Thuli Dumakude

Thuli Dumakude
Birth name	Thuli Daisy Dumakude
Origin	Lamontville, South Africa
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, composer, vocal coach
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	The Lion King, Sarafina

Thuli Daisy Dumakude is a South African-born singer-songwriter and Broadway actress. She is best known for having originated the title role in 1983's Poppie Nongena, for which she received the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1984.

Dumakude was born in Lamontville. Before moving to Broadway, she was an actress in South Africa. She performed as KaMadonsela (Lady Macbeth) in a Zulu adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, a show that also took her to Chicago. She moved to Broadway in the early 1980s, when she was cast as the title character in Elsa Joubert's Poppie Nongena, an English translation of her book Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena. As Poppie, Dumakude traveled to London, Toronto, Australia and Chicago. She moved to America in 1979 with her husband, Welcome Msomi, where they formed the Izulu Dance Theater.

In 1988, Dumakude was part of the cast of Julie Taymor's Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass.

In 1992, she took part in the creation of the one woman show Buya Africa, for which she was the winner of three AUDELCO Awards in New York for writing, directing and performing. She also worked as a vocal coach for the original Broadway production of Sarafina!.

In 1993, Dumakude took part in the world premiere of Gary and Bécaud's Roza. She performed as Woman and as a stand-by for Madame Bouaffa.

In 1998, she was cast as a replacement for Tsidii Le Loka's Rafiki in The Lion King, being once more directed by Julie Taymor. She stayed in the show for three years, leaving in 2001 and being replaced by Sheila Gibbs.

In 2009 she took part in the revival production of the Duma Ndlovu 1989 hit Sheila's Day, where she performed as Qeduszi. In this production she starred with some other cast members of The Lion King, such as Selloane Nkhela and Futhi Mhlongo.

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