Jonathan Roxmouth's going Broadway
He's a performer amongst performers. Jonathan Roxmouth can tickle ivories like few musicians can draw from their instruments.
And he's back at the stage where it all began for him almost two decades ago at the Teatro stage at Montecasino, this time with a full orchestra at his command and a show designed to time-travel audiences into comfort and familiarity.
Roxmouth has described My Favourite Broadway as more than just another concert.
He called it a love letter to the golden age of musicals.
'The whole show is about nostalgia,' Roxmouth said. 'Musical theatre tends to carry a lot of memories for people. They saw that show with their sweetheart, or their kid, or their grandfather took them to see it. It's personal.'
But he noted, audiences must not expect just another trip down memory lane. He has upped the ante.
'It's Broadway like they've never heard or seen it before,' he said and added that with a full 32-piece Egoli Symphonic Orchestra on stage, it's going to be a blast.
'Orchestral shows aren't as common here as they should be,' he said.
'To hear the music is one thing. To see it performed by 32 people right in front of you. That's a completely different experience.'
Catchy showbiz tunes
The connection people have with Broadway music, Roxmouth shared, goes far beyond catchy tunes.
'We all grew up having stories read to us. Musical theatre is just storytelling with music,' he said. 'Songs like Bring Him Home, now who doesn't have a child or a partner they wish they could see again? And Music of the Night, for everyone's wanted to say 'I love you' but didn't know how. These songs become our stories. It's therapy, with amazing music.'
And in a world teetering on the edge of chaos, Roxmouth believes theatre is more important than ever.
'I don't like using the word escapism, but right now, it's better than travelling to get away from daily life,' he said.
'Go out. Get your heart warmed instead of just sitting at home in front of a heater. We're lucky in Johannesburg, we've got places like Montecasino, with safe parking, great restaurants, and a show on top of that. It's important to get out and not let the news weigh you down.'
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Theatre is magical. He likened the thrill of live theatre to watching a tightrope walker.
'They could fall. Things could go wrong. That makes it even more exciting when everything goes right,' he said.
'There's no 'pause for a bathroom break' like Netflix. This is happening, live, in front of you.'
And for naysayers that doom-preach theatre's inevitable death, well, Roxmouth doesn't buy it.
'Audiences are changing, yes, but the magic of seeing a live human being do something extraordinary right in front of you and that's never going to change.'
Extraordinary homecoming
This show is a homecoming for Roxmouth, marking his first musical theatre appearance in South Africa since 2017.
'It's been eight years since I performed a musical at home,' he said. 'I've been all over the world, but this is special. I get to come back to the very theatre where it all began for me.'
With new glitzy costumes, production surprises, and a setlist that includes both beloved classics and unexpected gems, Roxmouth is pulling out all the stops.
'There are songs audiences will expect and a few they'll never expect from me, but they'll love them anyway,' he said. 'There's a moment at the start of Act Two involving a piano that I've been dreaming about for years. I'm finally doing it.'
Despite his extensive globetrotting, from Asia to Europe and then some, Roxmouth said nothing compares to a South African audience.
'South Africans have a lack of restraint when they love something. They let you know, loudly and immediately,' he said. 'That energy, that honesty, it's like nowhere else in the world.'
My Favourite Broadway runs for eight shows only at Montecasino's Teatro from 25 July to 3 August 2025. Tickets at Webtickets.
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