From The Wizard of Oz to a bit of Off-Broadway flair: Ludovico Lucchesi Palli gives an overview of the latest musicals in Vienna.
The last weeks of the year in Austria have been a real treat for anyone interested in musical theatre. The shows that have opened range from an Andrew Lloyd Webber classic on tour to a Kander and Ebb revue in Linz, the European premiere of The Story of My Life in Vienna, the birthday of a special musical theatre star and Der Zauberer von Oz at the Volksoper.
Cornelia Drese in Sunset Boulevard at the Pölz Halle Amstetten and Touring. Picture: Bernd Bohner
Sunset Boulevard – Pölz Halle Amstetten and Touring
The Stadttheater Fürth production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard is currently touring through Germany and came to Amstetten for one night only in November. Compared to many other touring productions these days, this one actually sets the standard fairly high.
The show is directed by Gil Mehmet (Das Wunder von Bern, soon directing Tommy in Linz) who brings together a wonderful cast and creative team to send this classic on the road.
Even though it was announced on their website that Helen Schneider (who played the part in the 1990s and a few years ago in Bad Hersfeld) would play the part of Norma Desmond, it was Cornelia Drese playing the role. She was brilliant acting wise, especially in the more dramatic scenes, and vocally solid. Oliver Arno (Elisabeth, Tomorrow Morning) was wonderful as Joe Gillis. He was vocally strong and knew how to use his charm in the role. Reinhard Brussmann also impressed as Max von Mayerling. The role of Betty Schaefer was played by Julia Lissel, who sang beautifully and harmonised well with Arno in their duet ‘Viel zu sehr’ (‘Too Much in Love to Care’).
Heike Meixner designed the sets and costumes, which for a touring production were quite generous I must say, without leaving out the big staircase of course. The musical director for this production was Heiko Lippmann, conducting a 21-piece orchestra. The choreography was by Melissa King.
A solid production of a timeless piece of musical theatre in a fairly good translation by Michael Kunze, which worked well most of the time.
* Sunset Boulevard will continue at the Stadttheater Fürth in December 2014.
The World Goes ’Round – Landestheater Linz
For their second premiere this season, the musical theatre department of the Landestheater Linz presents the Austrian premiere of the Kander and Ebb revue The World Goes ’Round. Many of the songs have been newly translated by Roman Hinze, with some additional lyrics by Andy Hallwaxx, who directed the show in the Blackbox Lounge.
There isn’t really much of a plot here, but the wonderful songs from shows such as Chicago, Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman speak for themselves. The cast consists of Daniela Dett, Barbara Obermeier, Riccardo Greco, Alen Hodzovic and Bettina Bogdany. Highlights of the evening include ‘Und die Welt rotiert’ (And the World Goes ’Round from New York, New York) performed beautifully by Bogdany, ‘Buntes Licht’ (‘Coloured Lights’ from The Rink) sung by a vocally impressive Dett, ‘Riccardo am Nachmittag’ (‘Arthur in the Afternoon’ from The Act) a glorious rendition from Obermeier, and an extremely humorous performance – with interaction from musical director Kai Tietje – ‘Mister Zellophan’ (‘Mister Cellophane’ from Chicago) performed by Alen Hodzovic.
The band consists of the Titanics: Wolfgang Bründinger on guitar, Wolfgang Boukal on bass, Ewald Zach on drums and Kai Tietje as musical director and on piano.
This intimate production is probably the best musical theatre production I have seen over the last month. Not only is the material great, but also the cast and the way Andy Hallwaxx directs the show in this small space is really impressive.
* The World Goes ’Round continues in rep.
50th Birthday Gala for Uwe Kröger – Stadthalle, Vienna
The biggest star in the German-speaking world Uwe Kröger (Elisabeth, Rebecca, The Sound of Music, La Cage aux Folles, der Besuch der alten Damen) turned 50 on 4 December and this was celebrated accordingly. His manager Herbert Fechter, with the help of director Andreas Gergen, who staged many of the recent shows Kröger has starred in, put together a birthday gala with lots of guests including Pia Douwes, Carin Filipcic, Drew Sarich and Wietske van Tongeren, children performing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and ‘Edelweiss’ from The Sound of Music, students from Performing Center Austria as dancers, and the vocal group Gudrun.
The gala was hosted by Arabella Kiesbauer, who interviewed Kröger and his guests and introduced some of the video messages from colleagues and friends. Furthermore, he received a special award for his contribution to the musical theatre scene in Vienna. The musical director for the evening was Herwig Gratzer, who conducted a six-piece band. The show featured choreography by Marvin Dietmann.
Die Geschichte meines Lebens – Theater Center Forum, Vienna
Following the cancellations of the scheduled premiere and performances in October, the dates in December went ahead as planned. Moving Stage Productions presented the European premiere of the Bartram/Hill penned musical The Story of My Life in a translation by Daniel Grosse Boymann. The piece, which tells the story of two friends Alvin (Andreas Bieber) and Thomas (Boymann), is directed by Sascha Oliver Bauer, who not only creates a very intimate production by way of a minimalist set by Sam Madwar, but also by using the rest of the theatre space, particularly when the protagonists are looking for a book in the middle of the night. The two actors walk with a torch in hand through the audience which is extremely effective.
Bieber is vocally brilliant and delivers a humorous and touching performance as Alvin. Boymann does an excellent job throughout and is vocally on top, particularly towards the end of the show.
They are accompanied by a three-piece band led by Frizz Fischer. The score, which reminded me a lot of Sondheim, is fully integrated into the dialogue, almost as if there is no separation between the two. This works extremely well.
Madwar creates some beautiful sets for the show; particularly all of the pages symbolising the theme of the unwritten story, which is extremely effective.
A beautifully crafted piece presented in a lovely production.
Der Zauberer von Oz – Volksoper
The acclaimed director Henry Mason makes his directing debut at the Volksoper with a stage version of The Wizard of Oz, which was originally conceived by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It is presented as Der Zauberer von Oz in a translation by Klaus Eidam, with the exception of ‘Over the Rainbow’, which is performed in English.
The cast consists of Johanna Arrouas (alternating with Franziska Kemna) as Dorothy Gale, Daniel Jeroma as Toto (a dog puppet, which is quite remarkable), Regula Rosin as Aunt Em/Glinda, Wolfgang Gratschmaier as Uncle Henry, Peter Lesiak as the Scarecrow, Oliver Liebl as the Tin Man, Martin Bermoser as the Lion, Christian Graf as the Wicked Witch of the West, with Robert Meyer (alternating with Boris Eder) as the Wizard. The extremely strong ensemble consists of Lorna Dawson, Eva Prenner, Lynsey Thurgar, Georg Prohazka, Christian Schleimer and Timo Verse. They are joined by a group of children as well as chorus members of the Volksoper and ballet dancers.
Arrouas delivers an enchanting performance as Dorothy Gale. She knows when to be childish and sings beautifully throughout the piece. Lesiak is wonderful as the scarecrow, as are both Bermoser as the Lion and Liebl, who is particularly strong vocally, as the Tin Man. In terms of acting, one of the highlights of the show is Graf as the Wicked Witch of the West. He is evil and funny, it’s a real joy to see him in this role.
Lorenz C Aichner serves as musical director, with stunning choreography by Francesc Abós and magical sets by Jan Meier, that enable Henry Mason to create one of the best productions I have ever seen at the Volksoper, despite it being three hours long!
Der Zauberer von Oz continues in rep.
Ludovico Lucchesi Palli
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