Gigi

Gigi is a popular 1951 Broadway play by American screenwriter, playwright and author Anita Loos (1889-1981) [1]. The play is based on the French novella of the same name by Colette.

OR

Gigi is the stage name of the South African actress Perlé van Schalkwyk.

The original text

A number of stage, stage musical and film adaptations have been based on Gigi [2] the 1944 novella by French novelist Colette (Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, 1873–1954) [3].

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 [4], with Charlene Faktor (Gigi), Joyce Bradley (Mme. Alvarez), Paddy Canavan (Andree), Norman Coombes (Gaston Lachaille),

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.