Dance of the Vampires
(or Tanz der Vampire
as the original German language version is named) is a musical remake of a 1967 Roman Polanski film of the same name (called The Fearless Vampire Killers
in the USA). Polanski also directed the original German production of this musical. Music was composed by Jim Steinman and orchestrated by Steve Margoshes, and original German book and lyrics were written by Michael Kunze.
While Steinman's fans acclaim it as his biggest musical success, about 70% of the musical score written by Steinman was recycled from his earlier projects, mainly from his less-known shows like The Dream Engine
and The Confidence Man
(co-written with Ray Errol Fox), although it also features music from his widely known records like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (remade as "Totale Finsternis") and the melody, but not the lyric, from a Bat Out Of Hell II
song called "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" (remade as "Die Unstillbare Gier").
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TANZ DER VAMPIRE TICKETS
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Productions
Vienna
Tanz der Vampire
premiered at the
Raimund Theater in
Vienna,
Austria, on October 4, 1997. It was produced by the
Vereinigte Bühnen Wien. In 1998, it won the IMAGE AWARD for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The production closed on January 15, 2000.
A complete cast recording and a highlights cast recording were made of this production.
The Original Vienna Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Steve Barton (Winner of 1998 IMAGE Award for Best Actor)
- Sarah - Cornelia Zenz
- Professor Abronsius - Gernot Kranner
- Alfred - Aris Sas
- Chagal - James Sbano
- Magda - Eva Maria Marold
- Rebecca - Anne Welte
- Herbert - Nik
- Koukol - Torsten Flach
Stuttgart
The show had its German premiere in
Stuttgart,
Germany on March 31, 2000 at the Apollo Theater. The production closed on August 31, 2003.
The Original Stuttgart Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Kevin Tarte
- Sarah - Barbara Kohler
- Professor Abronsius - Werner Bauer
- Alfred - Aris Sas
- Chagal - James Sbano
- Magda - Maaike Schuurmans
- Rebecca - Anne Welte
- Herbert - Thomas Mülner
- Koukol - Torsten Flach
Estonia
Vampiiride Tants
premiered in
Tallinn on November 10, 2000 in the Tallinna Linnahall arena for a short run of 10 performances. Due to success, the show got repeated in Estonia in a concert version in 2004 with the same cast members, except for
Koit Toome who was then replaced by
Andero Ermel.
Nele-Liis Vaiksoo who originated the role of Sarah in her native land was to return to the show 8 years later in
Oberhausen,
Germany.
No official recording was released in Estonia, although the
Estonian Television did broadcast most of the show, and a 5-track promotional single was released for the use of radio stations with "Öölaps" (
Totale Finsternis), "Vabaks võin saada" (Draussen ist Freiheit), "Sarahle" (Für Sarah), "Laul surmast" (Tot zu sein ist komisch) and "Kaunis tütreke" (Eine schöne tocher ist ein Segen) included.
The Original Estonian Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Jassi Zahharov
- Sarah - Nele-Liis Vaiksoo / Kristine Muldma
- Professor Abronsius - Rostislav Gurjev
- Alfred - Koit Toome
- Chagal - Marko Matvere
- Magda - Kaire Vilgats
- Rebecca - Katrin Karisma
- Herbert - Bert Pringi / Lauri Liiv
- Koukol - Lauri Liiv / Bert Pringi
Broadway
The show was extensively rewritten for the
New York/
Broadway production, which starred
Michael Crawford (the lead in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
The Phantom of the Opera
in the 1980s, which incidentally also starred Steve Barton, the original von Krolock) as von Krolock and was directed by
Urinetown
s John Rando (without Polanski). Music and lyrics for the English version were written by Jim Steinman, and the English book was officially credited to
Jim Steinman,
Michael Kunze and
David Ives. The extended preview season (61 previews) started at the
Minskoff Theatre on October 18, 2002, and closed on January 25, 2003, after a total of 56 official performances.
The producers of the show wanted a rewrite with a more comic angle instead of adapting the successful Austrian version, so they hired comic playwright
David Ives to write what amounted to a new book, which was then revised and rearranged by Crawford, who had creative control. Crawford also agreed that the piece should be a comedy on the lines of
Mel Brooks. The result was an altered version with a lot of campy humor that differed considerably from the original show.
The humor received some laughter and much criticism. After Steinman was fired from the show by his own manager (acting as lead producer) for protesting the direction the show had taken, the English version (of necessity) borrowed a lot of new material from Steinman's lyrics for the previous English versions of his songs. The show was critically lambasted, the work of lead performer Michael Crawford being reviewed particularly harshly.
[1]
Dance of the Vampires
is one of the biggest financial flops in Broadway history, losing roughly $12 million, easily eclipsing the infamous musical
Carrie
. Steinman made a show of his disapproval of the project by not attending opening night.
