Greifswald (reprise)

So. Friends and long-time followers will remember the previous chapters of The Greifswald Story. Me and my friends Rami and Ida traveling from Finland to Greifswald, Germany, to see Chris Murray perform the titular roles of Jekyll & Hyde the musical, only to find out the show had been cancelled. The disappointment. The disbelief. The invitation from the theatre to come back.

First, we scoffed. Then, we considered.

Two weeks ago, we traveled to Greifswald to try again.

The journey

Theater Vorpommern

If our last journey was Murphy's Law the Musical all the way through, with melting asphalt and locks that wouldn't open, this was the complete opposite of that. Everything that could go right, did. Planes, buses and trains were on time, the weather was beautiful and good time was had by everybody involved.

Theater Vorpommern took great care of us. They had reserved a single room and a two-room suite in a nice hotel in the middle of town for the three of us, complete with fortune cookies on our pillows waiting for us. In the evening, we were escorted to the theatre by a lovely member of Theater Vorpommern's personnel and greeted by some of the staff, and got to choose our seats, with good seats reserved for us both in the stalls and in the dress circle (we chose the stalls).

Before the show, we were told there had been some trouble: both female leads had fallen ill, and finding a replacement for Lucy had proven a bit difficult – but after spending hours making calls all over the German-speaking part of Europe, they found an emergency cover. So we dodged that bullet! After the summer adventure, it feels almost unbelievable we were so lucky this time.

And before we knew it, lights went down and the show began.

 

The performance

 

This is not going to be a traditional review, since I don't remember (nor, to be honest, feel like analysing) too many details from the performance.

After being awake for almost 20 hours and traveling a thousand kilometers, it all just felt like a happy, welcoming, familiar-yet-unknown blur to me. I haven't felt as involved in a fictional world in ages. At times, it felt like I was watching the show for the first time (and, when it came to certain scenes, namely Lucy's death, it really was the first time I've ever seen such an interpretation).

The ensemble. Photo by Vincent Leifer.

A few highlights that left the strongest impression on me, though:

• Chris Murray's This Is the Moment. I don't much like the song and tend to find it both overdone and overblown. But when you have the right person singing it... I don't think I've ever enjoyed hearing this song this much.
• Ulrike Barz as Lucy. You would never ever have guessed she's an emergency cover, she's a diamond. From the get-go, this Lucy knew what she was getting into and who Jekyll and Hyde truely are. She enjoyed Hyde's company more clearly than any Lucy I've seen before, giving the relationship a fresh spin.
• Thomas Rettensteiner as Utterson. I've been blessed: every Utterson (my number one favourite character in this musical) I've seen live so far has been truely precious, and Rettensteiner's is no exception. A proper mix of Jekyll's anger management coach, a good friend, a true Victorian gentleman with all his hypocrisies, and an operatic baritone. I'm a fan.
• The Quentin Blake-esque hand-drawn illustrations of Christopher Melching's sets, featuring a laboratory and London streets. It's a fun look that made me long for an edition of Stevenson's original novel illustrated by Blake!

Utterson and Jekyll in The Red Rat. Photo by Vincent Leifer.

Overall, I'd describe the production as energetic, gleeful, eccentric and, between the lines, surprisingly thought-provoking. You'd think after over three years as a passionate Jekyll & Hyde fan, I would know these characters. But no! It's so much fun when a production makes you see a familiar story from a new point of view.

It was also a weird performance in many ways, with odd characterisations and production decisions and a mood way more cheerful, silly and over-the-top than I expected. I didn't agree with every decision they made, but I'm not complaining. Quite the contrary: after an adventure such as ours, if the production had been any less out-of-the-ordinary, it would have been a disappointment.

I'm glad.

The aftermath

The fun didn't end when the performance did. The theatre offered us wine, canapés and the chance to chat with Chris Murray about the show. From a fan's perspective, there's nothing better than seeing a show and then hearing the star's thoughts about their character right afterwards. Good times, really good times.

