Luciano Zuppa | antakalipa

The Frog Prince

At the Peoples Theatre, Joburg Theatre to watch The Frog Prince and other fantastic stories. A wonderful show for the kids with color, imagination, energy, funny gags, sing alongs, morality, fantastic costumes and plenty of participation from the audience. We were very helpful. It wasn’t just the Frog Prince, we had other great stories like: 3 Wishes, a story of a grant wishing flounder with a lifelong lesson about promises “you have to keep your promises”. There was Hansel and Gretel, The brave little tailor, The soup stone, The emperors new clothes and The brave little rooster. There was also a story about goats.

The performers also performed Happy, uptown funk, I’ve got the feeling and Waka Waka, encouraging and teaching the audience dance moves for participating. Perfect choreographed movement and dance.

It is fun and interactive, a lot of smiles and laughter. Children helped and donned costumes, so cute, they were flies, bees, kings guards and a whole lot more. Laughter and happiness reigned. Everyone participated.

Morals like “You have to keep your promise” and basically power; from a small cottage, to a castle to being the king to being the lord of the universe and don’t take things that don’t belong to you provide life lessons.

The wonderful performers are:
Luciano Zuppa
Thokozani TK Jiyane
Raymond Skinner
Noluthando Matebula

1 and a half hours with 10 minutes interval.

Congratulations Jill Girard and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing.

Matilda Jr.

At the Peoples Theatre, Joburg Theatre for the opening of Matilda Jr. I was so excited for this one! As a kid, I used to love the movie. To be honest, I still love it today. I would never dare change the channel if it’s on. Nostalgia, it takes me back to simpler times. A time when I yearned for telekinetic powers to defeat and outwit my bullies. I truly loved the show, it had me laughing and reminiscing all the way. There’s nothing better than hearing a child’s laughter, the show had that effect. Everyone was entertained, it is mellow, humorous, light and family-friendly.

The set is colorful and the transition between scenes is seamless and efficient. Everyone knew their cues and the show just flowed. I absolutely loved Peo-entle Pitso as Matilda. She is sharp witted and fast. She performs with a lot of love, she’s mischievous, she sings and she’s convincing, she is simply brilliant! One for the future. Luciano Zuppa is straight-up Miss Trunchbull. Musculine, crooked teeth, towering and intimidating. Raymond Skinner as Mr. Wormwood is definitely my favorite. He has zero regard for reading and derisively calls Matilda a “bookworm”. It’s crazy that Matilda has read “Crime and Punishment”, I agree with his father’s assessment. He ultimately gets in trouble with the Russian mafia for his shady deals. Jordan Rogers is gorgeous and enjoyable as Mrs. Wormwood. She is materialistic and wants the good life. She also doesn’t understand Matilda and she doesn’t waste her time trying to, she’d rather spend time with her boy toy, dancing with her wedding ring out of sight. Amelia Stephens is simple as Miss Honey. Long dresses, clean presentation, tame and a calm demeanor. I laughed out loud when Matilda asked if she was poor. Yes, she is poor. However she is kind, caring and empathetic – qualities that make her a great teacher and she gets the big house at the end.

Amazing show, the kids are in sync and well practiced. They sang, they danced and they delivered lines with precision. The writing is fabulous, everything and everyone is fabulous! Highly recommended, wonderful, wonderful show!

Directed by Jill Girard and Sandy Richardson-Dyer
Musical Director – Coenraad Rall
Set Design – Grant Knottenbelt

Congratulations to the Peoples Theatre and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.