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| re: Finnish Tanz der Vampire Helsinki revival preview review | |
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Dr_Rock 10:57 pm UTC 02/02/16 |
| In reply to: | Finnish Tanz der Vampire Helsinki revival preview review - RemyH 11:48 pm UTC 02/01/16 |
| Thanks for this review. I'm going to Helsinki for the weekend and will see it on Friday. Having not seen it in Seinajoki I have nothing to compare it to, other then the productions in the other countries. I scanned over your review so it wouldn't spoil too much for me but am not expecting it to be on the scale of Vienna, Berlin or Hamburg. It's reassuring that a Steinfan found it fun - it must be OK then! > Hullo all, though you might be interested. It was > different, that's what it was. Go and see it if you're in > Helsinki. I would post some program scans but they didn't > have them for the preview yet. Bummer.) > > Dear Tanz fans, > what Helsinki City theatre has done to Dance of the > Vampires is something pretty unique. Before the review > part, I would like to say a few things. Firstly, the > theatre is currently going through a renovation and the > venue (Peacock-theatre) is not the place where they would > normally stage a piece like this. Secondly, it's going to > be a short run and the production runs only 'til April, > unless they're holding back further dates. And last but > not least: I absolutely worshipped the first Finnish > non-replica Tanz at Seinäjoki City Theatre about four > years ago, I saw it 24 times. Ahem. I really try not to > compare the two shows too much. Oh, and yes, one more > thing: the show I saw on 1st of February was the first > preview, so I expect the production will mature at least a > bit. > > So, where to start? No matter how you stage it, Tanz der > Vampire is a magnificent piece of musical theatre, my very > greatest favourite. You really have to try very hard to be > able ruin it. Helsinki City Theatre has put up a very > decent non-replica in my opinion, although it was clear > they haven't really used all the resources they could've > used. The stage at Peacock theatre does not revolve, and > all set changes were done by stage hands. That was a bit > annoying at times (since, for example "In Der Gruft", the > vampire ensemble could've done the set changes). > > But, I want to start from the beginning. The Peacock > theatre has a pretty big auditorium (around 900 seats) and > a rather small stage. The theatre hall itself reminded me > of an industrial hall, or possibly a barn, with rickety > wooden fold chairs and no interior design. But what really > caught my eye was the strange vision on stage centre. It > looked like Sputnik married Disney's Haunted Mansion > organ, with mushrooms? It turned out it was there for > Koukol, who "played" the Overture on the, as I choose to > call it, organ. Huh, okay. Weirder things have happened in > Transylvania, but I'm not sure is it very necessary or > suitably dramatic for that character to open the show. A > matter of opinion, for sure. Attached is a bad quality > photo of it, the hall was pretty dark. Yes, it has, for > some mysterious aviation purposes, bat wings. > > Otherwise the character of Koukol was pretty much the > usual; Juha Jokela played him just fine. Then on to "He, > Ho, He". These things were clear from the very beginning: > 1) Petrus Kähkönen's Alfred is a precious little dork and > I liked him instantly 2) there would be additional jokes > and 3) the set wouldn't bare too close observation, most > details aren't very fine. The show is probably best > enjoyed from halfway of the auditorium, my seat was front > row centre. Then again I had the Count stand right in > front of me, so I'm not complaining. More about that > later. Ooh, yes, more about that. > > Kähkönen's Afred was a great success, indeed, I found him > endearingly genuine. The good balance of brave and scared > was there, the singing was effortless and I really have > nothing negative to say about him. Adorable nyhverö. And > talking about nyhverös, mein Gott I loved Antti Timonen's > professor Abronsius! He is a young man for the part and > his makeup is not the typical grandpa-look, either. He > looks like an electrocuted werewolf who teaches quantum > physics in University. I love it. Great look. His singing > is deliciously effortless and the minute arias are > delivered with impeccable timing and ease. To be honest, I > was prepared to hate any actor doing Abronsius, since Esa > Ahonen's acting stole my heart at Seinäjoki, but I was > delighted to prove myself wrong. Well done, mister > Timonen. > > The dynamics between these two characters are pretty > standard, although they have included their own little > antics. For example, Alfred tries to throw pebbles on > Sarah's window, but accidentally swallows one when the > professor hits him on the back of the head. When it comes > to the antics and added jokes (there were quite a lot of > them!), they are mostly Finnish puns or additional > explanations of what's going on. I'm not sure they're that > necessary most of the time, but there are some hilarious > gems in there, too. > > Abronsius (after Für Sarah): Well done boy! When you don't > change your clothes for bed, you have time for a power > ballad in the morning!" (I almost peed myself laughing.) > > I really liked the energy and garlic-embroidered costumes > of the villagers in "Knoblauch". There are many fans who > don't like the scene at all and don't care what happens, > but the way the villagers act reflects on the vampires, > too. I liked the Helsinki villagers. They were silly > enough, real enough and scared enough. The whole > atmosphere of this production is very comedy-heavy, > though, so if you like your Tanz more brooding and > romantic, this isn't probably a show for you. I, on the > other hand, love my silliness in Tanz, and for example the > Garlic-wreathed maypole sort of thing the villagers danced > around was pretty funny. > > "The leading villagers" Chagal, Rebecca and Magda were > solid, nothing particular to say about any of them. The > character of Chagal (played by Risto Kaskilahti) is pretty > tiresome at the best of times, and this one wasn't an > exception. Rebecca (Leenamari Unho) could use a bit of > that country wife "oomph" and Magda's (Laura Alajääski) > performance lacked fear, I feel, but they're still growing > in their roles. Pretty okay singing from all of them, > although there were some strange stretches and tempo > hiccups, but that could've been the backing track. > > Then a few words about the