Centrestage pays tribute to Neil Diamond and the Beatles at Cape St Francis Resort

Centrestage at Cape St Francis Resort pays tribute to Neil Diamond, one of the most beloved singers / songwriters of our era, at The Cape St. Francis Resort on 23 December and Centrestage reprises its very first band show as ‘Forever Fab’ brings the ever popular music of the Beatles to The Cape St. Francis Resort for one night only on 3 January 2016.

Neil Diamond tribute at Cape St Francis Resort

On 23rd December Centrestage pays tribute to Neil Diamond, as the velvet voiced Andre Strydom says ‘Hello Again’ to his acclaimed role in ‘The Jazz Singer Returns’.

The Centrestage All-Star band promises to triumphantly combine the worlds of Las Vegas with that of rock, providing a night steeped in sentimentality as the familiar Neil Diamond hits spanning from 1966 to today are given the Cape St Francis Resort Centrestage entertainment treatment.

In true raconteur style, Strydom sprinkles gentle love songs in between up-tempo rockers, as evergreens such as Forever in Blue Jeans, Song Sung Blue, Crackling Rosie, Desiree, Soolaiman, America, Longfellow Serenade, I Am I Said, America, Love on the Rocks, Yesterdays Songs and Sweet Caroline make up but a few of the top hits in the 2 hour show.

The 10 piece band includes Fenlin Pitie and Deborah Everard on keyboards, Andrew Warneke on bass, Sandy Robbie on guitar, Wayne Kallis on vocals and acoustic guitar, Devon Van Rooyen on drums, Brennan Strydom on percussion, with Vanessa Grebe and Andre’s talented daughter Caron adding to the vocal and glamour department.

‘The Jazz Singer Returns’ is musically directed by Strydom himself, who trades his superb Barry Gibb falsetto for a Diamond baritone and will simultaneously apply the same kind of attention to detail and vocal harmony mix that he did when overseeing the previous acclaimed Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac Centrestage hits under his auspices.

The Neil Diamond songbook guarantees a feel-good evening of familiar hits, top notch showmanship and a band of extremely talented musicians and entertainers of which the city can be very proud!

On 3 January 2016, Centrestage’s ‘The Beatles – Forever Fab’ tribute show takes place at The Cape St. Francis Resort. This show features Port Elizabeth’s very own popular fabulous foursome – Alan Kozak as John Lennon, Wayne Kallis as Paul McCartney, Andrew Warneke as George Harrison and the inimitable Gino Fabbri as Ringo Starr – with Fenlin Pitie on keyboards.

The first half of the show features the raw energy of the early Beatles club performances, which are majestically replicated by the superb group of Centrestage entertainers/musicians in such a way that the frenetic live performance authenticity which drove the late 1950’s/early 1960’s fans into a frenzy, is recreated.

Songs such as Mr Postman, Twist and Shout, I Want to Hold Your Hand, From Me to You, I Saw Her Standing There, Help, Love Me Do, Paperback Writer, 8 Days a Week and Can’t Buy Me Love amongst others are faithfully reproduced and imbued with the trademark early-day naive Beatles personalities and wry humour.

As the Beatles matured, their music changed to incorporate ground-breaking new sounds and experimental, often drug inspired, influences of the time. Trippy songs like Eleanor Rigby, All You Need is Love, Come Together, Get Back, Back in the USSR, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Magical Mystery Tour will demonstrate the strong psychedelic feel in this segment.

Much loved sing-along Beatles classics such as Yellow Submarine, Obla Di Obla Da, Revolution and Hey Jude are guaranteed to get the audience participating at the top of their voices!

The big Beatles ballads such as Let It Be and The Long and Yesterday are also included in the line-up which features no less than 38 Beatles classics.

“The simplicity of the Beatles music really allows the performers to show their individual strengths”, says Gary Hemmings.

“Since the first incarnation of the show, Wayne Kallis has blossomed as an incredibly confident front-man, whilst Alan Kozak has become a firm crowd favourite with his textured vocals and crisp acoustic guitar playing. Gino, who drummed on the original show, provides the rhythm and the predictable, unpredictable fun.

Both shows start at 20:00. Tickets for Centrestage’s Neil Diamond tribute are R150pp and tickets for the Beatles tribute show are R140pp and can be booked at Computicket or by calling Riekie at Cape St Francis Resort on 042 298 0054.

Article  Jessica Randall  CENTRESTAGE PRODUCTIONS