Gigi

The name "Gigi" can refer (1) to a person or (2) to a play or character in a play

South African people named "Gigi"

In South Africa there are two theatre-related people by this name:

GiGi Fourie is the widely known nickname of theatre manager Johan J. Fourie.

(See Johan J. Fourie)

Gigi is also the stage name of the South African actress and exotic dancer Perlé van Schalkwyk.

(See Perlé van Schalkwyk)

Name of a play or character in a play

Gigi is the name used for a 1949 French film, a popular 1951 Broadway play and the subsequent Hollywood musical film (1958), all based on a 1944 novella by French writer Colette (1873-1954)[1].

The original text

The novella tells the story of a young Parisian girl and her relationship with a wealthy and cultured patron who falls in love with her and eventually marries her.

It was made into a 1949 French comedy film directed by Jacqueline Audry, with Gaby Morlay, Jean Tissier and Yvonne de Bray[2].

In 1951 an English musical stage play was written by American screenwriter, playwright and author Anita Loos (1889-1981)[3]. The play was first performed It opened at the Fulton Theatre on Broadway, produced by Gilbert Miller, directed by Raymond Rouleau, with music selected by Alexander Haas. It starred a young Audrey Hepburnand Michael Evans.

The stage version was turned into a 1958 Hollywood musical, starring Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier, with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner and a score by Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

It was subsequently often performed in an adapted musical version[4].

Performance history in South Africa

1953: First produced in South Africa when the Johannesburg Reps celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary. The production starred Tessa Laubscher.

1966: Staged by CAPAB, opening 14 December in the Hofmeyr Theatre, directed by visiting American director Stanley Waren [5], with Charlene Faktor (Gigi), Joyce Bradley (Mme. Alvarez), Paddy Canavan (Andree), Norman Coombes (Gaston Lachaille), Michael Mellinger (Victor), Yvonne Bryceland (Alicia) and Gillian Garlick (Sidonie). Set and costumes by Michael Clarke.

1967: Staged by JODS in the Zion Hall in Johannesburg, directed by Taubie Kushlick, with Mary-Ann (Gigi), Joyce Bradley (Mme. Alvarez), Mary Harrison (Andree), Ivan Berold (Gaston Lachaille), George Jackson (Victor), Sybil Barnett (Alicia) and Sylvia Goldberg (Sidonie). Decor by Nina Campbell-Quine and costumes by Edele Chaskalson.

Sources

CAPAB theatre programme (undated).

JODS theatre programme, 1967.

Petru & Carel Trichardt theatre programme collection.

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