained his B.Dram (Hons) Cum Laude degree in Drama from Maties, and Duane completed his training as the most outstanding student at the Waterfront Theatre School, and obtained teaching degrees in both modern and Tap Dancing. With these credentials, together with the love and passion both Anton and Duane have for Musical theatre, success was inevitable.

After Cats, Anton and Duane’s resumes speaks for itself, and there are too many success stories to mention in this article. Both have won awards, and played various lead roles in many South African Productions, and even toured the world to showcase their talent. But acting, was only the start. “You have to contribute more to theatre than just one aspect” they both made me understand.

As we went through their long careers in musical theatre so far, we talked about their involvement in the 2007’s production of Rent. “The South African audience loves the typical classic musicals, but Rent was the first challenging and edgy production, which for me was a very sentimental piece,” Anton said. The role of Mark Cohen was also Duane’s first role in the lead, a role he has wanted to play since he was a boy. With much enthusiasm, both Duane and Anton speak about the 10 year reunion of Rent, which is coming to the Teatro later this year. It is a concert staging with the original South African cast, original band and musical director for one night only.

In the last few years, Anton has established himself as South Africa’s leading resident director of full scale Musical theatre, with Duane flourishing in choreography, being resident choreographer in most of these shows, next to Anton. We spoke about the recent production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat quite a lot, which seems to be very special to both Anton and Duane. This production, for which Duane won various awards for his choreography, is the first fully South African produced production that went on tour. Joseph is currently touring Australia and New Zealand, and as Duane says, he suffers a little bit from fomo, not being able to be there himself.

Boldly and passionately they speak about what works and what doesn’t work in today’s theatre productions. Their experience give merit to their comments, and their explanations and motivations are filled with comprehension and a detailed understanding of the industry. I just hung onto their every word for the whole two hours I spent talking to them.

Saddened, Anton explained that he would love to see more involvement in the theatre industry from an audience perspective. He explained that some brilliantly produced shows are not well attended, while others exceed expectations. Anton mentioned how he would love to see schools being more involved in theatre, and for theatre to become more prominent amongst young people. It was very evident to me that they are driven and have a vision for Musical theatre to prosper even more.

Both Anton and Duane are co-directors of the Musical Theatre Workshop, which invest in youngsters, now also expanding internationally. They elaborated that the biggest lesson that they teach in their workshops, is that the only ego anyone should be concerned about, is the ego of the show. No one individual person is bigger than the show.

I really wish I had time, and space to write about everything we spoke about, but the most exciting part is that the story of Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander is far from over. When Priscilla’s run is concluded, their next project of being the Resident Director and Resident Choreographer couple, is the full scale production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic, Evita.   Anton speaks proudly when he tells me of the extensive international tour this production will embark upon, after delighting South African audiences later this year in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  And no, they are still not saying who will be playing the lead in Evita…

But for now, the attention is on Priscilla, which will open at the Montecasino Teatro next week after a very successful sold-out run in the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. Both Anton and Duane speak fondly of how fun the show is, but also, how this show introduces new talent to the industry. In particular, they refer to Phillip Schnetler, playing his first major role as the very familiar and infamous character, Adam / Felicia.  As  up skilling and development of young future stage stars being high on Duane and Anton’s priority list, their faces both speaks of excitement and enthusiasm as they tell how promising Schnetler’s career can be.

Even though Priscilla will just be another successful entry on both Anton and Duane’s resumes, personally, this will be a production they will least forget.

During the cast party, after the Opening night performance of Priscilla in Cape Town, Duane proposed to Anton, and they got engaged to be married. They have been a happy couple for 16 years, since that first production of Cats in 2001. As both Duane and Anton explained, they waited for the right moment to do this, and an opening of a gay-themed show in their home town, with friends and theatre-family all present… they couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.

As theatre fanatics, we congratulate Anton and Duane on their engagement, and wish them all the best in their future endeavours. With these humble artists, fully devoted to be involved with world class productions coming to our stages, we are in for some real magical theatre.

Feel free to visit http://www.musicaltheatreworkshop.co.za and also www.antonluitingh.com for more about Duane Alexander and Anton Luitingh and to follow their fascinating journey.

This article was edited by Bronwen Kerry.  Photos from Anton and Duane’s Facebook Pages.

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This lavish production, tells the story of the Von Trapp family’s flight across the mountains from Austria, with its unforgettable score that includes some of the most memorable songs ever performed on the musical stage including “My Favourite Things”, “Edelweiss”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “The Lonely Goatherd”, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, and the title song “The Sound of Music”.

Featuring an all-star South African cast, The Sound of Music is a must-see on the 2014 theatrical calendar!  With words and music by the legendary Rogers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I), The Sound of Music originally premiered on Broadway in 1959 to record-breaking advance ticket sales, where it won eight Tony Awards – including “Best Musical”.

The show opened in London in 1961 and became the longest-running American musical of its generation.  The 1965 Hollywood film, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Oscars, including “Best Picture”, and quickly became the highest-grossing film in history. Even today, The Sound of Music remains the most successful movie musical in history.

Since the turn of the 21^st century, the enduring magic of The Sound of Music has lead to major productions around the world, giving testament to its title as “The World’s Most Popular Musical”. This production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opened to rave reviews and sell-out business at the Wales Millennium Centre in July 2009, following a record-breaking 954 performances at the London Palladium where it was seen by well over 2 million people.

The South African production will star Andre Schwartz as Captain von Trapp and Bethany Dickson as Maria.  The hills will certainly be alive with the Sound of Music in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 2014. Bookings are now open at Computicket. Performance details as follows:

Cape Town: ARTSCAPE Opera

19 February – 29 March

Tuesdays – Fridays @ 8pm, Saturdays @ 3pm & 8pm, Sundays @ 2pm & 6pm

Tickets: R125, R175, R200, R250, R275, R300, R350, R375 & R425

Johannesburg: The TEATRO at Montecasino

5 April – 8 June

Tuesdays – Fridays @ 8pm, Saturdays @ 3pm & 8pm, Sundays @ 2pm & 6pm

Tickets: R125, R150, R225, R250, R300, R350, R375 & R425

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