| What: David Kramer’s musical Orpheus McAdoo presented by Cape Town Opera When: October 21 to November 2, 2025 Where: Artscape Cast: Includes Conroy Scott, Brittany Smith with Jody Abrahams, Zolani Shangase, Alexis Petersen, Elton Landrew , Eldon van der Merwe and Natalie Robbie, CTO singers Director: David Kramer Resident director and movement director: Fiona du Plooy Assistant director: Kirsten Pienaar Arranger: Dawid Bovarhoff Musical director: Kurt Haupt Costume design: Maritha Visagie Set design: Julian David Lighting: Kieran Cattel Sound design: Mark Malherbe and David Classen Tickets: R170-R520 via Webtickets and Artscape Dial-A-Seat 0214217695 |
David Kramer’s musical Orpheus McAdoo presented by Cape Town Opera is on for a return season in Cape Town, at Artscape, October 21 to November 2, 2025. I saw the musical in October 2024. It was a treat to have the opportunity again, to see this epic scale, South African musical. It is epic on many levels: A big story (based on a true story), with a vast canvas; a big production with a cast of 19 and a live band (four), 19 original songs by David Kramer. Orpheus has been tweaked, sharpened and heightened. The music is sublime. The lyrics are captivating. The cast nails the story with vooma, dignity and grace. I loved it. Please do not miss.
It is not customary in Cape Town, to give star ratings for shows. If we were dishing out star ratings, I would give Orpheus a five star rating. Congrats David Kramer (director, writer, composer), Fiona du Plooy (resident director/movement director), Kirsten Pienaar (assistant director, creative team and cast. Wow to Brittany Smith and Conroy Scott who reprise their roles as Mattie Allen and Orpheus McAdoo, navigating their way artistically and romantically, against the backdrop of Colonial Cape Town. Smith and Scott are magnificent – vocally and theatrically. Their partnering in this musical is magical.
Orpheus McAdoois based on the true-story of Orpheus McAdoo, an Black American impresario/ producer and his company, The Jubilee Singers. They were performing in Europe, Glasgow to be specific, when things were not going well. Lady Loch (wife of Lord Henry Loch, high commissioner to the Cape Colony) invited The Jubilee Singers to the Cape. The troupe docked in the Cape Colony in June 1890. A two year tour ensued, with adoration by the public. Despite them being Black, they were viewed as “American” – until they wanted to step beyond racial boundaries and drink in a pub, for instance. (And of course, we know that racial divides were to get much worse in Apartheid South Africa.) Intertwined with The Jubilee Singers, was a rival impresario, Curtis and his duo of minstrels, Egbert Washburn and Ernest Logan. The minstrels performed in a tent, cavorting around in Black Face. Audiences in the Cape Colony lapped up the minstrels – caricatures of African Americans. Audiences were cool with the Jubilee Singers being Black American, until they expanded their repertoire into Opera. Black people singing Verdi sublimely, was too much.
In this production, the interaction between Orpheus, Mattie and the Jubilee Singers and the minstrels has been expanded. Before, I had a sense of the minstrels being a side-show – the clowns of the piece. The characters have developed and one gets a sense of them as artists, seeking their voices, despite being at the behest of an unscrupulous producer, Curtis (Elton Landrew). Jody Abrahams is reprising his role as Egbert Washburn. Zolani Shangase is a newcomer as Ernest Logan. They are captivating, fabulous, as they push through the stereotypes of minstrels and convey a sense of yearning and quest to find their own voice as artists.
The struggles to find a voice – artistically, culturally, emotionally is a powerful theme in this musical and has been deepened in this production. There is the challenge to nurture and acknowledge one’s own voice, heritage and history and at the same time, find an audience and – make a living. Orpheus wrestles with being “dignified” and authentic” and also being a commercial success – to pay the bills.
Kudos to Kramer, Fiona du Plooy (movement director and resident director) and Kirsten Pienaar (assistant director) in the intricate and fine tuning of the duo and its interaction with Orpheus and the Jubilee Singers. Ragtime – the new music Orpheus is encouraged to embrace – and drumming – connecting Orpheus with his African roots – comes across profoundly in this production – not just as motif and influence but as a potent mode of expression. The live band (Seung-Ree Lee, Rayelle Goodman, Luke Otto), under the musical direction of Kurt Haupt (on keyboards) gives expression to the stirring songs. Note – David Kramer has composed the music for and penned the lyrics for 19 songs in the musical – words and music. Yes – 19 original songs. The rest of the songs, include arrangements of traditional songs, African American spirituals and songs in the public domain, such as the folk song, My Sarie Marais.
There is a filmic flow between narrative, song and performance. In the previous season, it wasn’t always seamless. The sound is superb (Mark Malherbe and David Classen) with crisp rendition of song and dialogue and fine sound balancing. A shout-out to dialect coach, Claire Berlein. The diction and accent inflections have been finely tuned – from the plummy tones of exaggerated Received Pronunciation of Lady Moten (Alexis Petersen) to the Southern accents and Cape accents.
I reckon that Orpheus McAdoo is our Hamilton – definitely worth hopping on a plane to Cape Town. This exhilarating legacy musical resonates profoundly now for our times – for contemporary artists as entertainers – finding the balance between creating work which resonates but is accessible and is commercially viable. And for audiences – who yearn to be entertained and at the same time be challenged by layered and nuanced work. Orpheus should tour – South Africa and out of Africa.
For more into the narrative and about the music (includes traditional, spirituals, minstrel charm songs, acapella, Ragtime, South African and Cape folk songs), see The Cape Robyn review of Orpheus McAdoo 2024 [https://thecaperobyn.co.za/review-david-kramers-musical-orpheus-mcadooground-breaking-stunning-performances/],
✳ Featured image: Brittany Smith (Mattie Allen), Alexis (Lucy Moten) and Conroy Scott (Orpheus McAdoo) in David Kramer’s musical Orpheus McAdoo presented by Cape Town Opera, 2025. Pic: Jesse Kramer. Supplied.
