Kesäteatterikesä 2014

Dear non-Finnish readers: I'm going to write a special series in Finnish this summer. For more information about this project, check out this post. Talk to you in English soon again!

Nyt on aika.

Aika voittaa itsensä, aika kohdata pelkonsa. Aika ottaa niskalenkki ennakkoluuloistaan ja tuhota ne.

On aika katsoa kesäteatteria.

???

Rakastan teatterissa käyntiä miltei enemmän kuin elämää itseään – talvella. Kautta pimeiden kuukausien käyn teatterissa likipitäen kerran viikossa. Kesällä puolestaan... olen käynyt kesäteatterissa viitisen kertaa koko tähänastisen elämäni aikana. Syy on yksinkertainen: olen ennakkoluuloinen. Mielessäni sana "kesäteatteri" yhdistyy liki automaattisesti sanapariin "kaamea puskafarssi".

Viime kesänä olin, ulkoilmateatteria välttelevästä persoonastani huolimatta, töissä kesäteatterissa. Minulle aukesi uusi maailma: tämähän voi olla katsomisen arvoista! Tai – ainakin juuri tämä näytös juuri tässä teatterissa on. En vielä vuosi sitten ollut valmis kohtaamaan mörköjäni ja kokeilemaan, päteekö havainto kautta suomalaisen kesäteatterikentän.

Tänä kesänä laiminlyönti korjataan. Minulla on missio.

Suuntaan niemeen, notkoon, metsään ja saareen nauttimaan Suomen kesän teatterista.

??? ??????

En ole vielä päättänyt kesäretkieni tarkkaa etappijakoa. Suuret suuntaviivat minulla kuitenkin on mielessäni: haluan mennä katsomaan niin paljon suomalaista ammattikesäteatteria kuin ehdin, ja aion kirjoittaa kaikesta näkemästäni arvostelun. Pakko nähdä -listallani on kaikki Ryhmäteatterin Liisasta Ihmemaassa Samppalinnan Mattiin ja Teppoon. (Huom. viime kesän työpaikkani jätän jääviyssyistä arvostelematta.)

Valokuvajournalismia kesäteatterikiertueeltani julkaisen uunituoreella Instagram-tililläni koko kesän ajan. Teidän ei tarvitse uskoa sanaani siitä, missä teatterissa on tuhdeimmat kärkkärit ja eniten ketsuppia kyytipoikana – kuva todistakoon. Eläköön #kesäteatterikesä2014!

Nyt urheasti tulta päin ja kohti kattamattomia katsomoita.

Summer Theatre Summer

As I've mentioned, during the 2013–2014 theatrical season, it's been a joy being a Finnish theatre fan. So many amazing musicals! At times I haven't been able to decide which show I'm the most excited about!

Now the fun's over: the season is finished. In Finland, theatres close their doors in May and open them again sometimes in September. Luckily, though, the summer's not some awful three-month-long abyss with lots of heat and no theatre. Instead of indoor shows, we get outdoor theatre. Lots and lots and lots of it. There are literally hundreds of outdoor productions staged all over the country each year, some of them by professionals, many of them by enthusiastic amateurs.

And I admit that, even though I even worked in an outdoor theatre last year, I have my suspicions about summer theatre. As you know, I see theatre all the time during the winter – but hardly ever during the summer. Hearing the words "outdoor theatre" makes me think of awful plots, overacting and, occasionally, rain and ferocious wildlife attacking both the actors and the audience. Seeing I've seen so little theatre during the summer, these may very well be unfounded preconceptions.

This summer, I've decided to forget my prejudices and go experience something new. My summer project is seeing all the professional Finnish summer theatre I can.

Fun?

I'm of course going to write reviews about all the shows I see during my summer tour. I however have a sneaking suspicion that interest in reviews of Finnish outdoor plays outside Finland is so minimal that this particular project might be better written in Finnish. After my tour is over, I'll write a conclusion in English and let you know if actually I got rid of my prejudices – but this time, the actual reviews will be in Finnish.

However! A picture is worth a thousand words, no matter which language. I've set up an Instagram account where I intend to document my summer theatre tour: the places I'll visit, the friends I'll meet, all the sausages and other questionable foodstuffs I'll eat during the intermissions... Follow siiri.inkeri on Instagram for photo coverage.

And now – onwards ho!

Kesäteatterikesästä suomeksi.

Closures

Tonight, three musical productions that mean a lot to me are closing.