The next day, our way home was blissfully uneventful. Gazing out of train windows, looking at birds and deer and graffiti on old station buildings, discussing last night's show. Chill and relaxing.

This whole adventure begun with a half-joking promise that if Chris Murray ever plays the role of Jekyll/Hyde again, we'll be there to witness it. In the airport on our way home, I and Rami already agreed upon the conditions of our next trip to Germany. When X happens, we'll pack our bags again.

To be on the safe side, we won't reveal what X stands for, not just yet. But maybe we will, in due time, in a form of another travel journal.

Greifswald, Theater Vorpommern, Thalia herself: THANK YOU.

Jekyll & Hyde photos by Vincent Leifer / Theater Vorpommern. Selfie gif by Rami!

Upcoming in 2017

Happy 2017!

Yesterday, the last day of 2016, I listed my top four musical performances of the previous year. Today, it's time to take a look at the future with another top four list – the musicals I'm most looking forward to in 2017.

Jekyll & Hyde, Teater Vorpommern, Germany

Photo by Vincent Leifer

Longtime readers know this story already. I and my two friends went to Greifswald, Germany to see Jekyll & Hyde and everything went wrong. This March, we'll travel to Greifswald again, in the hopes that the show will not be cancelled this time.

To quote my friend Rami: "We didn’t go to Greifswald and back for nothing, except we totally did". We've seen video of Chris Murray as Jekyll and Hyde, we know how amazing he can be in the roles. And soon, we'll attempt to see him live again.

I'm excited but mostly nervous. I think I shall relax only after the lights have dimmed and the show has begun. It's a long way to Greifswald and a long day there before we'll see if the show is on. Fingers crossed.

Nahkatakkinen tyttö, Lappeenrannan kaupunginteatteri

Photo: lprteatteri.fi

This is a bit of an outlier on this list. A high school and a professional theatre combining their forces for a new production of a jukebox musical based on the songs of the Finnish 80s band Dingo.

The thing is, Nahkatakkinen tyttö is such a great jukebox musical it really makes me forget it's jukebox at all. It feels like the songs have been written for the plot, centered around a group of high school kids spending a weekend in a cabin where something dark has happened, instead of the other way around.

So far, I've seen this performed by two high schools (it was originally written for one of them) – and no matter how talented the performers, it's always a bit awkward when teens play adults. So I'm glad to see a coproduction with adults in the adult roles and teens playing teens. I've been hoping for such a cooperation to happen for a while, and this spring, my wish comes true.

Les Misérableses

Picture: smot.se

In autumn 2017, Les Mis is popping up everywhere around Northern Europe: Smålands Musik & Teater, Jönköping, Sweden; Teater Vanemuine, Tarto, Estonia; Folketeateret, Oslo, Norway; MCH Musicals, Herning, Denmark...

I doubt I'm going to be able to see all of these in 2017, though they're all interesting in their own ways. So far, I've booked my tickets to one of them: I'll be seeing the premiere of the new Swedish production. It'll be a replica of the Karlstad production I last praised in my best of 2016 text, but with at least partially new casting. Not much is known about the production yet, but with the right cast, it might be quite wonderful – the direction is certainly good enough to bear replicating. We'll see!

I also find the new Estonian production very interesting since it'll be directed by Samuel Harjanne, who has acted in three different Finnish productions of the musical, first as Gavroche and then as Enjolras and other barricade boys. I'll be curious to see how his direction will be like and really hope I can fit it in my 2017 schedule, too.

Cats, Tampereen Teatteri 

Photo by Henri Mattila

Cats is one of the first musicals I fell in love with, so I'm happy that it's coming back to my home country. This new production, directed by Georg Malvius, will give the material a brand-new spin: the show will be narrated by a rat. It's interesting to see how that'll work out – glad to hear that Andrew Lloyd Webber approves of such bold reimagining of the classic megamusical.

