Centrestage - Entertainment Port Elizabeth

“The response to the show has been terrific”, says Centrestage owner Gary Hemmings.

“6500 people saw the show in Port Elizabeth, with no tickets available for the second half of the run – and in East London, the entire Guild Theatre run was sold out days before we even opened, as were additional matinee shows we staged there”
Asked to what he attributed the phenomenal success of the show, Hemmings replied:
“I think it has to do with the enduring inter-generational popularity of the Abba music itself, highlighted by the success of the recent Mamma Mia movie – in many instances, it was the children who were taking their parents to the show, which is a very encouraging change”, he said.

“It is a testament to the popularity of Abba that the very first run of our Abba show, which we staged some 4 years ago, was also extended and turned out to be one of our biggest selling shows – and this been repeated this time around.”

“It has been interesting for us to compare the two shows. The Centrestage All-Star band have matured significantly as individual performers over the years, which enabled them to really come to grips with emulating the original Abba sound. In addition, the staging elements – including the sound and lighting production values, have grown in leaps and bounds over the years as we have all gained experience along the way.”

“The sheer scale of the show, from the visual onstage aspects to the ridiculously talented 11 piece band and the vocal complexity which is reproduced by overlaying up to 9 voices at times, does play a part in the enjoyment of the show, but for me it is the infectious, recognizable, feel-good, family nature of the music which brings the crowds in.”
“A far greater percentage of youngsters saw the Abba show than any of our previous productions – in particular, we found that junior school children were quite mesmerized by the show – and they knew the majority of the songs already! These are our audiences of the future”

The Centrestage All-Star Band is fronted by dynamic diva Donna Africa and the gorgeous blonde bomb-shell Tara-Jane Metzler as Agnetha and Anna-Frid respectively, with Andre Strydom and Wayne Kallis playing their male counterparts Bennie and Bjorn.