Seeing the masterminds who plan the theatrical schedules around here have all decided May Day Eve is the perfect night for their show to close, I can only see one derniere in person... It's a shame. I would have loved to witness all of these final performances.

In any case, here are some thoughts about all three.

The first show closing tonight is Åbo Svenska Teater's Jesus Christ Superstar.

I saw this one eight times. And, for once, I feel that's a lot of times in the audience. I've gone more overboard with this show than with any other musical ever. Sure, it's only number three on my Most Watched list – but remembering it had a run of two and a half months... I definitely wouldn't have gone for eight times in ten weeks if the theatre had given Superstar a run of a sensible lenght. But the situation being as it is, it's been seeing it again now or never.

In any case, I went so overboard because this is truely one of the absolute best musicals I've ever seen. If not the absolute best?

I had impossibly high hopes for this production. Jesus Christ Superstar is a musical I've waited to see live for years. So when they announced this, my expectations went right through the roof. My favourite Jean Valjean, Alexander Lycke, back in Finland as Jesus, and the rest of the cast looking so good, too... Amazingly, reality managed to surpass all of my expectations. Every single aspect of the show worked for me. I've honestly at a loss of words to describe this production with. I can only say that, for me, it's one of the strongest theatrical experiences ever.

I've had other musical-related things to obsess about lately (see: the following entries on this list), so I haven't been actively mad about this production closing anymore... But just because I'm not shouting about it doesn't mean I'm okay with it. I'm still annoyed. To excitedly look forward to a show for a year only to have it for two months? I certainly didn't see that one coming!

I'm going to miss this production.

The second derniere is Turun kaupunginteatteri's Jekyll and Hyde.

I saw this show seven times in total, and fell deeper and deeper in love with it each time. At first, I was impressed, after two times I was infatuated, and now, after seven times – if you had asked me the day before I saw Superstar, I would've called this the best musical I've ever seen in Finland. Now, let's call it a tie! Jekyll and Hyde definitely stole my heart.

I mentioned it in my initial review that the plot of the show is very weak. Even though I've become an even bigger fan of the show after reviewing it, I still think so. There are major plotholes. But everything else here, from acting and singing to the most gorgeous sets and lights and costumes I've seen on any Finnish musical stage (they won a prize, so clearly others agree)... It was a fantastic production.

Maybe thanks to the weaknesses of the plot, the last few times I saw Jekyll and Hyde weren't really about observing the piece as a whole anymore. Instead, I decided to give my full attention to a couple of my favourite performances, even during the scenes that aren't really about those particular characters at all. Sometimes, it's a lot of fun to watch your favourite doing their thing in the background. That's the beauty of live theatre, and the point of seeing the same show multiple times, I guess. You get to decide which characters and subplots to follow.

This show fuels my imagination like no other. It has gotten me thinking about the characters and their lives before and after the events of the story, wondering about their fates, drawing little scenarios with them... Maybe it's just me subconsciously trying to patch the holes in the story, but nevertheless, it's great to see something that really gets my own imagination going. That way, I'll still be enjoying the show long after the production has closed.

I'm very glad Turun kaupunginteatteri decided to bring this show to Finland, and I'm so lucky to have been able to see it so many times. It has definitely earned its place on my list of favourites and I'll continue praising it long after tonight's derniere.

Tonight's third derniere is the one I'm actually seeing: Tampereen Teatteri's Les Misérables.

I saw this production nine times. In total, I've now seen Les Misérables 28 times. Seeing my track record, it'd be impossible to have a Finnish production of Les Mis close without me being there to witness it... Me and my friends booked our tickets to see this last show months ago.

Each one of my nine times in the TT Les Mis audience wasn't a success. Sometimes seeing the show was plain disappointing. I've discussed it previously that this production was pretty unbalanced: it had its good days and bad days, its strong performances and intolerable alternates, and you never quite knew what you were going to get.

Still, I'm sure tonight's final performance will be amazing. When this production has a good day, and luckily, majority of the performances I saw were of the better sort... I've seen a couple of the most moving, most amazing performances of Les Misérables I've ever witnessed in Tampereen Teatteri. I've no doubt the energy will be high during the last performance again, and I'm certain my favourite musical will make my heart beat faster once more.

I'm however not sad over this production closing. While it's good, it doesn't mean as much to me as Åbo Svenska Teater's Les Misérables meant, and I also feel it's had a good run. But suddenly not having a production of my favourite musical in Finland anymore, after over four years of either having one or knowing one is soon premiering..? That'll take some getting used to!

