My Jesus Christ Superstar Quarantine Weekend, Easter 2020

One thing I'll say for him: Jesus is cool.

This weekend gave me the opportunity to watch two live recordings of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar back to back: a recording of the 2012 Jesus Christ Superstar: Live Arena Tour (directed by Laurence Connor) was made available on YouTube for 48 hours, and the 2018 NBC live recording Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (directed by David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski) was televised again. These two productions, differing completely in conception and execution, have given rise to many questions, first and foremost: What is most important about a Jesus Christ Superstar production for me?

Is it a new and exciting arrangement? A hitherto unseen choreography? A cast whose members are all vocally equipped to handle the demanding parts? Or is it little directorial details that work very well in closeups and intimate theatre spaces?

New arrangements are not a must-have

... but they are always thrilling to listen to. Both the Live Arena Tour and the Live in Concert production have rather traditional arrangements, except for an unfamiliar guitar solo in Damned for All Time in the Live Arena Tour version. However, the creative teams behind both productions understood perfectly how exciting it is to have the band onstage with the actors. At the edges of both stages scaffolds have been raised which allow the musicians to be very close to the action unfolding onstage, and yet, to perform their pieces undisturbed by it. Both productions occasionally include the guitarists in the action, and in the Live in Concert version three violinists and one cellist are now and again among Jesus' followers. The quality of both recordings is pretty impressive, although a few microphones in the Live in Concert version were turned on too early or too late, and there are a few strange moments in the Live Arena Tour production that I hope are glitches in the recording and not what I actually fear is auto-tune.

Settings and the message they might convey

The second thing one notices about Jesus Christ Superstar is the production's setting. The Live Arena Tour version uses massive projections during the overture to make it clear that it is set in our very troubling times, emphasising this point by showing shots of civil unrest and by having TV hosts report ill news about the state of our society. In this production, Jesus is likened to Che Guevara, leading a band of ragtag followers into the territory of a couple of “suits”, who monitor every socio-economic change. King Herod has got his own TV show in which he lets his audience vote for or against Jesus' credibility. Following his arrest, Jesus is constantly hounded by journalists, even after his flogging has left him bloody and unable to stand. 

In contrast, the Live in Concert production takes an entirely different approach and sets Jesus Christ Superstar nowhere in particular. Some of the characters (namely the Pharisees and Pontius Pilate) even wear quite eccentric costumes which add to the feeling of timelessness. The creative team behind this production was clearly more interested in entertaining the audience than in alluding to any parallel goings-on in the real world, which in my opinion is just as well. As important as I think theatre as a mouthpiece can be, I doubt that anyone who saw the Live Arena Tour production with its painfully obvious message about the poor state of our world rethought their life afterwards. Furthermore, I have seen so many productions of Jesus Christ Superstar in the last few years that have tried to shove an allegorical message down my throat that I am now and again grateful for a production that is taken out of time and simply tries to entertain me.

Rethinking choreography and camera work

The choreography of the Live in Concert production of which we get a first taste during the overture is unlike any Jesus Christ Superstar choreography I have seen so far. The lively movement gives the entire production a wonderfully natural flow that practically glued me to the screen. I guess if I had seen this production live that I would have been overwhelmed by all the action on the massive set during specific scenes, so I am all the more grateful for the mostly very neat, though sometimes a bit trippy camera work. 
What the Live in Concert production does another great job of, is to clearly separate the amusing scenes from the harrowing ones. For instance, during King Herod's Song the director of this production successfully centres everyone's attention on the music and King Herod (the fabulous Alice Cooper). I always feel very bad for the actor who plays Jesus during this scene, because I cannot imagine how he keeps from rolling his eyes at the shenanigans he witnesses at the King's court. In the Live in Concert production, Jesus can pull as many faces as he wants, because the camera, and thus, our attention is never focused on his face. This smart decision makes this scene thoroughly enjoyable because for once, I do not feel the need to emphasise with a distressed Jesus.
A further example is Superstar from the same production, which feels like a huge party, celebrating this energetic music and the amazing vocals by Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot. Jesus can only be seen for a very brief moment during this celebratory scene, and again, we do not see his battered face. The audience's attention remains focused on the singers and dancers, and this liberating moment can be fully enjoyed before the bitter end.

About the casting
There are singers in both productions who make you feel sure that they are vocally equipped for their role a soon as they open their mouth and sing their first note, like Brandon Victor Dixon (Judas Iscariot) in the Live in Concert production, and Alexander Hanson (Pontius Pilate) and Giovanni Spano (Simon Zealotes) in the Live Arena Tour version. Then there are singers who either first have to prove themselves to your acquired taste or who have such vocally challenging parts that it is initially hard to believe that they can pull it off, like Ben Forster (Jesus), Tim Minchin (Judas), Pete Gallagher (Kaiphas) and Gerard Bentall (Annas) from the Live Arena Tour production. Then there are those whose acting is quite engaging, but whose vocal range is disappointing, like Ben Daniels (Pontius Pilate), those who you thought could sing anything until you see them in a role that is beyond their vocal capabilities, like Norm Lewis (Caiaphas), and lastly, the ones whose voice simply does not work for you in their respective role, like John Legend (Jesus).
Sadly, the cast of the extraordinarily staged Live in Concert production, which the last three examples are from, cannot be compared to the cast of the very sombre Live Arena Tour production, in which every lead performer is vocally equipped for the role they have been cast in. I prefer Jesus Christ Superstar as a rock opera with vocals that pierce my ear drums and make my heart bleed, which Ben Forster as Jesus in the Live Arena Tour production manages superbly, while John Legend in the same role in the Live in Concert version sounds “nice”, which is per se not bad, but also not what I am looking for in Jesus Christ Superstar.

In the end, both productions have their merits: one triumphs because of its excellent casting choices while the other one keeps me hooked thanks to its creative setting and unusual choreography. One breaks my heart and the other one entertains me. I therefore conclude, that what is most important for me about a Jesus Christ Superstar production is a healthy mix of new and daring arrangements, setting, choreography, directorial choices and a cast that is vocally suited for the demanding parts this rock opera has in store. I am very grateful that I got the chance to watch these two outstanding productions that satisfied me in completely different ways this weekend!

