After a gruelling five months of blood, sweat and tears, Aunty Merle from Belgravia Road in Athlone has finally found her “long lost” daughter Abigail.
And according to Marc Lottering, the girl replacing actress Tarryn Lamb in his play, Aunty Merle The Musical, can act, sing, dance and deliver a punchline on time, just like he asked.
Tarryn had to leave the show due to other work commitments and is now being replaced by comedian and actress Tracey Lee Oliver, 38.
The hit show returns to the Baxter Theatre for a third season on 3 December, giving Tracey less than two months to perfect the role.
Marc says 50 women auditioned for the role of Abigail, and although it was a tough choice, he settled on Tracey-Lee because she was the full package.
He says: “I’ve known about Tracey-Lee for a long time and have always known that she has an astounding voice. Tracey-Lee flew down from Joburg to audition for us and I instantly knew that she was a strong contender. She sang the dinges out of that song!
“Counting in Tracey-Lee’s favour, is that she also dabbles in stand-up comedy, so I believe that the vibe between us is simply going to be amazing. I’m really excited about that!”
UNAVAILABLE: Tarryn Lamb played Abigail
Tracey-Lee says she’s reg to sink her teeth into the juicy role of Abigail, a young woman who gets, engaged but hides a dark secret with her dodgy ex-berk, Denver, played by Loukmaan Adams.
“It’s a dream come true to be part of this musical and to perform alongside Marc and his incredible cast,” she says.
Tracey-Lee is originally from Grabouw but moved to Johannesburg in 2004 and is no stranger to theatre.
“When I landed a spot in the top 5 of the Project Fame competition, I knew I needed to pursue a career in entertainment,” she says.
"I moved to Jozi driving my Toyota Tazz and I still drive that car today, ne. I went to work as a cabaret artist at Sun City for seven years before landing a lead role in Dream Girls in 2011, but that show didn’t last.”
She then landed a role in Blitz Patrollie, starring next to comedian/actor Joey Rasdien.
This led to her doing stand-up comedy three years ago.
“That’s where I met Marc a few times but we never really knew each other personally until we did a few comedy gigs together.”
The Daily Voice asked Aunty Merle how she feels about her “new” daughter.
“Everyone keeps asking me if this is my real daughter - of course it’s my real daughter! Tall, strong cheekbones, with her own hair... uitgeknip haar ma,” Merle says.
Tickets for the show are available at Webtickets and Pick 'n Pay stores.