[2] In his blog, Steinman described this show as "DOTV, which you guys know I hated & was disgusted by, & was FIRED by my manager, acting as producer!" The manager to whom he was referring was
David Sonenberg, who was one of the producers of the show and Steinman's longtime manager. On his blog, Steinman wrote "DOTV as we know was UTTER SHIT!" in one post, and describes the production as a "shit pile" in another. He stated in other blog entries that his music was "wasted" on the show, and was careful to make a clear distinction between the Broadway 2002-2003 version (referred to as DOTV) and the successful European version (referred to as Tanz).
The Original Broadway Cast
- Count Giovanni Von Krolock - Michael Crawford
- Sarah - Mandy Gonzalez
- Professor Abronsius - Rene Auberjonois
- Alfred - Max von Essen
- Chagal - Ron Orbach
- Magda - Leah Hocking
- Rebecca - Liz McCartney
- Herbert - Asa Somers
- Boris - Mark Price
Hamburg
A new production of the show opened on December 16, 2003, at the Neue Flora Theater in
Hamburg. The production closed on January 22, 2006.
The Original Hamburg Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Thomas Borchert
- Sarah - Jessica Kessler
- Professor Abronsius - Werner Bauer
- Alfred - Fredrik Wickerts
- Chagal - Jerzy Jeszke
- Magda - Anna Thoren
- Rebecca - Jan Merchant
- Herbert - Norbert Kohler
- Koukol - Stefan Büdenbender
Warsaw
Taniec Wampirów opened in
Warsaw at the
Roma Teatr Muzyczny on October 8, 2005. The production closed on October 22, 2006.
A cast recording was released of this production.
The Original Warsaw Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Lukasz Dziedzic / Pawel Podgórski
- Sarah - Malwina Kusior / Aleksandra Bienkowska / Agata Zaluska
- Professor Abronsius - Robert Rozmus / Grzegorz Pierczynski
- Alfred - Jakub Moleda / Marcin Wortmann
- Chagal - Wojciech Paszkowski / Janusz Krucinski
- Magda - Dominika Szymanska / Katarzyna Walczak / Anna Gigiel
- Rebecca - Grazyna Strachota / Izabela Bujniewicz
- Herbert - Jakub Wocial / Modest Rucinski
- Koukol - Jakub Szydlowski
Tokyo
The Japanese production premiered on July 7, 2006 in
Tokyo.
A live cast recording was released.
The Original Japanese Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Yuichiro Yamaguchi
- Sarah - Chihiro Otsuka / Tamaki Kenmochi
- Professor Abronsius - Masachika Ichimura
- Alfred - Yohei Izumi / Kenji Urai
- Chagal - Masahiro Sato
- Magda - Yuko Miyamoto
- Rebecca - Satomi Achiwa
- Herbert - Keigo Yoshino
- Koukol - Hajime Komada
Berlin
The Berlin production opened at the Theater Des Westens on December 10, 2006. The production closed on March 30, 2008.
The Original Berlin Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Thomas Borchert
- Sarah - Lucy Scherer
- Professor Abronsius - Veit Schäfermeier
- Alfred - Alexander Klaws
- Chagal - Ulrich Wiggers
- Magda - Katja Berg
- Rebecca - Maike Katrin Schmidt
- Herbert - Haldor Laegreid
- Koukol - Stefan Büdenbender
Vienna Tenth Anniversary Concert
Tanz der Vampire returned to Vienna in February 2007. A scaled-down concert version was staged at the
Raimund Theater.
A live recording was released.
The Vienna Concert Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Thomas Borchert
- Sarah - Marjan Shaki
- Professor Abronsius - Gernot Kranner
- Alfred - Lukas Perman
- Chagal - Thomas Bayer
- Magda - Suzanne Carey
- Rebecca - Tina Schöltzke
- Herbert - Tim Reichwein
Budapest
Vámpírok Bálja opened on June 30, 2007 at the Magyar Színház in
Budapest. The show ran for 58 shows, and will return for at least 25 more shows in early June 2008. Further performances are planned for December 2008/January 2009.
A live cast recording was released.
The Original Budapest Cast 2007
- Graf Von Krolock - Géza Egyházi / Sándor Nagy / Pál Feke
- Sarah - Zsanett Andrádi / Krisztina Nádorfi / Nikoletta Kovács
- Professor Abronsius - Csaba Jegercsik / Dávid Sándor
- Alfred - László Sánta / Tibor Héger / János Szemenyei
- Chagal - Béla Pavletits / Gábor Bot
- Magda - Tímea Kecskés / Anna Balogh / Dóra Stróbel
- Rebecca - Judit Dobos / Kristina Urbanovits / Dóra Köves
- Herbert - Dávid Pirgel / Victor Posta
- Koukol - Gábor Attila Farkas / János Balog
Oberhausen
The
Oberhausen production opened at the Metronom Theater am Centro on November 7, 2008. The show will play its final performance on January 31, 2010 before transferring to Stuttgart
[3]
The Original Oberhausen Cast
- Graf Von Krolock - Jan Ammann
- Graf Von Krolock (Alternate) - Kevin Tarte
- Sarah - Nele-Liis Vaiksoo
- Professor Abronsius - Gernot Kranner
- Alfred - Krisha Dalke
- Chagal - Jerzy Jeszke
- Magda - Linda Konrad
- Rebecca - Heike Schmitz
- Herbert - Florian Fetterle
- Koukol - Stefan Büdenbender
Vienna 2009
It has recently been announced that
Tanz der Vampire will return to Vienna in Autumn 2009. It will play at the
Ronacher Theater in its original production.