As a side note: It is interesting that in both productions mentioned above Caiphas' line “One thing I'll say for him: Jesus is cool” in This Jesus Must Die was replaced with “Infantile sermons, the multitude drools”. A pity, because those odd, out of place lines always made me smile.

The Prince of Egypt, Dominion Theatre, London

Can there be miracles?

The Prince of Egypt, currently running at the Dominion Theatre, is the musical adaption of the 1998 DreamWorks movie of the same name, which featured songs written by Stephen Schwartz and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. Stephen Schwartz reworked his songs for the musical and added ten new ones, of which Footprints on The Sand and Never in A Million Years have already been released on YouTube. 

A cast recording has not yet been released, which is a pity, because it was sometimes only with great effort that I could forget the well-known score that accompanies many haunting movie scenes and get accustomed to entirely new tunes on the spot. But apart from the feeling of unfamiliarity that fans of the source material might experience as well as a handful of inexplicable creative decisions that changed some characters and their motivations, The Prince of Egypt is a musical well worth seeing, owing to its dedicated cast, the extraordinary choreography by Sean Cheesman, and the skilful use of the Dominion Theatre stage.

February 22nd, 2020

Although the massive stage of the Dominion Theatre is devoid of scenery for most of the evening, the world of the Book of Exodus is expertly brought to life by a talented dance ensemble of roughly 20 people. The dancers portray everything from the Nile that bears baby Moses to his destiny to the burning bush that he encounters in the desert. Additionally to the lively staging, projections of scenery onto every available surface in the audience’s line of sight and a stage floor that is sloping towards the stalls give the impression that the action might take place amongst the audience itself at a moment's notice, which it eventually does at the end of the show. The tilted stage furthermore allows for well-conceived entrances from the very back of the spacious stage.

Act 1 Scene Breakdown

 
The musical's opening number Deliver Us may be lacking the sense of a monumental Egyptian city populated with hundreds of people that the movie conveyed in its first scene, but it is nevertheless a captivating sequence, with Mercedesz Csampai in the role of Moses’ mother. A little additional dialogue explains Moses' name – “Deliverance” – after which the song ends with an impressive crescendo, just like in the movie.

However, the first scene’s movement and energy is nearly outshone in the musical by the second number in which a more or less grown-up Moses (Luke Brady) and Ramses (Liam Tamne) race each other through the marketplace in chariots (new song: Faster). The chariots are solely comprised of (if I remember correctly) six agile dancers, who move the two protagonists in ways across the stage which make it difficult to believe that the two men are barely covering a distance of (at a guess) five meters throughout the entire scene. They even crash very impressively through a temple wall.
At this moment we get a first glimpse of Hotep, the frosty high priest who thankfully is all that remains of the annoying duo of high priests from the movie. Adam Pearce who plays Hotep has got one of those growling bass voices which is perfect for this kind of villain role. His vocal range reminded me instantly of Norbert Lamla's menacing Claude Frollo voice (Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, 1999). 

Unfortunately, during the next scene in which Ramses is reprimanded by his father for his recklessness, my excitement for the show faded because it now becomes clear that writer Philip LaZebnik tried to create a very easygoing atmosphere. His script is apparently supposed to appeal to today's audiences with ill-fitting words like “snob” that have been added to the ancient Egyptians’ vocabulary. Additionally, the costumes of this particular people are more reminiscent of military officers’ gowns in very light colours and adorned with scores of golden trinkets than of the traditional Egyptian garments that the makers of the original DreamWorks movie animated for us.
A further apparent deviation from the source material in this scene is the personality change of Ramses' farther, who is just as overbearing in the musical as his movie counterpart, but at the same time not half as intimidating and most of the time unsuitably jovial. For me the movie’s once-only mentioned “One weak link can break the chain of a mighty dynasty.” had more impact than an entire song in which the phrase is repeated several times by a character who switches constantly between severity and mirth (new song: One Weak Link). 

After the scene in the throne room, Luke Brady as Moses sings the new song Footprints on The Sand, which is quite a memorable ballad about wanting to leave one’s mark on the world, and about wanting more in life than just being the pharaoh’s second son.

Next, an entirely new character and a side story pop up, which in my opinion exist partly because the creators of the musical wanted to have more women in leading roles – which is really commendable – but also because they had to extend a one-and-a-half-hour movie plot to the usual two-and-a-half-hour runtime of a musical. The new character, Nefertari, is Ramses future wife whose heart he is trying to win in a scene that adds nothing to the story of The Prince of Egypt. Nefertari is only interested in the political importance of their arranged marriage, and the single time she is portrayed as a human being is in her last scene, in which she griefs for her child. A scene that would have been far more effective, if she had shown her capability for tenderness earlier on. Nefertari gets her only song towards the end of the show (new song: Heartless) after which she does not reappear on stage, which makes the ballad as superfluous as Pity the Child in productions of Chess in which this masterpiece is scheduled just before the final showdown (e.g. Oper Graz, 2016). These ballads are inserted too late into their respective shows to add anything to the character or the musical’s plot. 

The following scene marks Tzipporah's entrance, which has been turned into a dance number about freedom (new song: Dance to The Day). Christine Allado as Tzipporah is certainly one of the best things about this musical. Her vocal agility and range are indescribable; her character is strong-willed in an unexaggerated way, and the skilled actress even moves like her movie counterpart. Even her costume looks very similar to Tzipporah's garments in the movie.
But here the story once more deviates from its source material. In the musical Ramses, whose movie counterpart gives Tzipporah to Moses as a slave, is angry when he finds out that Tzipporah escaped through Moses' room and makes his brother promise that he will bring Tzipporah back to Ramses. Moreover, Moses does not help Tzipporah escape like his movie counterpart. She only escapes him and his guards by sheer luck. Again, a scene and character change that does not contribute anything to the story, as far as I am aware of. On the contrary: it makes both protagonists temporarily very unsympathetic. The only thing this scene results in, is a remark in the second act, with which Ramses reminds Moses of the promise he once made to the son of the pharaoh.

