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Dance of the Vampires

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, it should be noted that 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").

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. Because of its great success, the show was repeated in Estonia in a concert version a few years later, with the same cast members.

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) 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.

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. On his blog Steinman writes "DOTV as we know was UTTER SHIT!" in one post, and describes the production as a "shit pile" in another, also stating in separate blog entries that his music was "wasted" on the show, being careful at several points to make clear distinctions between the American version (referred to as DOTV) and the successful European version (known 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
Nadja - E. Alyssa Claar
Zsa-Zsa - Erin Leigh Peck

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 - Łukasz Dziedzic / Paweł Podgórski
Sarah - Malwina Kusior / Aleksandra Bieńkowska / Agata Załuska
Professor Abronsius - Robert Rozmus / Grzegorz Pierczyński
Alfred - Jakub Molęda / Marcin Wortmann
Chagal - Wojciech Paszkowski / Janusz Kruciński
Magda - Dominika Szymańska / Katarzyna Walczak / Anna Gigiel
Rebecca - Grażyna Strachota / Izabela Bujniewicz
Herbert - Jakub Wocial / Modest Ruciński
Koukol - Jakub Szydłowski

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.

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.

The Original Budapest Cast

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

A new production of Tanz der Vampire will open at the Metronom Theater am Centro in Oberhausen in November 2008.

Characters

(Note: Many changes in characterization were made for the Broadway version. This refers to the original European version.)

Count von Krolock, to play anywhere from 35 to 50 to 425 years old, a powerful and melancholy vampire lord, the seductive, diabolic, dramatic center of the show, with a massive, galvanizing baritone.

Professor Abronsius, plays 60-65, Alfred's mentor and a classic absent-minded professor, a quirky "man of science" devoted to eliminating all vampires, the comic centerpiece of the show, with a high baritone with extensive range (at one point hits a note some sopranos might have trouble with).

Alfred, plays 18-19, hero, earnest young student, heroine has to fall for him at first sight, Abronsius' handsome and well-meaning but somewhat cowardly assistant, with a gorgeous, strong, lyric tenor.

Sarah, plays 15-18 (the script designates her as "almost eighteen" during "Du bist wirklich sehr nett"), heroine, a beautiful and spunky young woman, breathtaking village girl, radiant but wanting to be corrupted, with a Celine Dion-type voice, but a tougher more R&B or rock-influenced sound.

Chagal, plays 40-55, Sarah's over-protective father, a disreputable Jewish innkeeper, should be almost a parody of Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof," with a commanding baritone.

Rebecca, plays 40-55, Sarah's long-suffering mother and Chagal's wife, large, buffo, unsatisfied, griping village spouse and co-innkeeper, with a huge, rich contralto/mezzo.

Magda, plays early twenties (25 at latest), the sexy maid of all trades at Chagal's village inn, longed for by all the male villagers but doesn't succumb until she is bitten, with a glorious theatrical belt with extensive range.

Herbert von Krolock, plays approximately 20, the Count's gay son, also a vampire, needy, lonely, horny, demonically determined young rich kid, with a high baritone or dark tenor of size and passion.

Koukol, of an indeterminate age and description, the Count's hunchbacked servant.

Dancers ages 20-35, strong, sexy, exotic, eccentric, unique dancers with a wide range of physical ability and strong modern/ballet/jazz technique, specialties in acrobatics and flying.

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)