Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society

The Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society, popularly known by its acronym JODS, was a theatrical society that existed from 1919 to 1979.

Origins

Founded in 1919 by John Connell and others, the society specialised mostly in musical theatre, operetta and ballet, but also presented dramas during the Second World War.

Performances spaces used

The society used available Johannesburg venues over the years, including the Alhambra (opened 1919), the Standard Theatre, Empire Theatre, the Technical College Hall, and the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.

By 1966 the famous Alhambra cinema in Doornfontein had become badly neglected and was bought and renovated into a permanent home for the Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society's musicals. It opened on 17 April 1977 with a production of A Night to Remember, directed by Anthony Farmer, followed by productions of New Faces (1978), and Porgy and Bess(1978). It re-opened, just to close again by the end of January 1979, which saw the end of sixty years of JODS productions in Johannesburg.

Impresario Pieter Toerien purchased and upgraded the theatre circa 1981, opening with a production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.

Productions

1939: Rose-Marie

1940: Monsieur Beaucaire, The Gondoliers, The Pirates of Penzance

1941: The Lilac Domino, Ruddigore

1942: Chu Chin Chow

1948: The Count of Luxembourg, Little Nellie Kelly

1950: The Lilac Domino, Bitter Sweet

1952: The Desert Song

1953: The Gypsy Baron

1961: The Dancing Years, Naughty Marietta

1962: The Most Happy Fella

1963: Show Boat

1964: Show Boat JODS took it to African Theatre’s Cape Town venue, the Alhambra Theatre, where the EOAN Group replaced the Capedium Choir.

1965: Little Mary Sunshine, Guys and Dolls

1966: Guys and Dolls, Around the World in 80 Days

1967: Kiss Me, Kate, Man of La Mancha, Carousel

1969: South Pacific

1970: Canterbury Tales

1971: Applause

1977: They now owned the Alhambra Theatre and opened it on 17 April 1977 with A Night to Remember, directed by Anthony Farmer.

1978: They staged New Faces of 1978, directed by Anthony Farmer with choreography by Wendy de la Harpe at the Alhambra in 1978. Their final production was Porgy and Bess.

Personnel

Pat Bray was the secretary of JODS circa 1960.

Other services

It also advertised under this acronym for the hiring out of costumes, drapes, props, scores and scripts and rehearsal studios, also after its demise as a society.

Sources

Du Toit, 1988;

Tucker, 1997;

SACD 1974

Malcolm Woolfson]] 1992. But the Melody Lingers On: The "inside story" of the Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society--its shows, personalities, triumphs, and tribulations. Johannesburg: Perskor.

https://artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes_mob.php?bldgid=5371

Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.

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