The following scene in which Moses leaves his brother and Egypt is once again not as effective as I had hoped, mainly because Moses does not answer Ramses' questions with the chilling movie line “Go ask the man I once called father.” in the musical. But what the creators of the musical understood, is, that the relationship between the two men is the cornerstone of The Prince of Egypt, which is demonstrated by ending the scene with the well-crafted new duet Make it Right, which makes Luke Brady’s and Liam Tamne’s intertwined voices resonate gorgeously throughout the theatre.

After Moses has successfully crossed the desert and arrives at Tzipporah’s camp, he is introduced to the Midianites’ culture by Jethro (Gary Wilmot) and the dance ensemble in a scene which gives the dancers another opportunity to show their amazing skills. Through Heaven’s Eyes is so energetic and infectious that it received probably the heartiest applause of this evening’s show. Contrary to what happens in the movie, Tzipporah and Moses do not get married during this scene. In the musical the timespan that the song covers is not weeks or months, but (at a guess) only a few minutes, because Moses hardly manages to put on a shirt before he has to join the dance that ends the scene.

The following new song Never in A Million Years is about the love between Moses and Tzipporah that blossoms gradually in the musical, and it works very well with Luke Brady’s and Christine Allado’s outstanding voices. 

Sadly, after this quiet and pensive moment, the next scene in which God commands Moses to return to Egypt and free his people is very rushed. It is a scene you might miss if you had a coughing fit right there and then. One of the most emotional scenes in the movie which often leaves me as well as Moses breathless, looks and sounds very good in the musical – with the ensemble voicing God and posing as the burning bush – but is so short that I had no time to feel anything. Thus, I could not grasp at all what Moses might have felt in this moment, and it hardly made sense why he felt obligated to return to Egypt to rescue his people all of a sudden. But return to Egypt he must, so Tzipporah and Moses quickly get married and ready themselves for their journey through the desert.

Interspersed throughout scenes that take place in the Midianites’ camp are glimpses of the Egyptian palace in which Ramses succeeds his father on the throne. Both protagonists have now reached the mindset and developed the personality which they need for their reunion in the second act and the ensuing devastation (new song: Act One Finale).

Act 2 Scene Breakdown

 
The only scene that has not made the transition from screen to West End stage is the demonstration of the high priest’s powers, with which they hoped to intimidate Moses after his return to Egypt. The audience in the Dominion Theatre nevertheless gets to witness a handful of Hotep’s obscure illusions which are sprinkled throughout the evening.

After a very joyful reunion, Ramses and Moses celebrate their bond that is still strong with the new song Always on Your Side, after which Ramses surprisingly and contrary to his movie counterpart’s decision grants Moses’ request to free his people, provided that Moses stays in Egypt and takes his rightful place as prince of Egypt to which the latter grudgingly agrees. As anticipated, shortly after Moses has informed the Hebrews of the pharaoh’s decision and they have started celebrating their freedom (new song: Simcha), a royal decree arrives that revokes Ramses’ promise. Plotwise, this scene is another rather uninspired attempt to stretch the runtime of the musical.

However, the next scene in which Moses turns the Nile’s water to blood is once more a visually striking one, with the entire stage tinged crimson and many garments turning from white to blood-red in mid-scene. The only thing that puts a damper on this moment is Moses’ sister Miriam (Alexia Khadime) who is blessed with “the gift of prophecy” in the musical, which leads her to frequently spout visions in an over-the-top voice that is probably supposed to sound intimidating. Not only endowing Miriam with this peculiar habit but also choosing to make her an outcast among her own people for having visions about the Hebrews’ freedom is a very strange creative decision. In the movie it was simply Miriam’s faith which she held on to all the years she waited for her people’s deliverance. The explanation why the creators of the musical omitted such an important character trait in a story based on the Book of Exodus eludes me.

After the first plague, the rest follow in multitudes in a scene, which does the amazing animation in the respective movie scene credit. I believe that the scene in the musical has even been extended, because although the ensemble gets to sing the original choir lyrics to the tune from the movie soundtrack, Moses and Ramses sing fresh verses accompanied by an unfamiliar, overlapping melody. And even though this means that I did not get to hear the line that cuts straight through my heart every time I hear it in the movie soundtrack – “This was my home. All this pain and devastation, how it tortures me inside.” – the new version of The Plagues works exceedingly well, which is due to a combination of marvellous choreography, breath-taking vocals and stellar lighting.
The only thing that is unnecessary in this scene is the appearance of Ramses’ deceased father who seemingly is the sole reason for the pharaoh’s inhuman choices in the musical. The decision to make Ramses appear human throughout the entire show is clearly foreshadowing a final reconciliation between the two brothers. Apparently, the movie ending with an enraged Ramses who seems to have lost everything was too dark for a musical adaptation.

Next, a new scene is added in which the ensemble acting as God supplies Moses with information that will help all the Hebrews survive the final plague. This is a powerful addition that really got under my skin, because it heavily foreshadows the devastation that is to come, and depicts a spine-tingling meeting which is only briefly mentioned in the movie.

After the last plague has wrought havoc among the Egyptians, Moses griefs for all the lives lost and wonders how he can ever live with the knowledge of all the pain he has caused. The new song For The Rest of My Life has heart-wrenching lyrics, but it cannot live up to the image the movie has forever burned into my mind: a broken prophet sliding down a cracked temple wall, shaking with sobs that are only accompanied by the wailing of countless women.

Fortunately, Miriam and Tzipporah come to console Moses and the audience with When You Believe. The staging here is quite simple, which gives even more weight to this powerful song: Moses and the two women among a few pieces of ruins. The lyrics are first sung only for Moses, and as the scene unfolds, also for his people, who are finally freed from bondage. When You Believe has, except for the orchestration, hardly been altered and exceeds expectations, especially once the entire ensemble has joined in.

The parting of the Red Sea which allows the Hebrews to leave Egypt in the next scene can be counted among the visually most imposing scenes of the musical. With the help of projections the stage of the Dominion seems to stretch back forever, while its sides become the towering masses of water that form a gulf in the Red Sea. After the flight of the Hebrews straight through the audience Moses with Tzipporah at his side stays back to try to appease Ramses, who, as expected, is easily swayed. He lets Moses and Tzipporah go, after Moses has foretold him a bright future for his kingdom. The former brothers part as friends.
It follows that in the musical the solders under Hotep's command attempt to hunt the Hebrews down, which causes the towering water to cave in. Very impressively, the stage begins to tilt at an ever steeper angle until most of the Pharaoh’s soldiers have either been flung off into the “sea” on both sides or slid helplessly towards the audience until they have landed in front of the first row. 