Remembering Malvius's version of Hair, with some rearranging of the songs and scenes to make the whole musical more story-driven... I doubt the rat is going to be the only alteration here. It's interesting to see how Malvius's Cats, another musical that traditionally has hardly any plot, is going to play out.

Everything we've heard of the production so far sounds good, so I'm eagerly looking forward to this one. I bet it's going to be a lot of fun.

So, onwards to 2017! May the new year be filled with happy moments and fun experiences, theatrical and otherwise, for all of us.

Related posts: Best of 2016, Nahkatakkinen tyttö (Finnish only)

Greifswald II: The Beginning

Remember the blog entry I posted last summer, about the worst musical trip ever?

You know, that time I and my friends Ida and Rami and left for Greifswald, Germany to see Chris Murray in Jekyll & Hyde, and were met with an endless onslaught of awful? The bus was late with its septic tank overflowing, the traffic jammed due to an accident and the asphalt melting due to hot weather – and finally, the outdoor performance of Jekyll & Hyde we had travelled 1300 kilometers to see was cancelled due to a thunderstorm.

We swore our feet would never touch the ground of Greifswald again.

Guess who are going back.

The place of our nightmares.

Last summer, after our unfortunate trip and after us leaving them some rather sour feedback, the personnel of Theater Vorpommern contacted us. To make up for our disastrous journey, they offered us tickets to any upcoming performance of Jekyll & Hyde, and a hotel room for the night on top of that.

We howled with laughter but didn't delete the message.

At first, we sneered. As if! But as the fall approached and started turning into winter, we started thinking. Thinking and talking. What if... We travelled just so we could see Chris Murray play Jekyll and Hyde, and our curiosity about his performance is of course not yet satisfied. What's more, we've grown curious about the whole production, about everything we missed. What if it's great? What if it's terrible? We don't know, but we might, if we just... But most importantly, it's started to feel like The Greifswald Story is not yet quite complete. We're still on intermission and have to decide whether to walk out or to go back and watch the second act.

Last week, we sent a message to Theater Vorpommern and let them know that yes, we would like to come back. March 11th 2017.

It absolutely does not feel real.

It's either going to be perfectly magnificent or the theatre is going to burst into flames and collapse on us mid-performance.

In either case, someone's going to die. Photo: Vincent Leifer

I feel this is like a real-life sequel to a weird movie. A sequel where the plot is similar but the stakes are higher. A sequel with the same actors and the same settings but, I'm wishing with all my might, a completely different outcome.

Greifswald II: The Experience, The Adventure. The Revenge.

I will keep you posted.

Berlin Vampires

So. After traveling 1,300+ kilometers for a musical we never got to see, we returned to Berlin and decided to do the next best thing – see Stage Entertainment's production of Tanz der Vampire in Theater des Westens.

Thank heavens for dancing vampires.

So far, I have only seen the two Finnish productions of Tanz der Vampire. Therefore, even though it's a replica of the 1997 original production, the Berlin Tanz – directed by The Fearless Vampire Killers director Roman Polanski – felt rather fresh to me. Something in the overall look and feel of the piece tells me the direction dates from way earlier than 2016, and in a different state of mind, I would probably have had more problems with it. But for a first-timer in emotional turmoil, it was all good.

For me, Kirill Zolygin's (u/s) Count von Krolock was the most fascinating performance in the show. His take was just so different from any of the Finnish von Krolocks I have seen so far. Thus, he opened my eyes to a whole new side of the character I have never seen in action before. Less passive and discreet, less melancholic, more bitter.

I don't know if alive is the right word to use when you're discussing vampires... So let's say Zolygin's Krolock is very active. It seems like he's in control of whatever situation he's in and has a good, at times almost exhilarating time seducing his victims to their deaths – until the moral hangover hits. Zolygin's Unstillbare Gier was the highlight of the show. The song was a journey through moments of sorrow, regret, self-hatred, disdain, sense of superiority and cold bitterness. Super fascinating to watch.

