The luxurious 1100-seater theatre is part of a R240 million investment in the upgrading of the property and its expansion. Gold Reef City Casino and producer Richard Loring will be staging the award-winning smash musical, Hairspray, as the launch production for this new venue.
"Gold Reef City Casino is excited by the quality of the show that our producer, Richard Loring, and his team have put together for Hairspray. South Africans will easily identify with Hairspray's themes of moving towards integration, harmony and celebration of democracy," says Joan Jacobs, marketing manager at Gold Reef City Casino.
The fun feel-good musical is presented in association with SABC 3. Hairspray is about a plump teenage girl who takes the world of showbiz by storm earning fame, fortune the love of her heartthrob along the way.
The local production will feature 34 cast members and a 12-piece orchestra that will bring the magic of Broadway to Jozi.
“Hairspray opened on Broadway in 2002, played its 2000th performance earlier this year and continues to go from strength to strength as a firm audience favourite,” says Dineo Mondlane, SABC3's marketing manager. "SABC3, as a channel that aims to reflect the dreams of South Africa, is proud to be associated with this musical which is about chasing one's dreams and turning them into reality. The message of Hairspray will ring true in a nation that is alive with possibility and rich in diversity."
The stellar cast for the show includes top line entertainers such as Harry Sideropolous, Mara Louw, Kate Normington and Mike Huff. In keeping with the theme of aspiring to one's dreams, Elizca Coetzer, a young, new talent who recently made her professional debut in Hair, will play the lead role of Tracy Turnblad opposite dream boy Dane Paarman, who plays Link Larkin.
