Theatre Review: Saturday Night Fever SA
"Night Fever, Night Fever."
The classic Saturday Night Fever musical production is on at the State Theatre in Pretoria this month.
For the first time, the show has a full South African cast and is a completely original 'non-replica' staging by Greg Homann and his team, using the new 'North American' script and score adaptations.
The story takes place in late July 1977 in Brooklyn, New York with most of the scenes at the famous 2001 Odyssey Disco Club, focussing on the working-class Italians (late teens) disco-dancers and the lives they lead in the Bay Ridge area.
The cast lead by Daniel Buys as Tony Manero and Natasha Van Der Merwe as Stephanie Mangano were nothing short of excellent. The musical score, outfits, stage and props, choreography, right down to the Italian accents made one feel like they were in Brooklyn in 1977.
All the Bee Gees classics from that era were performed from Stayin' Alive to Tragedy. Other 70's classics like Open Sesame from Kool and the Gang, and Disco Inferno also featured in the musical line-up. Each song was performed with the actor/actress who sang it making it their own which added to the originality of the production.
By the end of the show you were either dancing on your chair or wanting to get up on stage to join the cast.
An all round outstanding performance by the cast and a must see before the curtains close on the 9th October.
