David Kramer’s new musical Orpheus McAdoo will be presented by Cape Town Opera (CTO) at the Artscape theatre from today, Friday October 18, to Monday November 4.
The production is a fresh take on Kramer’s Orpheus in Africa that premiered in Cape Town in 2015.
Orpheus McAdoo marks a first-time collaboration between CTO and Kramer. The music, inspired by early spirituals, minstrel songs, ragtime, ballads and opera, includes several new songs by Kramer who also directs the show.
The cast includes CTO House Soloists Conroy Scott as Orpheus and Brittany Smith as Mattie. Smith won a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award last year for her role as Maria in The Sound of Music. Appearing alongside the CTO singers in both speaking and singing roles will be performers including Jody Abrahams (Egbert Washburn), Dean Balie (Ernest Logan), Alexis Petersen (Lucy Moten), Elton Landrew (Curtis), Eldon van der Merwe (Richard McAdoo) and Natalie Robbie (Lady Loch).
The story revolves around the African-American choir known as The Virginia Jubilee Concert Company led by Orpheus McAdoo, that visited South Africa in the 1890s. Invited by Lady Loch, the High Commissioner’s wife, they successfully presented a style of singing that had never before been heard in the Cape and beyond. The troupe was warmly embraced and became an overnight sensation, and over a period of two years they toured towns and cities like Worcester, Wellington, Kimberley, Graaff- Reinet and Laingsburg, as well as the rest of South Africa.
“I’m looking forward to working with the combination of opera singers and musical performers to partly conjure up this era,” said Kramer.
“It is my hope that audiences will experience what the Virginia Jubilee Singers might have sounded like in concert in those days. This choir made a tremendous impact and the story of Orpheus and his wife Mattie and their struggle with minstrelsy in the 1890s provides for an entertaining and eye-opening evening at the theatre.”
The creative team includes Fiona du Plooy as assistant director and movement director, Dawid Bovarhoff as arranger and Kevin Kraak as musical director. Costumes are by Maritha Visagie, set and visuals are by Julian David, lighting is by Faheem Bardien and sound design is by The Grateful Deaf.
Tickets cost from R200 to R450 through Webtickets or Artscape Dial-A-Seat on 021 421 7695. There are discounts for groups, students and pensioners.