After this scene, the show closes with Act Two Finale.

Tanisha Spring, Adam Pearce, Gary Wilmot, Christine Allado,
Luke Brady, Liam Tamne, Alexia Khadime, Joe Dixon,
Debbie Kurup and Silas Wyatt-Barke

Sadly, The Prince of Egypt is a show that overall has not touched me the same way as its source material. I dearly hope that a cast recording of this production will be released soon, because I have already forgotten what some of the new songs that Stephen Schwartz wrote for this musical sound like. And I furthermore hope that this musical will run long enough at the West End for me to catch it a second time, so that I may find in it what I could not find the first time.

Equus, Theater Scala

Das „Skandalstück“ aus den 70er Jahren

„Equus“ ist ein Theaterstück des englischen Dramatikers Peter Shaffer aus dem Jahr 1973, in dem der Psychiater Martin Dysart versucht, die selbst erschaffene Theologie des 17-Jährigen Alan Strang zu verstehen, der in einem Anfall von religiösem Wahn seinem Gott Equus (lat. Pferd) die Augen aussticht.

(c) Theater zum Fürchten

Diesen November läuft das Stück in einer Inszenierung von Sam Madwar im Theater Scala. Das Wiener Theater macht seinen Fokus in „Equus“ von Beginn an klar: Zur Eintrittskarte kann man sich ein Programmheft gönnen, dessen Inhalt sich um die Frage Wie geht man mit Psychopathen um? dreht. Zudem kann man sich darin über einige der zahlreichen und verstörenden Defizite der österreichischen Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrien informieren.

Wo das Stück früher aufgrund von viel nackter Haut und expliziten, religiösen Aufopferungsszenen, die bis zur Ekstase führen, schockiert hat, soll es heute wohl durch die Beschreibung der sozialen Umstände, die dazu führen, dass ein 17-Jähriger eine eigene Religion für sich erfindet, die sich im Verborgenen zu einer ausartenden Obsession entwickelt, auffallen. Dieser Standpunkt wird von Anselm Lipgens, der im Theater Scala Martin Dysart spielt, mit starker Intensität vermittelt, auch wenn der Psychiater selbst seine drängendsten Fragen nicht zufriedenstellend beantworten kann. 

Ein weiteres zentrales Thema, um das sich die meisten Stücke Peter Shaffers drehen, tritt in „Equus“ vor allem bei Martin Dysarts Monologen, aber auch bei seinen Gesprächen mit der Richterin Heather Salomon (Christina Saginth), die ihn überredet hat, Alan zu behandeln, zutage: Die schleichende Erkenntnis, dass man die eigene Religion hinterfragen sollte, da man von der Gottheit, die man selbst anbetet, niemals das erfüllte Leben, das man sich eigentlich wünscht, erhalten wird. Den eigenen Glauben infrage zu stellen bzw. zu erkennen, dass der Glaube jener, die die menschliche Gesellschaft für „abnormal“ (Beispiel: „Equus“) oder sogar für „unwürdig“ (Beispiel: „Amadeus“, 1979) hält, erfüllender ist, als der eigene, ist immer eine welt-erschütternde Erkenntnis für Peter Shaffers Protagonisten, die nur selten lernen, damit umzugehen.

I sit looking at pages of centaurs trampling the soil of Argos – and outside my window he is trying to become one, in a Hampshire field! ... I watch that woman knitting, night after night – a woman I haven't kissed in six years – and he stands in the dark for an hour, sucking the sweat off his God's hairy cheek!

Was Martin Dysart im Lauf des Stückes noch zu erkennen hat, ist, dass Alan Strang, der im Theater Scala von Angelo Konzett (Großartig!) gespielt wird, wie nahezu jeder Mensch, der eine Religion hat, die auf anderen konservativen Glaubensvorstellungen fußt, ein Sklave seiner Gottheit ist. Aufgewachsen mit einer monotheistischen Glaubensrichtung, glaubt auch Alan, dass Equus ein allumfassender Gott ist, der alles sieht, weshalb die Pferde des Reitstalls, in dem er arbeitet, ihr tragisches Schicksal erleiden.

Tom Wagenhammer (Pferd Nugget), Eduard Martens und Bernardo Ribeiro wurden von Choreographie-Genie Jerôme Knols in dieser Inszenierung im Theater Scala in Pferde verwandelt, die in einigen Szenen, in denen sie in kaltes Licht gebadet und von ominöser Musik begleitet, die Bühne betreten, nachdrücklich beängstigend erscheinen, während sie in anderen Szenen wiederum einfach Pferde sind, die im Heu scharren und ihre Mähnen schütteln. Mit Nugget, dem ersten Pferd, das Alan bürsten darf, entwickelt er scheinbar eine ganz besondere Beziehung, die dazu führt, dass Angelo Konzett und Tom Wagenhammer einige sehr intime und physisch fordernde Szenen zusammen spielen, welche wahnsinnig gut gelungen sind und nur so vor sexueller Energie sprühen.

Leider konnte ein nicht unbeträchtlicher Teil des Publikums an jenem Abend, den ich diese Woche im Theater Scala verbracht habe, entweder nicht mit Männern, die Pferde darstellen, Homoerotik oder der Auslebung religiöser Fantasien bzw. einer Kombination aus all diesen Faktoren umgehen, weshalb einige der prägnantesten Szenen von „Equus“ von prustendem Gelächter überschattet wurden. Das einzige „Skandal“ an diesem Abend schien die Dreistigkeit des Stückes zu sein, ernst genommen werden zu wollen. Die Anwesenheit und Befindlichkeit Dutzender weiterer Zuschauender schien für einige Besucherinnen und Besucher nicht von Bedeutung zu sein – was für sie im Vordergrund stand, war das eigene Amüsement und das lautstarke Ausleben dieses Gefühls mit Freundinnen und Freunden. Dieser Theaterabend hat sich somit für mich nicht so sehr als das, was ich immer gerne theatre experience nenne (= u.a. all die Gefühle, die ich von einem Theaterabend mitnehme), entpuppt, sondern als ein anthropologisches Experiment, das leider der Wirkungskraft des Stückes geschadet hat, da mein Fokus oftmals zwangsläufig nicht dort lag, wo ich ihn selbst gerne gehabt hätte. Ein Experiment, auf das ich in Angesicht der großartigen Leistung aller Darstellenden, gerne verzichtet hätte.

