'Back to Broadway' inspires audiences to keep the arts alive

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GEORGE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - We entered the Arts Theatre in York Street on level 3 on Sunday evening for the last performance of the show Back to Broadway, and left the theatre in good spirits, on level 4.

But what a great time we had! Back to Broadway captured all the elements one can wish for in a show: strong leading characters, creative storytelling, comedy and plenty of local talent.

The distress call of the arts, and the George Arts Theatre in particular, can be identified as a leitmotif woven through the core of the production. The pandemic and all the restrictions placed on artistic performances have indeed left a bloody mark.

In the words of director Wayne Strydom, the audience is the lifeline of the theatre, because without them, there will be no show. There might have been only 50 people watching on each night of the performances - extended as a last resort to save the show after adjusted regulations chopped the allowed number of guests in half - but their heartfelt enjoyment filled the auditorium.

Siyabonga Mtshiselwa (21), Cuemi Tsai (10), Brooklyn-Rose McDonald (8) and Isabella Botes (13) enjoying every moment on stage.

We shared the theatre's memories of shows long gone in a time when the only masked wonder was the actor playing the phantom in Phantom of the Opera. We heard their pain and fear of the looming possibility that the theatre might have to close its doors.

Photo gallery: Keeping the arts alive with Back to Broadway

But Wayne, as long as you keep trying, as long as the creative juices flow onstage and backstage, we will bring our children and support the arts. We too want the theatre to survive.

The sun'll come out tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow

There'll be sun

Just thinkin' about tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow

'Til there's none.

Carina Beukes (left) who was the scriptwriter and part of the production team, played the role of the janitor, while Reneé van Rensburg, the current chairperson of the George Society of Arts, played herself (chairperson). Photos: Michelle Pienaar