set. Mostly pretty logical and > what I expected from their resources, but what was that… > that thing coming down from the ceiling on Einladung Zum > Ball?! Did Stephen Hawkins ring you, because I think he > wants his flying Halloween wheelchair back. I just don't > know what to say, please drop that thing and lower the > poor vampire down without that infernal back brace. I > think their inspiration comes from the Asian version, but > if you can't make the wings open smoothly (it was like a > dying insect), please keep on working on them. I would > prefer no batman gear whatsoever on that scene, though. > > When it comes to the costumes, well, I found them a bit > strange and (assumingly) unintentionally comical at times. > I'm not saying all vampires should be pretty and graceful > and glittery, heavens no. But when the Count is > accompanied by a herd of big-eared fluffy Muppet things > from Hell during Gott Ist Tot, the song kind of suffers. I > wanted to scratch their bellies. They have, by the way, > taken out quite a lot of music, including the chorus at > the end of Gott Ist Tot. Not liking that very much. While > I know it's good business to make the show end before 10 > pm, so the actors don't have to be paid extra (like it is > in Finland), I still don't think one should break a full, > composed piece as it was intended. I just really love > Steinman, okay? > > A few more things about the music... Apparently they're > using the same backing track they have in France? I know > for sure it wasn't the same they had in Seinäjoki. The > music was pretty mangled by the pa systems and I honestly > cannot tell what was real and what was on tape. Many times > the music was drowned by the singers and I don't think the > live choir sang at all at some points. Hard to tell, > really. The orchestra is enclosed somewhere and the > musicians didn't even come for curtain call. Oh, and the > added sound effects! Please have mercy on my ears! I > sounded like Chagal and the Count bit on giant fortune > cookies, the majestic crunch could've been the sound of a > T-Rex munching a bag of prehistoric crisps. Take it easy, > we can hear it just fine even if you take the volume down > a bit, like, 3/4 of it. > > Ach, I could write something about all scenes, but to name > a few more highlights of act one, I rather liked Die Roten > Stiefel dance part. They had a dozen of Krolocks (doubles) > dancing the double Sarah, and the effect was… okay. I > think I liked it, although I did miss my traditional > dancers. The dance ended with the Count himself (not a > double) carrying Sarah away in his arms, and that was very > romantic and touching. Loved it. Sarah, by the way, was > performed by the dazzling dame Raili Raitala. I already > loved her, since she'd already performed Sarah in > Seinäjoki, and she's a gift that just keeps on giving. I > really do like her performance, although her > characterization of Sarah was less clear and a bit more > traditional in this production. Maybe it'll grow. > > On to act two. My favourite scene is Carpe Noctem, now and > forever. While I realize it's not easy decorating a > bedroom of nightmares in a gothic castle, I still would've > done it without Christmas ornaments and tinsel. The bed > post carvings had red glowing eyes like one robot toy I > had as a kid. Not very scary, I'm afraid. Still, the set > isn't everything in CN. > > One thing I really didn't like about Carpe Noctem was a > female singer as the Nightmare Soloist, opening the song. > I suppose there's nothing wrong with that per se, but it's > a very sensual moment and somehow a lady just doesn't... > do it for me. Maybe it's a sex thing, in which case I > apologize. I'm tempted to say the choreography was a bit > messy, but it's hard to tell with just one watching and > from the front row. One thing was pretty nice though: > instead of a Black Vampire (the count's body double > dancer), the count himself was in the scene. Very hot, > very nice. > > Oh, let's finally talk more about the Count. I am very > happy I chose this night, since the production has a > double casting. Mikko Vihma was a smirking, powerful and > excruciatingly handsome von Krolock. I didn't necessarily > like all costumes (I think his ball jacket was made of > vinyl or something), but goddamn the man can perform the > part. Love the white contact lenses, not crazy about the > gloves though (don't be shy, paint those shadows between > the fingers, now he looks like his hands are just a bit > dirty). > > The Count could be a bit more distant, though, for example > in "He, Ho, He" -reprise he kept popping up, to a rather > comical effect. Since he's already present in Die Roten > Stiefel and Carpe Noctem, he could sing that bit standing > on a piece of wall or something. I don't know, it's > another matter of opinion, I suppose. The Count is also > seen at the end, pretty composed, no crazy flying rock > star Krolock (thankfully). > > At this point I should probably tell you that in Helsinki > the Count's son Herbert looks like something between > Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys and Nathan Lane in The > Birdcage. He's like Elton John whose wardrobe attacked > with glittery vengeance. Uh, okay. We're used to flashy > Herberts in Finland. His singing was okay, could've been a > bit more relaxed though, but I liked his > characterization. > > But, back to act two. There would be hundreds of details I > could point out and compare the show to both the replica > versions and the Seinäjoki non-replica, but I'm going to > name just the best spoilers here. If you don't want to > ruin the surprise, you really need to stop reading now. > > Okay, first of all, Chagal was at the ball and he led his > daughter down the stairs to the Count. Auugh, my heart! It > was heartbreakingly twisted and perverted, and I suppose I > don't have to tell you I really liked it. Like father, > like daughter? Another thing was, and this is big thing, > that the professor gets bitten in the end. WHAAAAT? And he > joins the vampires in their dance. It's, it's, it's, it's > silly, that's what it is. I'm not going to comment any > further, if you know (and love) the show like I do, you > can form your own opinion about that. > > All and all, the Helsinki Vampire Show has a very good > heart and the actors seem to enjoy themselves. I had fun, > my frieds had fun, I got winks from pretty dancing > vampires and it was a night damn well spent. It always is > with Tanz der Vampire. Will go and see this production > again, if I can. > | |
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