Everyone loves a fairytale and members of the entertainment industry more so than others. Proof that fairytales do come true was provided recently when two of South Africa’s leading musical theatre performers, Jo Galloway and Murray Todd were married at a magical ceremony at The Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg, whilst also joining two power house industry families together at the same time.

Jo Galloway is the daughter of the renowned industry couple Keith Galloway and Delia Sainsbury. An established British actress and dancer before moving to South Africa, Delia will long be remembered for the various magazine programmes she staged on television; from Compass to Video 2, Spotlight On to Good Morning South Africa and all others in between. Keith is established as one of South Africa’s most formidable writer/director/choreographers, and has a list of credits that would impress even the most surly of industry critics. They form a dynamic team as directors of The Waterfront Theatre School in Cape Town who’ve produced some of South Africa’s finest performers including amongst others, Ian von Memerty, Tim Plewman and Angela Killian, and more recently their daughters Jo and Genna Galloway.

Murray Todd is the son of Margaret Todd, who runs the extremely successful Protea Stage Productions company in Benoni.

Both Jo and Murray didn’t hesitate to follow in their parents footsteps, providing the South African theatre industry with a second generation of performers who are fast leaving their own unforgettable footprints on this unpredictable industry.

They believe they were destined to meet. The fairytale began in 2004 when both Jo and Murray were cast in their first production together; Richard Loring’s “That’ll be the Day – The Buddy Holly Story”, although when they first met, it was certainly not love at first sight; newly moved up from Cape Town, Jo found Murray to be arrogant, and Murray found Jo to be a snob!

But that soon changed, the chemistry was instantly evident, and they quickly adapted their views on each other. For both of them, they knew “this was it” at a very early stage; within 2 months they’d moved in together, 6 months later they’d bought a house and one year later Murray proposed to Jo in Camps Bay – in the rain – on the beach.

Murray remembers the moment; “I had a whole chain of events planned for that day; parties organized for after the proposal and everything. And then the rain started! I couldn’t change all the arrangements so I took Jo onto the beach, even while it was raining and proposed. When she said yes, I couldn’t even feel the rain anymore – it was the most magical moment for me!”

This culminated in a wedding service and celebration on 23rd March that will certainly be one of the most memorable in musical theatre circles for one of the most sincere and “real” celebrations in many years. As an excited Murray waited for his bride to appear, he made a joke to the guests that they were “flying off the cuff – no rehearsals”. When the breathtaking Jo appeared at the top of the stairs in her exquisite wedding dress the intake of breath from all guests was palpable and as a tear formed in Murray’s eye, the rest of the guests attending followed suit, while they witnessed a spiritual service and exchanging of vows that was “so Murray and Jo”. Thus began an evening of celebration of note!

The who’s who of the theatre industry world were all in attendance; from Brandon Auret and Neels Classen being Murray’s attendants to Anitra Davel, Helen De Jongh and sister Genna being Jo’s bridesmaids. Guests included amongst others, Richard Loring, Harry Sideropoulos, Emmanuel Castis, Terrance Bridgett, Shaun V, Michael Richard, Mike Huff, Kate Normington and many others.

With this impressive guest list, there was every chance for the wedding to become “just another showy society wedding” but this was definitely not the case here.

Jo explains; “Murray and I wanted a celebration with our family and friends. We wanted it to be real and sincere and neither one of us wanted anything “flash”. We believe we succeeded in achieving this. We stood up in front of those closest to us and shared a very special moment in our lives with them. We will never forget how wonderful and precious our wedding day was for us both.”

Being in the industry of entertaining people, the official speeches were certainly memorable with many moments of hilarity provided by all speakers. But a story that Murray told the guests put everything into perspective for him. While everyone was talking about “the fairytale relationship and wedding” he told of a “behind the scenes” situation the day before that very nearly put the wedding ceremony into jeopardy. The jeweler making their wedding rings absconded the night before with their wedding bands! So, there they were, running around on that Sunday morning of their wedding – 23 March which also happened to be Easter Sunday, trying to get replacement rings.

For Murray, the way Jo handled the situation was proof of why he loved her; as he recounted at the wedding later that day; “So many women would have freaked out about that happening. But Jo was calm and said ‘today isn’t about the ring you’re putting on my finger, it’s about the fact that we want to make a life commitment together. I don’t mind what ring you put on my finger – it can be a plastic one for all I care….I just want to meet you at the end of the wedding aisle”. Kudos to you, Jo!

Replacement rings were bought and the ceremony went by without a hitch. Having work commitments, they needed to delay their honeymoon but honeymoon they did, eventually! They have recently returned from an idyllic time spent in Bali, then Singapore and finishing up in Paternoster in the Cape. They scuba dived, drank Pina Coladas on the beach, rode on elephants and even managed to take time out to visit the stellar South African cast of “We Will Rock You” (in which Murray played ‘Britney Spears’ in the national tour), which includes Jo’s sister Genna and their close friends Neels Classen and Shaun V, in Singapore to watch the show!

Now back at home in Melville, Johannesburg, they are back to being focused on their careers; Jo is currently in rehearsal for the upcoming Broadway musical “The Full Monty” which opens in Cape Town next week, while Murray is taking a moment to strategise for the future, while also participating in various corporate theatre projects and making a concerted effort to re-establish himself in the local television and film circles (look out for him currently in Rhythm City and The Lab).

With their proactive outlook to forging a future together – both as a couple but also individually as performers – this new “power house married couple” will continue to take the entertainment industry by storm! Murray Todd and Jo Galloway are here to stay!