Professor Abronsius, played by Victor Petersen, was another interesting character to me. This version of the professor is, though determined, super old and frail. Alfred seems like 25% professional assistant, 75% geriatric nurse... But, compared his younger, more energetic and arrogant Finnish collegues, the Berlin professor is way easier to like. He's not a coward but an old man who, no matter how much he wants to, cannot hunt vampires with such vigor as he used to anymore. (Interestingly, judging by his photo in the programme, Petersen cannot be a day over 30 in real life.)

As a whole, the cast was good and evenly matched. Alfred (Tom van der Ven) and Sarah (Marina Maniglio, u/s) didn't really move me, but I quite enjoyed Merel Zeeman's spirited Magda, Sander van Wissen's (u/s) dangerous Herbert and Yvonne Köstler's surprisingly touching portrayal of Rebecca.

All in all, I had an amazing time.

The first act didn't really blow me away (it never does) but the second act just kept getting better and better. It was very nice to see moments I've watched on Youtube and seen in photos come to live. This staging also helped me to understand the charm of some scenes I haven't really been a fan of before. Ewigkeit, with the vampires rising from rows and rows of coffins, made a big, unexpected impression on me.

Some moments, on the other hand, were... comical. I couldn't help snickering, watching the Black Vampire dance his way to Dream Sarah's heart and throat during Carpe Noctem. Airbrushed abs and showy strutting around in tight tight leather pants. I've always thought Carpe Noctem is Alfred's own dream, I don't believe it's influenced by von Krolock – so the Count must've left quite an impression on our young hero the night before!

The prices for row 24 seats were high (70 € per ticket), but to the staging's credit, it must be noted it's enjoyable even from the very back. Usually, I like front rows better, but I feel this production might feel too in-your-face if you got really close. From my seat, the world of the vampires looked beautiful.

I saw Tanz der Vampire a day after experiencing the biggest disappointment in recent memory. I don't think any other musical would have felt quite as good in that moment as this.

Tanz is a very cynical story. The heroes all lose and the day is not saved – and everybody in the audience cheers. The title song is already my favourite musical finale, and this time, it felt extra amazing. I've listened to the German versions literally over a thousand times, and to hear it live in German for the first time after everything that had just happened... I hope you can imagine, since I don't think I can find proper words right now.

Thank you for the midnight ball that made everything better, von Krolocks and company.

Photos by Even Press.
Related reading: The story of the 1,300+ km disappointment

Jekyll & Hyde in Greifswald, Germany

Last April, I, Ida and Rami bought tickets to see Theater Vorpommern's outdoor production of the musical Jekyll & Hyde.

All three of us are big fans of the musical and also of the actor Chris Murray, who plays the titular roles in the production. So it didn't matter to us one bit that the show was staged in Greifswald, a small city in a faraway part of Northern Germany. Being as attached to the musical as we are, having seen video of Mr. Murray performing the role of Jekyll/Hyde, and then me and Ida seeing him live in Theater Pforzheim's Dracula, we knew the performance would be well worth the trouble.

This is the story of our trip to Greifswald last weekend.

Our flight to Berlin left Helsinki Airport early on Saturday morning. At 9 a.m., we were already enjoying a lovely breakfast on Berlin's Alexanderplatz, waiting for our bus to Greifswald to arrive.

We had booked our journey from a bus company called FlixBus MeinFernbus. We had heard they were prone to delays – but it's cheap and we have time to spare, so how bad can it be! We're talking of a three-hour drive and the bus is scheduled to depart at 10 a.m., while the musical begins at 7 p.m.. It's no problem if there's a little delay.

In the morning, we received a message informing us that our bus would be 40 minutes late. It's all good, we thought. We will still make it to Greifswald nice and early.

Our bus left Berlin's Alexanderplatz a full hour late, after additional 20 minutes of confusion over booked tickets.

It was a very hot day, with the temperature hitting 30 °C in the morning already. Due to the heat, a driveway out of Berlin had melted (!) so badly that we had to take a smaller road out of the city. We spent an hour in a traffic jam, found out we were actually making a detour to empty the bus' overflowing toilet (!!! !!!! !!), then started our way towards Greifswald in earnest.

