2014 South African Theatre Retrospectives: Musical Theatre and Opera

The penultimate column in our 2014 South African Theatre Retrospectives deals with musical theatre and opera. Today we celebrate "six of the best" opera and musical theatre productions from around the country - with honourable mentions for two outstanding cabaret and revue - having already looked at some of the best plays and dance productions of the year.

Three of the major musical theatre presentations of the year premiered in previous seasons. The David Kramer adaptation of Willy Russell's BLOOD BROTHERS finished up its run in Johannesburg and then returned for a stint at the Fugard Theatre; Cape Town Opera remounted Janice Honeyman's production of SHOW BOAT by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II; and Matthew Wild's staging of Richard O'Brien's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW continued its domination at the box office in encore runs in both Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The most refreshing piece of musical theatre to appear on Cape Town stages in a long time was FERGUS OF GALLOWAY, a rambunctious adaptation of Guillaume le Clerc's 13th-century Arthurian romance, LE ROMAN DE FERGUS. Written by Alexander McCall Smith (who created The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of novels) and Tom Cunningham, the musical dramatises several episodes from the titular knight-elect's life, as he hunts stags, battles villains and courts a beautiful princess. Of the production, Capetonian composer-lyricist Roland Perold of ROLSKA Productions, said, 'The mad antics of the small cast kept the audience engrossed throughout with very clever and seamless transitions into song with some fancy finger work from alternating guitar players.' Certainly, Jonathan Tait's nimble guitar work was one of the highlights of the show, while Daniel Richards made a dashing leading man, delivering the best musical theatre performance by an actor seen on Cape Town stages in 2014. Jessica Munna delivered a beguiling vocal reading of the score, while Sne Dladla offered great comic support in a variety of roles with his compact physique and booming voice. Nicholas Ellenbogen and David Scales were at the helm of this South African premiere, which was seen on stage at the Rosebank Theatre.

Classic works of musical theatre were also seen on stages around the country. The first of these was THE SOUND OF MUSIC, with its popular Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II score and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Presented by Pieter Toerien, David Ian and The Really Useful Group, this was version created for the 2006 London revival of the piece. At the heart of this production were two wonderful performances: Bethany Dickson as Maria and Janelle Visagie as the Mother Abbess. Dickson, who was equally wonderful as Berry Schaefer in SUNSET BOULEVARD last year, was magnificent as the rebellious young novice, delivering the standards from the score with vigour and vivacity, while Visagie delivered an exemplary "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". THE SOUND OF MUSIC was a family favourite at the Artscape at the start of the year, before transferring to the Teatro at Montecasino.

Durbanites were fortunate to be able to see Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's SWEENEY TODD in a new production by KickstArt directed by Steven Stead. The cast was headed up by Jason Ralph as Sweeney Todd and Charon Williams-Ros as Mrs Lovett, with Lyle Buxton as Anthony Hope, Sanli Jooste as Johanna, Danilo Antonelli as Adolfo Pirelli, Bryan Hiles as Tobias, Darren King as the Beadle and Katy Moore as the Beggar Woman. The production earned good notices for its cast, as well as for Stead and musical directors Shelley McLean and Justin Southey.

One of the most vital productions of a musical theatre piece was Northlink College's production of HAIR, the rock musical James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot. Robin Malan, the owner-manager of Junkets Publisher, which specialises in new South African plays, said that it blew him away: 'Who would have thought that college youngsters in 2014 could possibly be able to think themselves into this wonderful old "American Tribal Love-Rock Musical"? Well, they did. They got the spirit: the brashness and the vulnerability. Great voices, too, well led by two strong male voices: Eldon van der Merwe as Berger and Keenan Strauss as Claude.' Raw and edgy, HAIR was performed at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town as a part of the Suidoosterfees.

The most recent Broadway and West End hit to be seen in a professional local production was MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT. The show is adapted from the 1975 cult classic MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and features a score by by John Du Prez, Eric Idle and Neil Innes, with Idle also writing the book for the show. Simon James directed and designed the show for the Joburg Theatre, with Roelof Colyn serving as musical director and Timothy Le Roux as choreographer. Spoofing the legend of Camelot, the show delivered some of the classic Monty Python sequences from the film to an enthusiastic response from audiences, the Lady of the Lake (Michelle Botha) proved to be a scene-stealing role here as in other productions and the general irreverence that is a trademark of the Monty Python style was prominently on display throughout the production. Joining Botha onstage were Norman Anstey as King Arthur, Bongi Mthombeni as Patsy, Grant Towers as Sir Robin, L. J. Urbani as Sir Lancelot, Clive Gilson as Sir Dennis Galahad, Liam J. Stratton as Sir Bedevere and Adrian Poulsen as Prince Herbert.

While several operas were mounted on stage in South Africa this year, there is no doubt that the most innovative of these had to have been Brett Bailey's production of MACBETH. With Fabrizio Cassol adapting the classic Giuseppe Verdi score, the piece rebuilt the opera from the ground up. In Bailey's version, the original's Scottish setting makes way for a Central African milieu and the infamous general and clansman is transformed into a Congolese warlord. Against a backdrop of ethnic conflict, Macbeth and his ambitious wife scheme their way to the top of a brutal militia and take over a province in the Eastern Congo to devastating effect.

Owen Metsileng and Nobulumko Mngxekeza as the Macbeths both sang their respective roles exquisitely, while Bailey's adaptation of the piece grappled profoundly with the context in which it appears - something that is too often absent in most South African productions of classic operas. Along with its devastating commentary on post-colonial Africa, this MACBETH made a solid case that classic European opera has a valid place in the modern African context.

Before rounding up today's retrospective, it is worth taking a moment to recall two presentations that might otherwise slip through the cracks. UNDERSTUDY BLUES was a fantastic cabaret performed by Candice van Litsenborgh with Drew Rienstra on the piano, while OLD KIT BAG was a revue of World War I songs. Both provided thoroughly entertaining nights at the theatre, the former at the Galloway Theatre and the latter at the Rosebank.

What was your favourite musical of the year? Share your choice with us using the comment feature below, and be sure to look out for the third part of our plays retrospective. The final instalment of our "six of the best" columns will bring the total number of productions featured in this series of retrospectives up to thirty.