Ich wünsche dem Theater Scala bei allen restlichen Vorstellungen von „Equus“ ein Publikum mit angemessener Zurückhaltung und hoffe, ich kann bis 22. November vielleicht auch noch selbst einen Abend dort erleben, der die exzellente Inszenierung dieses großartigen Stückes würdigt!

What The Book of Mormon has in common with Green Book

... and why I do not recommend it to anyone.

The Book of Mormon is a highly successful 2011 musical comedy written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone.

It tells the story of two Mormon missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, who are sent to an Ugandan village against their will to convert an indigenous group to the Mormon faith. The village is ruled by a local warlord whom the villagers defeat in the end with the help of the newly arrived missionaries.

Beforehand, I want to point out, that The Book of Mormon per se is not a “bad” musical. When it comes to the question of what constitutes a typical musical, this show ticks all the right boxes. It is furthermore commendable that The Book of Mormon is not a juke-box musical, like We will rock you. It does not consist of a bunch of disconnected songs, which some try-hard writers desperately tried to mould into a halfway cohesive plot. What I recounted above are only the bare bones of the story, which can at times even be quite enthralling (keeping in mind that this is a comedy), because the main characters of the musical are somewhat decently fleshed out.
I personally enjoyed The Book of Mormon on Broadway to a certain extend (the opening scene is pure gold!) and I did not regret seeing it, mainly, because I now know what so many musical fans are talking about. But I cannot overlook the significant and undeniable problems that it has.

My first problem with this musical is, that it talks down to its audience, which has got to do with the type of humour that the dialogue is drenched in: pop culture humour, or to be more precise, pop-culture-reference humour. One of the main characters, Elder Cunningham, is a walking pop-culture-reference jukebox, which does not even need to be fed coins. This quickly gets annoying, because Elder Cunningham is incapable of making good pop culture references.
At this point I should mention that I think pop culture references should, above all, be challenging and smart. What is the point of a pop culture reference that everyone instantly gets?
I understand that the creators of The Book of Mormon want their show to appeal to a wide audience, which is why they only chose pop culture references that literally everyone understands. But as someone who is very much into pop culture, I was often close to feeling insulted while watching this show, because it insists that pop culture humour should not be challenging and that being able to identify a black-cloaked figure with a breathing problem as Darth Vader is its epitome.
That pop culture humour does not have to be smart either is demonstrated by a specific reference which occurs at about 15 minutes into the show: shortly before the missionaries leave for Africa they are literally confronted by a pop culture reference pertaining to The Lion King which screams in their and the audience's faces. If you hope at this point that the rest of the show is going to be subtler, then I sadly have to disappoint you.

The second big problem that I have with The Book of Mormon is its treatment of people of colour. The indigenous group that the two missionaries meet in Uganda is (except for a few individuals) immensely dumbed down. They simply accept that they are being oppressed by a warlord, who at one point in this musical executes one of them, and they do not even try to change anything about their situation (still keeping in mind that this is a comedy).
But it is not only the villagers who show no inclination of wanting to throw off their shackles, but also the party of the warlord, who is likewise put into a box by the unfavourable and extremely clichéd way in which the white male writers of this musical portray these people. The warlord's name, which I refuse to mention here, is the perfect example of what the writers primarily consider to be fun; plus a perfect example of how blunt writing can be.

I felt uncomfortable every time a white person tried to interact with a person of colour in this show.

Talking about feeling uncomfortable while watching this musical, I was furthermore dismayed by how nonchalantly violence was dealt with. Granted, there are very few incidences of violence in The Book of Mormon, but there is a specific scene in this musical comedy towards the end of the show, in which someone gets “tortured”. Of course, this person is not “tortured” onstage, but it is explained in very clear terms what happens to him. When he comes onstage afterwards, the utter agony on his face alone proves that no one came to his rescue or that the torture was done by Monty Python, either of which scenarios should have happened if this musical were supposed to be a comedy through and through. You cannot incoporate scenes with uncomfortable depictions of violence into your show if you want it to be perceived as a comedy, and if you moreover want to refrain from dumbing down your characters (and your audience) even further.

And yes, I do get that the scene I am talking about helps to shape one of the protagonists' characters, but this does not excuse the poor execution of this particular ”joke”.

The third undeniable major problem of The Book of Mormon, which is interwoven with the second one, is the fact, that it is a white saviour fantasy. The main protagonists of this musical are white saviours, characters in fiction who rescue people of colour, and who, although they learn about the foreign culture that they are more or less unwillingly thrust into, are the actual heroes of the story. White saviour narratives depict the oppressed people as unable to free themselves from oppression without the help of a white protagonist. Famous examples from pop culture with white saviour narratives are the following movies: Avatar, Tears of the Sun, The Last Samurai, The Greatest Showman, Dances with Wolves, Blood Diamond and the movie that has won an academy award for best picture this year, Green Book.
Keep in mind that a white saviour narrative does not necessarily make movies or musicals “bad”, but it definitely makes concepts like colonialism and slavery ambiguous, because the white saviour is not portrayed as a “conqueror”, but as, well yeah, a “saviour”, which is without question what happens in The Book of Mormon.

After listing my biggest issues with this musical, let me say, that I am aware of the possibility that The Book of Mormon may be intended as a satire. This knowledge however, did not alleviate my feeling of discomfort when I was watching this show and neither did it assist me in detecting anything remotely satirical in the way its narrative unfolds and how its characters are represented. Maybe the satire is as unsubtle as the entire musical and therefore I am missing the forest for the trees. But while watching this show on Broadway I also did not have the impression that any of the audience members around me (most of whom had trouble staying in their seats because they were laughing so hard) were laughing for satire's sake, but rather for the crude comedy's sake.

