I woke my neighbours, belting out The Greatest Showman’s life-affirming tune This is Me and that should give you an indication of the theatrical high I am STILL floating on after last night’s spectacular Gala Show of Finding The Light – An Evening with Musical Theatre Stars at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa!
A concert-style celebration of some of musical theatre’s best loved shows, with 100% of net proceeds going towards supporting the work of the Kolisi Foundation, Finding The Light features South African, Broadway and West End legends including Kim Criswell (Olivier-award nominated for Annie Get Your Gun; Lucy opposite Sting in 3 Penny Opera; Cats); Michael D. Xavier (Joe in Sunset Boulevard opposite Hollywood film star Glenn Close; Joe Bradley in Roman Holiday The Musical; ITV’s Grantchester); David Habbin, (West Side Story, Les Misérables, Amici Forever, and co-founder of the
Finding the Light Foundation) and Broadway Star Nikki Renée Daniels (Company; The Book of Mormon; Les Misérables; Hamilton).
They join South Africa’s musical stars Jonathan Roxmouth (Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story,Cats), Lynelle Kenned (West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Orpheus in Africa), Tshepo Ncokoane (Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan Pantomine, Kinky Boots, We Will Rock You – The Musical World Tour) and Lucy Tops (Kinky Boots, Funny Girl, The Romantix).
Phillips (CPO Resident Conductor), is the perfect accompaniment to the stars on stage. Image credit: Daniel Rutland Manners
These mega talents are accompanied by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Brandon
Phillips (CPO Resident Conductor), and hosted by Marc Lottering. The stunning ensemble features students from the Waterfront Theatre School and LAMTA. This extraordinary show is produced by Daniel Galloway and Jessica Ross.
I will leave the more high-brow, in-depth review to the actual arts critics. For my part as your humble and regular Jane Superfan, last night was the closest I am ever getting to the Tony Awards and it blew me away in several aspects:
People came in their red carpet best:
One of the things I often lament about when I am back home is the utter lack of glamourous theatre-going attire from our local arts lovers. I marvel at how show attendees dress in their best Hogwarts costumes for even a matinee of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. I rocked a totally out there, man, dress for the Back To The Future the Musical on the West End last year and I absolutely die for the incredible looks served at The Royal Variety Performance every year.
I had every expectation that I would be the only person who adhered to the “Fabulously Formal” dress code for the Finding the Light Gala Show but hey, my fellow South Africans came prepared. Whether that was to impress our Captain Siya Kolisi more than anything else, I don’t care. I am just SO proud of you, SA theatre goers!
Our local theatre stars outshining their international counterparts:
In chatting to my partner and some acquaintances during the interval, we ruminated on the fact that our local stars were outshining the West End and Broadway ones in the first half. We could possibly be biased, of course, and it may just be a case of having not seen the international players onstage before but for me, it certainly rang true. Kenned and Roxmouth are heavy hitting marvels, that is known, but wow, did Tops and Ncokoane really come into their own
Tops is always a delight in the aforementioned shows as well as the Kalk Bay Theatre shows and she is THE diva of Artscape Theatre’s annual disco themed festive season run. I have loved her extensive range since her Fleur du Cap Award nominated role in Bar None back in 2014/2015. In Finding The Light, she effortlessly switches between the naughty Audrey in Suddenly Seymour to a powerhouse artist with the innocent and in love Anna in Frozen’s Love is an Open Door and I am in awe of her. In the second half, Xavier and Criswell really rose to the occasion and I could see what makes them the illustrious international stars they are.
Finding new angles to old classics:
The set list for Finding The Light is designed to highlight some of the best award-winning pivotal musicals of our time and as a musical lover, I enjoyed the familiarity of numbers from Dear Evan Hansen, Sunset Boulevard, The Little Shop of Horrors, Chess, Into the Woods etc. What surprised me is discovering a new understanding of the big hits that I have spent all of my life singing along to.
Phantom of the Opera‘s titular song is always moving but with the stage stripped bare here (all the better to show off the gorgeous Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra), the mega talents of Roxmouth and Kenned and their intense chemistry, I FINALLY understood that it is a seduction song. One tends to think of the song Beneath a Moonless Sky in the sequel Love Never Dies as visual and aural proof of Erik and Christine’s alleged night of illicit passion that leads to the conception of their quirky son but in fact, Phantom is the red hot seducer. I always get goosebumps and emotional when listening to that song (as I have since watching a much-loved video tape of the original show when I was six years old), but last night, I, uh, had to fan myself and my heaving bosom (and no, that’s not just because Roxmouth looks divine in a tux 😈) .
It was indeed a magical evening. On balance, I do need to mention two things that were mildly irritating to me. One, was the confusion of whisking VIP guests off to our post-show reception, the lack of clear communication and signage to the designated area and the shepherding of guests that felt like we were the third class passengers on the Titanic, begging to be let in and rescued behind a barricaded gate. At nearly midnight, this was NOT amusing!
Two, when inviting VIPS for pre-drinks and a post-show reception, ensure that some non-alcoholic beverages are available, for free, to your teetotalers. I had to pay R40 for two soft drinks and honestly, my fellow sober attendees and I should not be penalized for our choices.
The spread of food was fabulous and really hit those late night cravings, though!
Get your tickets TODAY:
Finding The Light – An Evening with Musical Theatre Stars has just FOUR performances left and ends its super short run on Sunday 21 April 2024 at 2pm, so get your tickets TODAY at Webtickets.