In any case, it's been one fantastic theatrical season around here, musical-wise. Many theatre fans around the world wish they could live closer to London or New York, but as a Finnish musical enthusiast, I have no reason to wish that. During the past few months, I've been spoiled by the theatrical scene of this country like never before.

And here's to hoping all my favourites will put on the derniere of a lifetime tonight.

Photos by Pette Rissanen, Robert Seger and Harri Hinkka (hover over them for specific info, as always).

Miserable in Denmark

I've now seen three productions of Les Misérables directed by Georg Malvius: Åbo Svenska Teater and Tampereen Teatteri here in Finland, and, last weekend, Aarhus Teater in Denmark.

I loudly dissed Tampereen Teatteri when they announced they would stage a replica of the ÅST production. So when a new replica of the recent Finnish Les Mis productions pops up in Denmark – naturally I'll travel a thousand kilometers to see it. Don't bother asking. I can't really explain how I came to this decision.

Aarhus Les Mis is, of course, essentially the same thing we've seen twice in Finland. Same sets and costumes and general direction (though I have to mention it felt less of a copy of the Finnish shows than the TT production feels of the ÅST production. Both TT and Aarhus replicate a lot of ÅST's blocking, but I felt the Danish production gives the actors more freedom when it comes to movement) – I don't think I have much to say about the production as a whole anymore.

So let's try a slightly different approach to reviewing this time.

Jean Valjean: Stig Rossen

Javert: Peter Jorde

Fantine: Christina Elisabeth Mørkøre

Thénardier: Anders Bircow

Mme Thénardier: Jenny Asterius Persson

Marius: Thomas Høj

Cosette: Isabel Schwartzbach

Éponine: Mercedesz Csampai

Enjolras: Christoffer Brodersen 

Overall, I'm glad I traveled to see this one.

Especially for Javert.

Top Blog!

Just a quick note this time...

Last week, I got some happy news. Some Superfluous Opinions has been listed as number four on Cision's list of Top 10 Finnish Culture-Related Blogs!

The whole list is as follows:

1. Kujerruksia
2. Herrasmiehen päiväkirja
3. Being Alive
4. Some Superfluous Opinions
5. Kulttuurin sekakäyttäjä
6. Kirjava Kukko
7. One Night In Theatre
8. Teatterikärpäsen puraisuja 2
9. 365 kulttuuritekoa
10. Kulttuurielämää Helsingissä

(Out of these, most are written in Finnish. One Night in Theatre also sometimes blogs in English.)

That's pretty neat, don't you think? Some of the things the ranking is based on are the number of readers and the amount of times links to the blog are shared on other websites – so it's of course thanks to you lovely readers that I made it this high on the list! Thanks for visiting and sharing, everybody!

And now, so this entry won't be just boring text and links, here's a little bonus... Watching and reviewing musicals wasn't the only thing I did during my Nordisk Turné in February. While visiting Copenhagen, I also got the chance to take a selfie with someone whose work has had a great impact on my life. Pictured, the blogger with Victor Hugo:

He looks delighted he gets to pose with me.

Once again, thanks so much for reading, everybody!

King of the Jungle

Please note: I saw this production for free on the courtesy of Helsingin kaupunginteatteri.

There is a bit of a jungle musical boom going on in Helsinki. At the moment, two theatres are doing tropical shows: The Jungle Book is still playing at Svenska Teatern, and Helsingin kaupunginteatteri premiered Disney's Tarzan just last week.

Yesterday, I got to see the show as a part of a special blogger event at HKT.

When I think about the jungle, the first thing that comes to my mind is how beautiful it looks like. Tarzan didn't disappoint: the visuals were lovely to look at.

Before the performance, we bloggers got to visit the stage and take a look at the musical's sets (by Katariina Kirjavainen). It was incredible to see how the rather uninteresting-looking mass of shapes we saw beforehand was transformed, with the help of the lighting, into beautiful jungle scenery during the show! I was really impressed by William Iles's lights. I feel the cartoonish sets would probably look too fake from the very front row, but from a bit further back in the auditorium, the sets and the lights together created a nice illusion of a tropical forest.

The gorilla costumes by Elina Kolehmainen were also fun to look at. Actually, the gorillas in general were a lot of fun to look at: they did some really impressive dancing! Overall, this show was a treat to the eyes.

