Anton Luitingh is heading down the tribute trail with old varsity buddy Jenny Stead in a new cabaret focusing on two other old buddies, Simon and Garfunkel.
Their show, Old Friends, will run at On Broadway from tonight to February 3. It will take Anton closer to his departure date for Athens, where Pieter Toerien's production of Jesus Christ Superstar opens just after Easter. Will the show grow legs like, say, Toerien's Cats production that just kept on touring? It could happen - and Anton would probably be ready for it, having had that long practice run in Cats, which toured from Lebanon to the Far East.
Actually, Anton's performance in Jesus Christ Superstar was one of the highlights of the theatre last year. His biting performance as Pontius Pilate was one of the great strengths of the production as he dismissively received the far less impressive Cito in the title role as "this broken man cluttering up my hallway".
Anton is now 31, and I have seen virtually everything he has done since his days as a drama student at Stellenbosch University, when I first saw him play the lead in an Afrikaans production of the Noel Coward play, Blythe Spirit.
Who ever thought he would take to musicals and music shows the way he has? Well, now he is an accomplished keyboard artist who had taught himself to play the piano. Despite having originally intended to become a lawyer like his dad, he has embraced a showbiz career. And his dad is a great support.
Anton went to Rondebosch Boys' High School, and so did another Jesus Chris Superstar cast member incidentally, Robert Finlayson, who takes the role of Judas. They are not the first former RBHS pupils to take to the stage, but they are certainly in the forefront when it comes to musicals.
Though 31, Anton still looks much younger, with that creamy unlined complexion and a build honed in the gym. He ascribes his youthful looks to the Greco-Italian genes on his mother Glenda's side. Off stage he has always looked fashionable in his civvies and admits to being label-conscious.
He says he actually hates tribute shows, but putting together Old Friends is a challenge.
"We have a stormy relationship," he says of working with Jenny - "typical redhead" - but they are indeed old friends from their Matie days where she was a year below him.
Considering the big shows he has been in such as Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar, does he enjoy the glitzy roles?
A pause: "Now and then," he admits.
From glitz we go to nudity. Would he perform in the nude?
"If it suited the part," he says, though he feels he would still feel rather self-conscious with friends and family in the audience. Incidentally, his sister, Tarryn, is also in showbiz and often appears in children's shows.
What Anton loves about musical shows is that they are so demanding.
"You need to give so much of your talent and energy to combine everything," he says. "You're not just focusing on one thing, but I like to put a lot of pressure on myself. I thrive on it."
Away from the footlights Anton is a practical soul, having just bought a flat. He is also into his computer, which he actually inspans for his musical work.
But now he has a burgeoning new interest.
When he was younger he played a lot of sport, and now he is considering taking up golf. However, unless some day someone writes a musical about Gary Player, Retief Goosen or Ernie Els, Anton's golf bag is likely to remain safely in the boot of his Volkswagen Polo.