- Kat and the Kings
Infobox Musical
name= Kat and the Kings
subtitle=
caption= Original Cast Recording
music=Taliep Petersen
lyrics=David Kramer
book=David Kramer
basis= Memories ofSalie Daniels
productions=1998 West End
1999 Broadway
awards=Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical"Kat and the Kings" is a musical with a book and lyrics by
David Kramer and music byTaliep Petersen .Set in late-1950s
South Africa , it focuses on teenager Kat Diamond, who believes he's the best singer and dancer in District Six, a multi-racial slum inCape Town . With his friends Ballie, Magoo, Bingo, and Lucy, he forms thea cappella group the Cavalla Kings, and the quintet - emulating the Americandoo wop androck and roll they adore - becomes a senstation, graduating from street corners to "whites only"nightclub s (where the dictates ofapartheid force them to use the rear entrance) and a recording contract.The show was inspired by the memories of Salie Daniels, the real-life Kat who appeared as the narrator in the original production. After touring South Africa, the show was invited to the
Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn in November 1997, and returned to that venue prior to its opening in the West End [http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E0331391179] . Directed by Kramer andchoreographed by Loukmaan Adams and Jody Abrahams, it opened onMarch 23 1998 at theVaudeville Theatre , where it ran for slightly more than four months. In addition to Daniels, the cast included Abrahams as the young Kat, Adams as Bingo, Junaid Booysen as Ballie, Alistair Izobel as Magoo, and Mandisa Bardill as Lucy. It won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and, in an unusual move, the entire cast was named Best Actor in a Musical. The show also was nominated for Best Theatre Choreography [http://www.albemarle-london.com/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=1999] . An original cast album was recorded live during theJune 6 1998 performance and released by First Night Records [http://www.first-night-records.com/cart/description.php?II=91&UID=2007033119145264.12.116.80] .After fifteen previews, the Broadway production opened on
August 19 1999 at theCort Theatre , where it ran for 157 performances. Terry Hector and Kim Louis replaced Daniels as the elder Kat and Mandisa Bardill as Lucy, respectively, but the remainder of the cast and the director and choreographers were from theLondon production. It was nominated forDrama Desk Award s for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Alistair Izobell), Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Orchestrations.ong list
;Act I
* Memory
* American Thing
* Lucky Day
* Mavis
* Boetie Guitar
* Cavalla Kings
* If Your Shoes Don't Shine
* Dress to Kill
* Shine
* The Tafelberg Hotel
* Lonely Girl
* Josephine
* Wild Time;Act II
* Happy to Be Nineteen
* Lonely Girl (Reprise)
* Oo Wee Bay Bee
* Only If You Have a Dream
* The Last Thing You Need
* Stupid Boy
* Cavalla Kings (Reprise)
* The Singing Sensation
* The Bell Hop
* Blind Date
* Lonely Girl (Reprise)
* The Invisible Dog
* Hey Baby
* Cavalla Kings (Reprise)
* Skeleton Dance
* Lagunya
* Lucky Day (Reprise)
* The Singing Sensation (Reprise)
* Hey Baby (Reprise)
* We Were Rocking
* Lagunya (Reprise)
* Wild Time (Reprise)External links
* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=11795 Internet Broadway Database listing]
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