As stated above, The Book of Mormon is not a “bad” musical, and maybe many people are entertained by it simply because it is (by popular musical standards) “good”, or because their type of humour is similar to the creators’. But anyway, I personally cannot look past The Book of Mormon's problematic implications that do not seem to have been entirely thought through by its writers anymore and I recommend to anyone who has not yet seen it: go see something else.

This topic was partly inspired by Renegade Cut.

Next to Normal, Vienna's English Theatre

I am the one who held you, I am the one who cried

Zehn Jahre nach seiner Broadway-Premiere wird das Musical Next to Normal erstmals in der englischen Fassung im Vienna's English Theatre aufgeführt. Das Bühnenstück von Brian Yorkey (Lyrics/Book) und Tom Kitt (Music), das sich um Diana Goodman dreht, die versucht, trotz ihrer bipolaren Störung ein „normales“ Familienleben für ihren Mann und ihre Tochter in Gang zu bringen, ist u.a. zwar schon 2016 mit der Originalbesetzung der deutschen Erstaufführung im Museumsquartier gezeigt worden, allerdings hat noch keine Aufführung des Musicals bis dato in Wien in einem so intimen Rahmen wie im Vienna's English Theatre stattgefunden. Wer das „Original“ nicht kennt, der wird bei dieser ausgezeichneten Produktion, die bedauernswerterweise nur für eine Woche läuft, nichts vermissen.

Diana Goodman probiert im Lauf des Stücks mehrere großteils fehlschlagende Behandlungsmethoden für psychische Erkrankungen aus, während vor allem ihre Tochter Natalie damit zu kämpfen hat, dass sich in ihrem Leben alles immer nur um Diana dreht, und ihr Mann Dan einfach nur noch versucht, die Familie am Zerbrechen zu hindern.
Durch eine Vielzahl an schnell wechselnden Pop-/Rock-Melodien werden die Gefühlsschwankungen von allen Beteiligten zur Geltung gebracht. Hier lässt sich die Kritik anbringen, dass Next to Normal dutzende Melodien vorstellt, die – sofern sie möglichst früh im Musical vorkommen – zwar bis zum Ende fast alle eine Reprise bekommen, allerdings immer nur eine sehr kurze Laufzeit haben (Beispiel: Why stay? = 0:50 Minuten). Vor allem im 1. Akt reiht sich eine schwungvolle ein- bis dreiminütige Nummer an die nächste, wodurch viele kreative Melodien leider ein wenig in den Hintergrund gedrängt werden.

Während vor allem im 1. Akt von Next to Normal viele lustige Situationen und originelle Dialoge oft für gehobene Stimmung sorgen, ist doch im Verlauf des gesamten Musical die Verzweiflung aller Beteiligten, die immer knapp unter der Oberfläche brodelt, spürbar. Dieses Gefühl steht gemeinsam mit dem Verlangen der Protagonistinnen und Protagonisten nach einem „normalen Leben“, das allerdings niemand von ihnen genau definieren kann, dauerhaft im Vordergrund.

Aber trotzdem hat man als Zuschauerin und Zuschauer nie das Gefühl durch das Geschehen auf der Bühne deprimiert zu werden. In Next to Normal ist durchgehend der Balanceakt zwischen zu Tränen rührenden, die Welt stillstehen lassenden Momenten und die Story vorantreibenden, mitreißenden Szenen gelungen.

Diana Goodman wird in Vienna's English Theatre von Suzanne Carey gespielt, die ein sechsköpfiges Team von Darstellerinnen und Darsteller anführt, von denen jede Einzelne und jeder Einzelner derart deutlich singt, dass man sich das Stück vorher nicht einmal angehört haben muss, um jedes Wort zu verstehen (was bei kleineren Musicalproduktionen leider nicht oft vorkommt – meist allerdings aufgrund der bescheidenen Technikausstattung). Während die Auswüchse von Dianas psychischer Erkrankung zu Beginn der gestrigen Vorstellung von Next to Normal oftmals für übertriebenes (und möglicherweise peinlich berührtes) Gelächter gesorgt haben, haben die meisten Besucherinnen und Besucher bald erkannt, dass wesentlich mehr als komödiantisches Talent hinter der Darstellung dieser Figur steckt: Suzanne Carey nuanciert Dianas Charakter in jeder Szene – sei sie tragisch oder lustig angelegt – bis ins kleinste Detail und unterstreicht diese Nuancierungen mit perfekter Wiedergabe aller im Songbook stehenden Noten.

Ihre berührendsten Momente hat sie gemeinsam mit Kevin Perry (Dan Goodman) und Helena Lenn (Natalie Goodman), die beide darstellerisch und gesanglich in diesem Stück meiner Meinung nach – genau wie Suzanne Carey – einfach überwältigend sind.

Alex Wadham darf zwischen den Figuren von Dianas behandelnden Ärzten bzw. Psychotherapeuten und „Dr. Rock“ wechseln, und tut dies mit solch glänzendem Einsatz von schauspielerischem und stimmlichem Talent, dass ich ihn am liebsten gleich noch einmal in diesen Rollen sehen würde.

Unterstützt werden die Darstellenden musikalisch von einer fünfköpfigen Band, die sich im Vienna's English Theatre leider das ganze Stück über ungesehen im rückwärtigen Teil des Theaters aufhalten muss, mit seiner musikalischen Leistung aber keineswegs verstecken muss.

Hervorragend sind bei dieser Produktion vorrangig alle Ensemblenummern, angefangen bei Just another Day über Catch me I'm falling bis zu Light. Die Kombination von Suzanne Careys, Kevin Perrys und Kilian Bergers (Gabe Goodman) Stimmen in You don't know/I am the One ist eines der absoluten Highlights der Show. Von den (Semi-)Solonummern des 1. Akts haben mich Suzanne Careys I Miss the Mountains und Kevin Perrys I've been am meisten berührt.

So richtig das Herz gebrochen hat mir Suzanne Carey dann im 2. Akt mit einem von der Band nur dezent akzentuierten So Anyway, bei dem es interessanterweise dem Publikum selbst überlassen wird, zu entscheiden, welchem Familienmitglied Diana am Ende dieser Geschichte ihre Liebe versichert und von wem sie sich verabschiedet.

Wenn Next to Normal länger in Vienna's English Theatre laufen würde, dann würde ich es mir auf alle Fälle noch einmal anschauen. Wer Glück hat, der kann heute vielleicht noch Tickets für die letzte Vorstellung ergattern.

