I remember going to see this Musical in Vienna in the late 1990s when I was living in Austria. I remember it being a huge success, coming away from the theatre feeling fulfilled and happy, having watched a truly remarkable piece of musical theatre. It was a phenomenon, and it wasn't just me who felt that way; every performance was sold out, and the press at the time were hailing it as a masterpiece. I have been waiting for it to be translated into English and for it to come to the UK, and sadly I am still waiting.
However, YouTube "recommended" a video to me the other day, a recording of the Muscial from it's 2011 run at the Theater Des Westens in Berlin. It seemed too good an opportunity to pass by; and so I watched it. Do you know the saying that you should never return to favourite childhood haunts, or revisit where you were brought up etc, because it will always disappoint and it will never be the way you remember it? Ditto to this musical. Sadly I feel certain that the videographer, and also the youtube uploader, is an amateur and has filmed the show more than probably as a pirate video without the correct permissions, hence the extremely poor quality of the video, and most probably partly due to my lack of enjoyment this time round.
The Musical (Dance Of The Vampires in English) follows the story of the film from which it was based quite closely. A Gothic Horror with some tongue-in-cheek (or should that be fangs-in-cheek) humour thrown in for good measure, the story is based on the 1967 Roman Polanski film of the same name (sometimes also titled "The Fearles Vampire Killers"). A mad Einstein-esque professor, specialising in the undead, and his assistant, Alfred, arrive in darkest Transylvannia, and stay at a village inn where everyone wears garlic. The innkeeper is Jewish and locks his 18-year old daughter away fearing she might be 'taken' by the evil Count who lives in the deserted gothic castle on the hill, known to be a favourite vampire haunt. Alfred falls madly in love with the innkeeper's daughter - who enjoys getting naked and taking baths! - but that still doesn't stop her from being captured by the Count and his rather gay son (who also takes a fancy to Alfred!) and is prepared as a special 'treat' for the vampires' feast on the night of the Total Eclipse. Of course things don't necessarily go the way they were planned, and it isn't exactly the conventional romantic end to the story either.....!
From watching the show from this video, I was very much at a disadvantage as the picture quality was very poor, but my memory does seem to think that the set and effects were much more sophisticated and flashy in Vienna than here. However, the quality of the acting, singing and especially the dancing was certainly up to standard. It is a hugely enjoyable show, and isn't at all gory. It's what the Hammer Corporation would have produced if they'd teamed up with Carry On films!
I truly hope that a UK tour of this show will be mounted one day. I believe that Michael Crawford was pencilled in for a USA production, but am unsure of what happened to that. With music by Jim Steinman (who I believe has also written English lyrics, but have never heard them), with German language book and lyrics by Micahel Kunze, this really is a show that desrves to be better known. Only, please don't watch this youtube video if you are a Vampires virgin! Wait for the stage show or official film (if there ever has been one made).
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 11/6/20
There has been an official recording of the show, filmed in 2005 in Hamburg. It has been uploaded to YouTube with English subtitles :)
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