Gianluca Gironi, a 22-year-old singer, actor, and dancer from Bloubergstrand, has a leading role in the musical, Mamma Mia!.
The show, which features timeless ABBA songs, including Knowing Me, Knowing You; Dancing Queen; I Have a Dream; and Voulez Vous, is on at the Artscape Opera House until Sunday April 7.
Written by Catherine Johnson, this tale of family and friendship unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the evening of her wedding, bride-to-be Sophie (Kiruna-Lind Devar) invites three men from her mother’s past back to the island they visited 20 years ago in the hope of discovering which one is her father.
Gianluca plays Sky, who is set to wed Sophie.
Gianluca was last week nominated for Fleur Du Cap awards as the “most promising student” and for “best performance by a supporting actor in a musical or music theatre show” for his work in The Buddy Holly Story, last year.
Gianluca says he felt drawn to the stage from a young age and feels that all his hard work is now helping him to realise his dreams.
After joining a Table View drama school, he landed a role in The Sound of Music at around 5 years of age.
Not only does Gianluca sing, dance and act, he also plays the drums. He has appeared in several theatre productions and hopes to land a spot on TV one day.
“I believe that everything in one’s life is a build up to where you are destined to be; it’s not always great, but it sure will yield great results if you put your mind to it.”
While he has a busy schedule, Gianluca enjoys down-time at the seaside, walking his dogs and swimming.
“As the saying goes, when you enjoy your job, you’d never work a day in your life. That is exactly what I want out of this career.”
He says he enjoyed working with his fellow Mamma Mia! cast members who he says became like a family.
“It is such a fulfilling experience seeing all of our hard work coming together.”
The show he says will be a thrilling experience for young and old, and while there are “naughty phrases”, only the adults will catch those.