After driving on the autobahn for a while, we came across a complete stop. An accident had blocked the road. 

By this point, I started to feel really worried we would miss Jekyll & Hyde simply because we will not get there in time.

We finally reached Greifswald at 4 p.m., three hours late of schedule.¹

Me and Rami walking (!!!) on a German autobahn in 36 °C heat

We had made it to Greifswald, so everything was going to be okay now. Or so we hoped, but nature had something in store for us: a thunderstorm before the performance. We had been keeping a close eye on weather forecasts and knew a storm was on the charts.

Luckily the forecasts also promised us the storm would be over before showtime.

We found our pension, left our bags in our rooms and walked to the city centre – in pouring rain. We ate at a small kebab place, wishing for the storm to pass. And, just as the forecast had told us, the sky indeed started clearing around 6 p.m..

After finishing our meal, we walked to the outdoor stage. It had been a rather bad day so far, but now, we were in for a lovely night of theatre, for something that would make us forget all the trouble.

Approaching the stage, a lady standing in front of the box office caught our attention, telling us something in German.

"Is the show still on?", Rami asked her.
"No", the lady replied.

Just like that, it turned out we had traveled 1,300+ kilometers for a musical we would never see.

Just like that.

Our tickets were refunded, but I don't feel Theater Vorpommern's outdoor box office personnel treated us with the respect we (or any customer who has to face such a huge disappointment) would have deserved.

The stormy weather is of course no one's fault. But – even after hearing that we had travelled from Finland just for the show – the staff offered neither a word of explanation or any expression of compassion. A simple Is there anything we can do to help you? or We feel very sorry for you or maybe You can go drink a cup of coffee at the theater café; it's on us would have done wonders. No. Instead, they had the nerve of asking us for money when we asked if we could at least take some souvenir programmes with us.

That is no way to face someone who has travelled from another country for a cancelled performance.

The weather was completely fine by 7 p.m. and stayed fine until midnight.

Coming back to the pension at 10 p.m., none of us could figure out how to unlock the front door.²

Due to storm damage and a computer error, both our train back to Berlin and our flight back to Finland were late. In total, 15% of the duration of our two-day trip was spent sitting on various stations and vehicles being late.

Sun starting to set over Greifswald

There were two things that, in the end, made our trip worthwhile.

First is the star of the musical we never got to see. We messaged Mr. Murray about our experience right after leaving the theatre and he did something really sweet, just in the hopes that it would make us feel better: he left us a care package at the stage door of Theater Greifswald, complete with candy and musical CDs. ³

After the terrible day we had just had, receiving a gift like that brought tears to our eyes. Good tears. Everything felt so much... less horrible, all of a sudden.

A package of good feelings

Chris – once more, thank you. You're a superstar, on and off the stage. I want to let you know that on our flight home, we raised our glasses of airline coke and coffee and drank your toast at some 10,000 meters of altitude. At that moment, it was literally the highest honor we could come up with.

The second lifesaver of the trip is the musical Tanz der Vampire, currently running in Berlin's Theater des Westens.

I will write more about the German vampires later (edited to add: read my thoughts here). Now, I just want to say that I'm beyond grateful Tanz happened to be running in Berlin just now. As always with Stage Entertainment's productions, the tickets were super pricey (70 € for a stalls seat in row 24), but this time, the experience was worth every cent. I don't think any other musical would have helped me to forget my disappointment better than this one.

And that is the story of our Midsummer trip to see Jekyll & Hyde in Greifswald.

