Jonathan Roxmouth, starring in Grease the musical, won the Fleur du Cap for Best Performance in a Musical for his role in Beauty and the Beast.

The prestigious annual Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards took place at a glamorous event, at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town on Sunday evening, attended by Guests of Honour Premier Helen Zille and Mayor Dan Plato, as well as a host of celebrities and stage stars.

Jonathan Roxmouth won the award for Best Performance in a Musical for his sterling performance as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast that was produced last year in South Africa, by Hazel Feldman and Pieter Toerien. Roxmouth was up against three other outstanding talents in the category, namely Anton Luitingh for his role as the Beast in the same production (Luitingh is also performing in Grease as Vince Fontaine); Christine Weir as Maria in Noah of Cape Town; and Pauline Malefane as Deus/Jesus in The Mysteries. Alan Swerdlow, who was Resident Director on Beauty and the Beast, received the award on behalf of Roxmouth who couldn’t make the awards ceremony as he was performing on-stage as Danny in Grease, the international musical that is currently running at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town. Roxmouth joined the celebrations as soon as he could, straight after the Grease show had ended.

Roxmouth first hit the boards as a very tall munchkin in his nursery school production of The Wizard of Oz and he has been never left the stage since. Whilst still at Northcliff High School , he gleaned the bulk of his theatrical experience by participating in a number of musicals at the Natal Playhouse. These included Guys and Dolls (Nicely-Nicely Johnson); Oklahoma! (Ali Hakim); The Mikado (Pooh-Bah); Me and My Girl (Bill Snibson); and The Pirates of Penzance (The Pirate King).

He ditched a potential career in Criminal Law and made his professional theatrical début in 2006, in the Barnyard’s production of Grease (Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel). He followed that up with Rock Me; Amadeus (Mozart); and The Buddy Holly Story (Buddy Holly). The big musicals beckoned and he played Lun Tha in Packed House Productions’ The King and I.

What followed was an undisputed milestone for him. He joined Roelof Colyn in A Handful of Keys – directed by Ian von Memerty, and enjoyed a huge success. It toured nationally and garnered him a Naledi Nomination for Best Performance in a Breakthrough Role. In the same year, he received his first two Naledi Awards for Best Performance in a Musical (Male), as well as Best Comedy Performance (shared with Sibu Radebe) for his portrayal of Gaston in Pieter Toerien and Hazel Feldman’s production, of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Next came Pieter Toerien’s return smash hit production of Cats in the role of Munkustrap, as well as his recent critically acclaimed one-man show, In Black & White.

Entertaining the illustrious crowd on-stage in between the awarding of prizes, was MC Elana Afrika; Amanda Strydom; Nomfusi; the South African Youth Choir; Jazzart Dance Theatre; the all-male singing quartet Romanz; Jolette Odendaal; and the iconic Shaleen Surtie-Richards.

Celebrity guests who handed over the awards included David Kramer; Soli Philander; Anna-Mart van der Merwe; Sandra Prinsloo; Fiona Coyne; and others.

The fourteen Fleur du Cap judges, who viewed close to 80 productions in 2009, are Marianne Thamm; Robert Greig; Zane Henry; Brent Meersman; Len Ashton; Peter Tromp; Dr. Beverley Brommert; Jill Markram; Wayne Muller; Denise Bester; Wilhelm Snyman; Marina Griebenow; Mariana Malan; and Herman van der Westhuizen. Says Irma Albers, Arts and Culture Controller and the organiser of the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, “ Cape Town remains on the cutting edge of innovative theatre and continues to witness new talent on all fronts.”

Grease runs at the Artscape Opera House until 11 April, before moving to the Teatro Montecasino in Johannesburg from 17 April to 13 June 2010. Tickets cost R100 to R350 via Computicket. Facebook group: Grease the Musical South Africa..