[4]
The 2009 Vienna Cast
[5]
- Graf von Krolock - Thomas Borchert
- Sarah - Marjan Shaki
- Alfred - Lukas Perman
- Professor Abronsius - Gernot Kranner
- Chagal - James Sbano
- Rebecca - Katharina Dorian
- Magda - Anna Thorén
- Herbert - Marc Liebisch
- Koukol - Thomas Weissengruber
Stuttgart 2010
As a result of a public voting
Tanz der Vampire returns to Stuttgart in March 2010 for six months and replaces
Wicked
at the Palladium Theatre.
[6]
Characters
(Note: Many changes in characterization were made for the Broadway version. This refers to the original European version.)
- Graf von Krolock
, the powerful and seductive vampire lord.
- Professor Abronsius
, an absent-minded vampire hunter.
- Alfred
, Abronsius' young well-meaning assistant.
- Sarah
, the innkeeper's beautiful young daughter.
- Chagal
, a Jewish innkeeper and Sarah's over-protective father.
- Rebecca
, Chagal's long-suffering wife.
- Magda
, the pretty maid-of-all trades at Chagal's inn.
- Herbert von Krolock
, the Count's homosexual son.
- Koukol
, the Count's hunchbacked servant.
Songs
From the original German version
;Act One
- Ouverture (Overture)
- He, Ho, He (Hey Ho Hey)
- Knoblauch (Garlic)
- Bitte, Meine Herren (Please, Gentlemen)
- Eine Schöne Tochter Ist Ein Segen (A Beautiful Daughter Is A Blessing)
- Nie Geseh'n (Never Seen)
- Gott Ist Tot (God Is Dead)
- Alles Ist Hell (Everything's Bright)
- Wahrheit (Truth)
- Du Bist Wirklich Sehr Nett (You're Really Very Nice)
- Einladung Zum Ball (Invitation To The Ball)
- Draußen ist Freiheit (Outside Is Freedom)
- Die Roten Stiefel (The Red Boots) - Vienna production
- Stärker Als Wir Sind (Braver Than We Are) - All productions from Stuttgart onwards
- Trauer Um Chagal (Mourning For Chagal)
- Tot Zu Sein ist Komisch (To Be Dead Is Strange)
- Durch Die Wildnis Zum Schloß (Through The Wilderness To The Castle)
- Vor Dem Schloß (In Front Of The Castle)
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;Act Two
- Totale Finsternis (Total Eclipse)
- Carpe Noctem (Carpe Noctem)
- Ein Perfekter Tag (A Perfect Day)
- In Der Gruft (In the Tomb)
- Bücher, Bücher (Books, Books)
- Für Sarah (For Sarah)
- Noch Mehr Bücher (More Books)
- Wenn Liebe In Dir Ist (When Love Is Inside You)
- Sie Irren, Professor (You're Wrong, Professor)
- Ewigkeit (Eternity)
- Die Unstillbare Gier (The Insatiable Greed)
- Tanzsaal (The Ballroom)
- Draußen Ist Freiheit - Reprise (Outside Is Freedom - Reprise)
- Der Tanz Der Vampire (The Dance Of The Vampires)
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From the original Broadway version
;Act One
- Overture
- Angels Arise
- God Has Left The Building
- Original Sin
- Garlic
- Logic
- There's Never Been A Night Like This
- Don't Leave Daddy
- The Invitation
- Forever More In The Night
- Death Is Such An Odd Thing
- Braver Than We Are
- Red Boots Ballet
- Say A Prayer
- Come With Me
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;Act Two
- Vampires In Love
- Books, Books
- Carpe Noctem
- For Sarah
- Death Is Such An Odd Thing - Reprise
- When Love Is Inside You
- Eternity
- Confessions Of A Vampire
- The Ball
- You Will Live Forever
- Braver Than We Are - Reprise
- Dance Of The Vampires
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See also
- Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (Vienna Production Company)
- Stage Entertainment (German Production Company)
References
- "New York Times" review, December 10, 2002
- "New York Times" article, January 16, 2003
- 'Dance of the Vampires'stage-entertainment.de
- http://www.musicalvienna.at/produktionen/uebersicht/aktuell/t6_652
- http://www.musicalvienna.at/index.php/de/spielplan/production/17458/905
- Article in "Stuttgarter Zeitung" (Stuttgart newspaper) March 19, 2009