¹ FlixBus MeinFernbus: avoid this company like the goddamn plague. The personnel's flippant attitude with no apologies about the delays whatsoever is reason enough. A wholly, thoroughly unpleasant ride, every delayed minute of it.
² Pension Possehl: recommended with caution. The prices are rather affordable. The twin room upstairs was lovely, with a big balcony and good facilities. On the other hand, the single room in the basement was damp, moist and overall nasty, with a toilet that couldn't handle paper being flushed. Remember to bring your own soap and shampoo. Pay extremely close attention to how to unlock the front door.
³ My tirade about Theater Vorpommern's personnel only extends to the people who worked in the outdoor stage's box office. The gentleman guarding the theatre's stage door was nice and helpful when delivering Mr. Murray's gift to us.

Upcoming up North

The summer and autumn of 2016 will bring many interesting musicals to Northern European stages. At the moment, I'm planning on seeing three productions outside of Finland. Beginning this Saturday, it's time to travel to see...

Jekyll & Hyde // Theater Vorpommern, Greifswald, Germany

Photo by Vincent Leifer

Based on a video bootleg and seeing him live in Dracula a year and a half ago, I made a promise: if Chris Murray ever plays the title roles in Jekyll & Hyde again, I will be there to witness it.

Guess what.

Theater Vorpommern's Jekyll & Hyde will be performed outdoors. As is always the case with Frank Wildhorn's musicals, going in, you don't really know what you're going to get. Which edition of the script will the production feature, which songs are we going to hear? Who knows. But I'm curious to find out. Based on the photos I've seen, this production looks like a lot of fun. Also, if Chris Murray is half as amazing as he's on the video from the 2008 Dresden production of J&H, his performance is going to be breathtaking.

And whatever the show will be like, watching a favourite musical outdoors on a midsummer night, with friends with you in the audience and a favourite actor onstage, will certainly be a night to remember.

Les Misérables // Wermland Opera, Karlstad, Sweden

Photo by Mats Bäcker

In July, it's Les Misérables time for me.
 
It's been two years since I last saw Les Misérables. It's the longest time I've been without live Les Mis since becoming a fan in 2010. So I'd say it's about time. I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing the show in Wermland Opera – though not because of the cast, or the direction, or any other detail specific to this production. Above all, I just want to spend a night with Jean Valjean, Javert, Cosette and all the others again.

I guess Wermland Opera's Les Mis is going to be an emotional experience. Hearing Les Misérables sung in Swedish, and performed in an old theatre that looks a lot like Åbo Svenska Teater... As long-time readers know, the 2010–12 Fenno-Swedish Les Mis is my all-time favourite musical production. Hearing the show in Swedish will always be extra special for me.

Listen to them sing the song of my heart:

Klokkeren fra Notre Dame // Fredericia Teater, Fredericia, Denmark

 I have been waiting to see this musical for over five years.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is my favourite Disney movie. In 1999, three years after the movie, a stage adaptation called Der Glöckner von Notre Dame premiered in Berlin. Ever since finding out the musical exists, I have been obsessing over it and wishing it would be revived.

After its initial three-year run, Hunchback the musical disappeared for a decade. Despite wishing for its return, I didn't really believe it would ever come back. The Hunchback is one of Disney's darkest animated movies, and the musical is even darker. I thought they had forgotten about it for good – I just didn't see it following The Little Mermaid and Aladdin in Disney Theatrical Group's plans.

So you can imagine how I felt like, reading the news of The Hunchback's 2014 American premiere, and then listening to the brand-new English-language cast recording. And now the revived, revised Hunchback has found its way to Europe, premiering in Denmark in the autumn of 2016!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame has everything I want to see in a musical. It's dramatic, tragic, historical, huge. Alan Menken's score, composed of songs featured in the movie and new material written for the stage, is one of my all-time favourites. I also appreciate how the musical brings the story closer to Victor Hugo's original tale. There are no comic relief gargoyles here. It's a solemn, dark, upsetting adaptation I believe Hugo would approve of.

I feel like tearing up each time I listen to The Hunchbacks' first act finale, Esmeralda. I can't even imagine how it will feel like, finally watching the musical live. I get chills just thinking about sitting in the theatre. I don't remember the last time I've waited for a musical production this eagerly. This year, October can't come early enough.

But first, Germany and Sweden, here I come!