Sunset Boulevard, Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater, Görlitz

I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan, I have kissed thy mouth.

Die belebten Paramount Studios der 1950er verblassen im Hintergrund, als uns der Stummfilm-Star Norma Desmond in die Welt entführt, aus der sie der Tonfilm einst vertrieben hat. Überwältigt von den Reaktionen, für die ihr Auftauchen in den Filmstudios Jahre nach ihrem letzten Erfolg sorgt, schwelgt sie in Erinnerungen an alte Zeiten während sie auf wohlvertrauten Pfaden wandelt: vorbei an der Maske und all den aufregenden Kostümen, die nach ihr rufen. Das Verlangen des ehemaligen Filmstars endlich wieder vor der Kamera zu stehen wird mit jedem Schritt stärker. Wieder von einer Filmcrew umgeben und in Gesellschaft ehemaliger Kollegen sieht sie klar ihre Zukunft vor sich, an die sich nahtlos die schon viel zu lange ruhende Vergangenheit anknüpfen lässt.

Und wenn meine Hände beben
Dann nur deshalb, weil ich fühle
Dies hier ist mein Leben

Würde die Inszenierung von Sunset Boulevard, die dieses Frühjahr im Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater in Görtlitz läuft, mit dem oben zitieren Lied, Als hätten wir uns nie Goodbye gesagt, enden (kurz nach Beginn des 1. Akts), dann würde ich danach zufrieden nach Hause gehen. Yvonne Reich vermittelt das Verlangen Norma Desmonds nach einer Fortsetzung ihrer Karriere und all den Zauber, den ebenjene mit sich bringen würde, in dieser Szene derart gekonnt, dass ich von diesem Musical in diesem Moment nicht mehr brauchen würde.

Begleitet von Andrew Lloyd Webbers eingängiger Musik, die von einem ca. 30-köpfigen Orchester exzellent gespielt wird, kann man derzeit in Görlitz in Ansgar Weigners Inszenierung von Sunset Boulevard tief in die Gefühlswelten der vielschichtigen Hauptcharaktere dieses Stücks, von denen jeder bis zum Ende undurchschaubar bleibt, eintauchen. Nicht nur die labile Norma Desmond spielt hier ein doppeltes Spiel, sondern auch der arrogante Schriftsteller Joe Gillis (Daniel Eckert), den man trotz seines Talents seine eigene Unbeliebtheit minütlich zu steigern, nicht einfach in die Misanthropen-Schublade stecken kann.

Am „aufregendsten“ sind bei dieser Produktion von Sunset Boulevard die stillen Momente, in denen sich jene Menschen, die im schlechtesten Fall zu keiner Beziehung (sei sie geschäftlich oder privat) fähig sind und im besten Fall wissen, dass sie ebenjene Beziehung im Moment einfach überhaupt nicht brauchen, unfreiwillig nahe kommen: Yvonne Reich und Daniel Eckert dabei beobachten zu können, wie ihre Figuren versuchen, sich selbst treu zu bleiben, und dabei doch ihre Schicksale auf der Suche nach besseren Leben immer weiter ineinander verstricken, ist wahrlich ein Privileg (Träume aus Licht und Ein gutes Jahr). 

Sowohl Norma Desmond als auch Joe Gillis (der zudem als auktorialer Erzähler fungiert), tragen Sunset Boulevard auf ihre ganz eigene Art und Weise: Yvonne Reichs berauschende Verkörperung der exzentrischen Filmdiva und Daniel Eckerts selbstverständliche Darstellung des überheblichen Drehbuchautors sind die unentbehrlichen Eckpfeiler dieser Produktion. Stimmlich lassen beide Darstellenden in diesen Rollen nichts zu wünschen übrig.

Stefan Bley verkörpert als Max von Mayerling die wohl unnahbarste Figur des Stücks und trägt mit einem das Theater bis in den letzten Winkel ausfüllenden Kein Star wird jemals größer sein einen sehr wichtigen Teil zur Mystifikation Norma Desmonds bei.

Auch Anna Gössi, die die (feministisch gesehen) gegen Ende des Stücks etwas undankbare, aber tragende Rolle der Betty Schaefer übernommen hat, spielt durchgehend überzeugend und singt in jeder Szene ausgesprochen präzise  – besonders gelungen ist hier Viel zu sehr, ihr Duett mit Daniel Eckert.

Besonderer Erwähnung neben der phänomenalen Besetzung bedarf noch der Einfallsreichtum des Inszenierungs-Teams, das es geschafft hat, auch herausfordernde Szenen – wie etwa die Auto-Verfolgungsjagd zu Beginn des Stücks – äußerst überzeugend und unterhaltsam zu inszenieren. Auch die Drehbühne mit ihren opulenten und vielseitig nutzbaren Treppenaufgängen wird beständig sehr eindrucksvoll eingesetzt.

Ansgar Weigner hat eine wahnsinnig atmosphärische Inszenierung von Sunset Boulevard auf die Bühne gebracht, in der er erfolgreich einen Bogen zwischen der magischen Stimmung von Billy Wilders Film und dem Bühnenstück von Don Black und Christopher Hampton spannt. Hier können einige inszenatorische Details selbst das Sunset Boulevard-erprobte Publikum noch überraschen.

Karten dafür gibt es auf der Homepage des Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theaters.

Ein großes Lob geht noch an das Gerhard-Hauptmann-Theater, das für alle Sprechszenen polnische Untertitel und für Gesangsszenen sowohl deutsche als auch polnische Untertitel parat hat.

 (c) Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater

Der deutsche Text dieser Inszenierung ist von Michael Kunze.

The Pirates of Penzance, Wilton's Music Hall, London

Sasha Regan's All-Male Hit

Die komische Oper The Pirates of Penzance wurde Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts von dem englischen Duo W.S.Gilbert (Text/Buch) und Arthur Sullivan (Musik) geschrieben, die sich am besten als englische Sondheims ihrer Zeit bezeichnen lassen. Gilbert und Sullivan haben eine ganze Reihe von Opern geschrieben, von denen jede einzelne die Obsession der Briten mit ihrem sozialen Status, sowie, im Fall von Pirates of Penzance und H.M.S. Pinafore, die Royal Navy parodiert. Ihre Opern sind allesamt göttliche Komödien, deren schlaue, feinsinnige Texte aber niemals jemanden in den Schmutz gezogen, sondern nur auf den Arm genommen haben. 

