MOST people will never see a Broadway musical but South Africa’s Gregg Pettigrew is here with a taste.
Bringing us glimpses of ‘Evita’, ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’, ‘Joseph’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Les Mis’ and ‘Chicago’, Pettigrew presents ‘Shades of Broadway’. A one-man dramatic tribute to the Broadway greats interlaced with insights into acting life amidst these larger-than-life productions.
“’Shades of Broadway’ is my personal story of being on the musical stage all around the world,” says Pettigrew who stars and co-wrote the piece with his husband as well as creative and technical director John Pettigrew. “The Broadway songs are linked together with personal stories of my experiences, and the narrative is from an audience perspective like being invited to come and have a chat.”
Promising some of the greatest hits and a little audience participation, Pettigrew, who will be performing in Namibia for the first time after appearing in David Ian’s ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘Seussical the Musical’, believes musicals are a genre unlike any other.
“You simply cannot beat a high quality musical,” he says. “They have everything that audiences relate to and tell such wonderful stories attached to fantastic musical scores. People simply cannot get enough of these amazing shows and as a performer, one is so blessed to be on these stages, helping audiences escape their everyday lives by coming to theatre for two or three hours.”
On bringing the show to Windhoek, Warehouse Theatre’s Michael Ott simply hopes to treat local theatre lovers to something different.
“Namibia doesn’t usually get to experience Broadway musical theatre,” says Ott. “We loved the idea of providing access to a range of beloved and iconic shows to the Namibian public.”
Reviewed in the George Herald in one inspiring line – “’Shades of Broadway’ will enrich your life” – the high energy show is set to premiere this Saturday and Pettigrew may even be as excited as the Broadway buffs.
“I am absolutely loving Windhoek! We have been here for a few weeks already and it is just such a special place,” he says. “The people have been incredible and it ticks a venue off my bucket list as I have always felt that Windhoek is one of the cities I have regretted not playing before so I jumped at this opportunity.”
Eager to break down the barriers between the audience and himself, Pettigrew invites the crowd to hang around after the show because after some song, some dance and a whole lot of Broadway brilliance, he’ll probably fancy a chat.
‘Shades of Broadway’ will have a matinee at 15h00 and an evening show at 20h00 on Saturday, 22 September. Tickets are available from EventsToday, PayToday and Airtime City kiosks.
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