Tarzan's path to adulthood is all about big emotions, but for a reason or another, I didn't really feel for the love story in between Tarzan (Saska Pulkkinen) and Jane (Elina Aalto), nor the relationship in between Tarzan and his adoptive mother Kala (Sanna Majuri). There were emotional moments happening onstage, sure. But despite the sympathetic performances, I didn't feel close to the main characters.

Instead, my favourite character was Tarzan's gorilla friend (and adoptive brother/cousin/?) Terk. I was rather charmed by Matti Leino's performance. He made the character arrogant yet loyal and altogether a lot of fun. Also, I have to mention Kari Mattila as Clayton, the guide of the English jungle expedition group! He was a classic Disney villain: pure evil, greedy and blood-thirsty without a single redeeming trait – and as such, maybe surprisingly, a joy to watch.

So far, so good... Unfortunately, one important part of the show didn't work out: this was one of those musicals where I honestly found myself wishing they wouldn't sing so much. The cast sung well, sure, but Phil Collins's tunes were awfully bland. There were a couple of highlights, but to my ears, most of the songs sounded the same. The ending of the second act with four reprises in a row... Yawn. The music had its moments: I enjoyed the bits with lots of percussion and exciting rythms (Trashin' the Camp, the song that began the second act, was a great number!). It's just a shame there were so many dull ballads in between those parts.

Tarzan at Helsingin kaupunginteatteri was fun (apart from the music), but for me, nothing more than that. It was nice to look at but didn't make me feel any deeper emotions. Remembering it is a Disney musical, however, I guess I got everything I was expecting to get – a fun if not too memorable night at the theatre.

By the way: HKT offers subtitles to Tarzan in Finnish, English and Russian. If you're visiting Helsinki and craving some culture, but your Finnish isn't quite fluent yet, here's a show to consider!
Photos by Mirka Kleemola / Imagenary Oy.

Two Months

I'll keep this short and simple.

Åbo Svenska Teater's production of Jesus Christ Superstar...

1. is one of the top three best musicals I've ever seen
2. is loved by critics and bloggers and audiences alike
3. had sold over 10 000 tickets two weeks after the premiere already
4. is closing in April, after a run of only two and a half months???

I would shrug the Facebook post off as a cheap advertising trick (let's make the audience think the show is closing so they'll panic and buy a lot of tickets!) if I hadn't also heard the news in person from two different members of the theatre's box office personnel. Since they're all saying the same... It's starting to sound way too real.

For the life of me, I cannot understand what has motivated the theatre to make a decision such as this.

A musical that has been flashily advertised since the summer of 2013, a musical that's been called the theatre's 175th anniversary production and the big investment of the anniversary year... This is a fine anniversary if I've ever heard of one. Party hard for a whopping 20% of the anniversary year!!

Åbo Svenska Teater is known for their musicals – and said musicals have previously had rather reasonable runs. Evita (170th anniversary musical) ran from fall 2008 to spring 2009. Les Misérables was first scheduled to run from fall 2010 to spring 2011 but was extended all the way to winter 2012. Even Hair, with an ensemble that mostly consisted of theatre students, ran for about five months in fall 2012 and spring 2013. How does a run of two and a half months fit into this pattern? It doesn't.

What on earth went wrong? Was the budget completely messed up in the first place? Did some internal trouble within the theatre get ridiculously out of hand? I have no idea – but to be honest, it doesn't matter to me what the reason is, I'm still mad. From an audience member's perspective, this makes zero sense and seems both embarrassing and infuriating. You'd think that whatever the case, having a musical production running would beat not having a musical in the repertoire. Little do I understand, apparently.

I'm deeply upset. As said, ÅST's JCS is one of the best musicals I've ever seen. Of course I would've wanted to enjoy it for the full year! As anyone who reads my blog knows, I'm not one to see musicals only once. I would've wanted to see it again and again, watch the production develop and grow. Moreover, I'm also annoyed and upset for my friends' sake. Ever since the theatre started dropping hints that the production is closing, I've heard lots of fellow theatre fans lament they haven't the time to see the production in the spring. Silly us, counting on the show continuing in the fall!

I hope, with all my energy, that this turns out to be something of a bad joke and a fall season will still be announced – but that doesn't seem like a particularily realistic wish. At the moment, it looks like the theatre management has made up their minds to shut down one of the best musicals this country has ever seen.