Dawid: Die Musical–a live show well worth watching

Last year it was ‘Ester: Die Musical’ (Esther: The Musical) and this year it is ‘Dawid: Die Musical’ (David: The Musical).

Retief Burger as David (center) and Garth Collins, aka Granite, as Joab (right) Picture courtesy Robin Malherbe

Having seen last year’s Ester, we waited in anticipation for Dawid when Renier Keyser—a member in our church at 3CI—announced in January (I think) that they would be doing Dawid this year. We thoroughly enjoyed Ester last year, and knew that it was imperative to go watch Dawid at the Pretoria State Theatre this year.

Well, we watched the show last night (Wed, 6 June 2012), and really enjoyed the show. It had everything: humour, action (even in slow-motion), love, betrayal, etc.

The play was written by Renier Keyser and his wife Lise-Marie Keyser, and they really did such a good job. The music was written by Fritz de Groot, an old friend that I haven’t seen since my wedding day, when he and another friend led the worship during the wedding ceremony. He is truly a great talent.

David is portrayed by two people, Dewald Louw as the young David, and Retief Burger as the mature David. Johan Scholtz, from such TV shows as Agter Elke Man, Egoli, and Getroud Met Rugby, portrayed king Saul and later the prophet Nathan. Anton Dekker played the prophet Samuel. Then, an old favourite from The Gladiators days, Garth Collins (Granite), played both the bad boy Goliath, and General Joab. On the ladies side, Elizca Coetzer played Michal (king Saul’s daughter and David’s wife), and also the witch from Endor. Bathsheba was played by Melissa Bam, who is also the sister of the reigning Miss South Africa, Melinda Bam.

David and Bathsheba console each other at the death of their son Picture courtesy Robin Malherbe

The music was excellent and the dialogue intriguing, and sometimes outright funny! The scene where the son of David and Bathsheba died, and David had to console Bathseba, was filled with raw emotion, and we could even hear someone crying in the audience. The singing by the two David’s (Retief Burger, Dewald Louw) and David’s two wives (Elizca Coetzer, Melissa Bam) was outstanding.

The amazing thing about The Keyser’s plays, is that the scenery changes in the background in such a clever way that it sometimes is not even noticeable. All building, palaces, even caves re on wheels, and if they are turned around, then the scene can change from the throne room to a cave or something else. Props are really used well, and it is amazing how much they do with the limited space they have on the stage.

If you are close enough to Pretoria, it is well worth the effort to watch this show, and it runs until Sunday, 1 July 2012. Tickets for the show can be booked at Computicket.

So, you better book those tickets now, because you might end up kicking yourself if you miss this opportunity!

For those who missed Ester last year, there is good news. Starting on 4 August 2012, Ester is back at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria for 16 shows! Don’t miss it again! You can book tickets at Computicket! The original promo for Ester from last year is below.

What we will be watching tonight

Ester from 3Ci on Vimeo.
Die vervaardigers van Houtkruis Die Musical en AfriFrans bied aan ’n nuwe Afrikaanse Gospel musiekspel: Ester.

Ester vertel hoe die geloof en vernuftigheid van een jong vrou ’n hele nasie van uitwissing red. Met indrukwekkende dekor, pragtige periode kostumering en Afrikaanse musiek besiel met Arabiese klanke, gaan Ester die hoogtepunt wees op die Suid-Afrikaanse verhoog hierdie jaar.

Ester is the Afrikaans musical, based on the providential story of Esther in the Bible, written by a husband and wife team from our church. The members of our church booked out the show for tonight, and we are all very excited! It is at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria and starts at 20:00. The show will be on stage until 2 October 2011, and tickets may be purchased at CompuTicket.