Kat and the Kings

*Kat and the Kings*
Kat and the Kings
Book	David Kramer
Basis	Memories of Salie Daniels
Productions	1996 Cape Town ; 1998 West End ; 1999 Broadway
Awards	Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical

Kat and the Kings is a South African musical with a book and lyrics by David Kramer and music by Taliep Petersen.

Set in late-1950s

doo wop and rock and roll they adore - becomes a sensation, graduating from street corners to "whites only" nightclubs (where the dictates of apartheid

force them to use the rear entrance) and a recording contract.

The show was inspired by the memories of Salie Daniels, the real-life Kat who appeared as the narrator in the original production. After touring South Africa, the show was invited to the

choreographed by Loukmaan Adams and Jody Abrahams, it opened on March 23, 1998 at the Vaudeville Theatre

, where it ran for slightly more than four months. In addition to Daniels, the cast included Abrahams as the young Kat, Adams as Bingo, Junaid Booysen as Ballie, Alistair Izobel as Magoo, and Mandisa Bardill as Lucy.

Kat and the Kings won the

original cast album was recorded live during the June 6, 1998 performance and released by First Night Records.^[4]

After fifteen previews, the

Cort Theatre, where it ran for 157 performances. Terry Hector and Kim Louis replaced Daniels as the elder Kat and Mandisa Bardill as Lucy, respectively, but the remainder of the cast and the director and choreographers were from the London production. It was nominated for Drama Desk Awards

for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Alistair Izobell), Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Orchestrations.