Age: 82
male
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bonsile John Kani (born 1943) is a South African actor, director and playwright. He was born in New Brighton, South Africa. Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception. These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island, co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, in the early 1970s. He also received an Olivier nomination for his role in My Children My Africa! Kani's work has been widely performed around the world, including New York, where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island. These two plays were presented in repertory at the Edison Theatre for a total of 52 performances. Nothing but the Truth (2002) was his debut as sole playwright and was first performed in the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. This play takes place in post-apartheid South Africa and does not concern the conflicts between whites and blacks, but the rift between blacks who stayed in South Africa to fight apartheid, and those who left only to return when the hated regime folded. It won the 2003 Fleur du Cap Awards for best actor and best new South African play. In the same year he was also awarded a special Obie award for his extraordinary contribution to theatre in the USA. Kani is executive trustee of the Market Theatre Foundation, founder and director of the Market Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of SA. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Kani, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
John Kani
Mama Odie
for Mama Odie in The Princess and the Frog (Gender Swap)
Suggested by sageturmelle
In 1912 New Orleans, a girl named Tiana and her friend Charlotte La Bouff listen to Tiana's mother read the story of The Frog Prince. Charlotte finds the story to be romantic, while Tiana proclaims she will never kiss a frog. Fourteen years later, Tiana has grown into an aspiring young chef who works as a waitress for two local diners, so she can save enough money to start her own restaurant, a dream she shared with her deceased father. Prince Naveen of Maldonia arrives in New Orleans to better his financial situation. After being cut off by his parents, Naveen intends to marry a rich southern belle, and Charlotte is the perfect candidate. Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff, a rich sugar baron and Charlotte's father, is hosting a masquerade ball in Naveen's honor. Charlotte hires Tiana to make beignets for the ball, giving her enough money to buy an old sugar mill to convert into her restaurant. Meanwhile, Naveen and his valet, Lawrence, meet the voodoo witch doctor Doctor Facilier. Inviting them into his emporium, Facilier convinces them that he can make their dreams come true, but neither man gets what they are expecting; Naveen is transformed into a frog, while Lawrence is given a voodoo talisman that makes him resemble Naveen, which Facilier intends to use to have Lawrence marry Charlotte, after which, he will kill La Bouff and claim his fortune. At the ball, Tiana discovers she may lose the mill to a higher bidder. Tiana then meets Naveen, who, believing her to be a princess because of her costume, asks her to kiss him and break Facilier's spell. In exchange for the money needed, Tiana accepts, but since she's not an actual princess, when she kisses Naveen, she is turned into a frog herself. A chase ensues, and Tiana and Naveen escape to a bayou. In the bayou, Tiana and Naveen meet Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator, and Ray, a Cajun firefly. Louis and Ray offer to lead Tiana and Naveen to the voodoo queen Mama Odie, whom they believe can undo the curse. During the journey, Tiana and Naveen develop feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Facilier makes a deal with the voodoo spirits, offering them the souls of the people of New Orleans; in exchange, the spirits grant Facilier the services of a host of shadow demons, whom he orders to find and capture Naveen. When the four find Mama Odie after escaping from hunters, she tells them that Naveen must kiss a true princess in order to break the spell. They return to New Orleans to find Charlotte, who is the princess of the Mardi Gras Parade, but only until midnight. Naveen tells Ray he loves Tiana and is willing to give up his dreams for her, but before he can tell Tiana, he is captured by the demons and brought to Facilier. After Ray tells Tiana that Naveen loves her, Tiana goes to the parade to find a human "Naveen" marrying Charlotte; but Ray rescues the real Naveen and steals the charm that disguises Lawrence. Ray finds Tiana, gives her the charm and attempts to hold off the demons so she can escape, but Facilier manages to mortally wound him. Facilier then offers to make Tiana's restaurant dream come true in exchange for the talisman. Realizing she would rather be with Naveen, and recognizing Facilier's true intentions, Tiana destroys the talisman. The angered voodoo spirits claim Facilier himself as payment for his debts to them and drag him into the spirit world, leaving a tombstone with Facilier's name and horrified face on it. As Lawrence is taken away by the police, Naveen explains everything to Charlotte, Tiana and Naveen reveal their love to each other. Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen so he and Tiana can be together as people. The clock strikes midnight before she can do so, but the couple decide they are content to live together as frogs. During a funeral for Ray a beam of light shines down and a new star appears next to Evangeline’s. Tiana and Naveen are wed by Mama Odie; and because of Tiana's new status as princess, they are restored to human form after their kiss. Later, the couple returns to New Orleans to legally get married and celebrate, and together they open their new restaurant.