Texte zum Tränen-Lachen – wie Sondheim eben. Der einzige Künstler dieses Formats neben Gilbert und Sullivan, der es immer wieder schafft, dass ich bei seinen Komödien zwei Stunden lang durchlache, ohne nachher das Gefühl zu haben, jemanden ausgelacht zu haben.

Textauszug:

Mabel: Oh Frederic, can you not in your calm, excellent wisdom reconcile it with your conscience to say something that will ease my father's sorrow?

Frederic: What?

Mabel: Can't you cheer him up?

Aber Pirates of Penzance macht sich nicht nur über englische Statusvorstellungen und antiliberale Erziehungsmethoden, sondern auch über romantische Melodramen lustig, in denen die kreischenden Dämchen vor den Piraten flüchten und deren Charme schlussendlich doch verfallen. Ich will hiermit nicht sagen, dass Gilbert und Sullivan ihrer Zeit weit voraus waren, nein, auch ihre Frauencharaktere sind eher Mittel zum Zweck, aber sie sind alle sehr willensstark und ihre Entscheidungen sind weitaus weniger absurd als die der männlichen Figuren.
Klarerweise muss aber in Stücken, in denen es um den Clash zweier Geschlechter geht, zumindest eine Handvoll Klischees bedient werden. Aber um auch das Klischee, das besagt, das solche sozialen Klischees existieren müssen, zu untergraben, hat sich Sasha Regan 2009 etwas ganz Besonderes ausgedacht: Sie hat die erste nur mit Männern besetzte Pirates of Penzance Produktion auf die Bühne gebracht.

Vorab: An der Musik ist nichts verändert worden, es wird alles in der Originaltonlage gesungen.
Wie großartig das klingt, empfehle ich, hier anzuhören:

(c) Sasha Regan

Bis auf drei Besetzungsmitglieder, die die männlichen Hauptrollen und zwei, die die weiblichen Hauptrollen spielen, wechselt die gesamte restliche Besetzung dieser Produktion (ca. 15 Mann) beständig zwischen Frauen- und Männerrollen.
Sprich: alle Bässe müssen mindestens die Alt-Stimme singen können und alle Tenöre müssen die Sopran-Stimme beherrschen. Und das schaffen sie stimmlich alle hinreißend perfekt und bis zur letzten Silbe verständlich.

Am unterhaltsamsten von Sasha Regans diesjähriger Besetzung sind Alan Richardson als Ruth (zu sehen und zu hören im Video oben) bei dem man den ganzen Abend nicht sagen kann, wo seine Rolle anfängt und wo er aufhört, James Thackeray als sehr schwungvoller und sympathischer Pirate King und David McKechnie als brillantes model-of-a-modern-Major-General.

Am weiblichen Schauspiel aller Darsteller, das zwischen natürlich feminin und dezent maskulin rangiert, merkt man, dass hier Frauen am Steuer stehen: Sowohl die Produzentin/Regisseurin, Sasha Regan, als auch die Choreographin, Lizzi Gee, haben es genau im Gefühl, wie weit sie die Parodie einer vielerorts vergangenen Zeit, die gleichzeitig eine Hommage an die Genialität eines Kunstprodukts dieser Zeit ist, treiben durften, ohne dass Pirates of Penzance ins Lächerliche abrutscht.

Jeder weiblichen Figur auf der Bühne ist ein bestimmter Charakter zugewiesen und alle Darsteller gehen völlig in diesem Charakter auf: Dort drüben ist die Älteste, die aufpasst, dass ihre Geschwister zusammenbleiben. Hinter ihr stapft mürrisch die Schwester, die keine Lust auf den Ausflug an den Strand hat. Ganz am Ende folgt der junge Wirbelwind, der ständig auf der Suche nach Abenteuern davonläuft – in keiner Sekunde wird an der Maskulinität der Darsteller geschraubt, sondern es wird einfach geschauspielert was das Zeug hält!

Weibliche Schminke gibt es nicht, genauso wenig wie Perücken oder eine vor dem Auftritt vorgenommene Achsel- oder Brustrasur. Ob Pirat, junge Frau oder Polizist, die gesamte Besetzung meistert alle Rollen nicht nur mit Bravour, sondern hat auch noch sichtlich Spaß dabei.

Wer sich ein Bild von der passend hellen und freundlichen Kostümierung machen will, der findet Fotos auf der offiziellen Website von Pirates.

Derzeit wird Pirates of Penzance in der herrlich intimen Sphäre der Wilton's Music Hall in London gespielt. Mit ein wenig Segeltuch, einer Leiter, einem Besen und sehr viel Animation aller Beteiligten verwandelt sich die Bühne in ein Piratenschiff, von dem einige Teile in der nächsten Szene zum Pferd umfunktioniert werden, dass dann sogar mit einer Karotte gefüttert wird.

Mit einer äußerst stimmungsvollen Beleuchtung wird nicht nur die Location im Stück gewechselt, sondern auch jedes zur Seite sprechen (Momente, in denen eine Figur auf der Bühne zum Publikum spricht und so tut, als würden sie die anderen Figuren nicht hören) passend hervorgehoben, das neben der fortwährenden Bewegung auf der Bühne ansonsten sicherlich untergehen würde.

Begleitet werden die Pirates bei dieser Produktion nur von einem Pianisten (rechts neben der Bühne), was für diese Location völlig ausreichend ist. Ein Orchester würde die Wilton's Music Hall nicht nur akustisch sprengen.

Ein Tipp: Von den in der Galerie der Wilton's Music Hall befindlichen Sitzen mit Sichteinschränkung rate ich ab, da es bei diesem Stück einfach zu schade ist, auch nur einen Zipfel der Bühne nicht sehen können – einige non-verbale Komikelemente entgehen der Zuschauerin und dem Zuschauer dort.

Außergewöhnliche, herrliche Unterhaltung mit Seltenheitswert.

Wer die Chance hat: Unbedingt hingehen und mitsegeln!