Kat and the Kings

South African musical

Kat and the Kings
Original Cast Recording
Music	Taliep Petersen
Lyrics	David Kramer
Book	David Kramer
Basis	Memories of Salie Daniels
Productions	1996 Cape Town^[1] 1998 West End 1999 Broadway
Awards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Kat and the Kings is a South African musical with a book and lyrics by David Kramer and music by Taliep 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 in Cape Town. With his friends Ballie, Magoo, Bingo, and Lucy, he forms the a cappella group the Cavalla Kings, and the quintet - emulating the American doo wop and rock and roll they adore - becomes a sensation, graduating from street corners to "whites only" nightclubs (where the dictates of apartheid 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.^[2] Directed by Kramer and choreographed by Loukmaan Adams and Jody Abrahams, it opened on March 23, 1998 at the Vaudeville 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.

Kat and the Kings won the Laurence 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.^[3] An original cast album was recorded live during the June 6, 1998 performance and released by First Night Records.^[4]

After fifteen previews, the Broadway production opened on August 19, 1999 at the Cort 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 the London production. It was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Alistair Izobell), Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Orchestrations.

Song 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)

References

^ "David Kramer's Official Website - Musicals". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
^ Terri Paddock (17 December 2003). "Kat & the Kings". Whatsonstage. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "1999 Olivier Award Winners and Nominations (for 1998 season)". Albemarle of London. 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Kat And The Kings – Original West End Cast". First Night Records. 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.