Simply Broadway

The sell-out smash hit of 2012 is back- and it promises to be bigger and better than before! A fresh and interesting tribute to some of the world’s greatest musicals, Simply Broadway is a one man show like no other. This show is both side-splitting and emotive, injecting new life into old classics and introducing some of Broadway’s freshest offerings. The show contains all your show tune favourites, stripped down to their simplest, most exquisite form. With a smart set design and slick, quirky script, this show is the hottest ticket in town. With music from The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Chicago, Wicked and many more-  Simply Broadway spans the very best of musical theatre all within one show. If you love the music of the night or just want to misbehave, Simply Broadway is simply a must-see!

Meet the Cast….

Brett de Groot’s first taste of professional theatre came at the age of 10 in the Nelson Mandela People’s Theatre production of Noddy in Toyland, shortly followed by the Johannesburg Youth Theatre’s production of Oliver!, landing the title roles in both productions. In 2004, at the extremely young age of 12, he out performed adult actors and was awarded Best Comedic Performer in the World Championships of Performing Arts. Earning over 100 diplomas from National eisteddfods throughout his school career, he also collected 7 best actor awards from inter-house school productions, as well as directing the award winning Monster Soup which cleaned the floor at both the inter-house play competition, as well as earning 16 awards at the RAPS One Act Play Festival. Brett has appeared in several musicals including Footloose (Willard), The Sound of Music (Fredrik) as well as his critically acclaimed performance as Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

 
Brett has also achieved his grade 8 in Musical Theatre with distinction through Trinity Guildhall, and is currently studying a triple major in Classical Voice, Law and TV Journalism at Rhodes University. He was snapped up immediately in first year by the East Cape Opera Company in 2010, and starred in their production of In The Mood which toured the Eastern Cape, and has been a member ever since.And now, at age of 20, he is simply bursting at the seams with excitement to perform for you today!

Jacques du Plessis began playing the piano at age 7 and in 2001 began his studies with Yvonne Attree in East London. In 2006 he won the U/18 piano section in the East London Eisteddfod and in the same year completed his Trinity Grade 8 exam with Distinction.

 
Jacques has received numerous awards and bursaries including the Charles Bryars Organ Scholarship and the Robert B Lloyd bursary. He also received the Beethoven prize in his first and second year of study. In 2008 he completed his Unisa Grade 8 piano exam with Merit and in the same year he was a special prize winner in the Grahamstown Youth Music Competition, winning the Rachmaninoff Prize. In 2009, he was a runner up in the concerto category of the same competition where he performed the Grieg piano concerto with the Rhodes University Orchestra. In 2009 he toured Zimbabwe as part of the Driske Trio. The highly successful tour included performances in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

 
In 2008 and 2010, Jacques participated and performed in the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium. He has also received master classes from various international and national pianists and pedagogues Luis Magalhaes, Truida van der Walt, Bernarda Swart, Francois du Toit, Franklin Larey, Nina Schumann, Anton Nel, Bennie van Eeden, Ella Fourie, Margarita Shevchenko and Malcolm Nay. Jacques has performed recitals in East London, Port Alfred, Grahamstown, Humansdorp and Pretoria and has performed with the Odeion String Quartet.

 
Jacques completed his BMus degree in 2010 and is currently working towards a Masters Degree in Performance while teaching piano at Stirling High School in East London.