Martin Ganeider - Page 4

What did our critic think of THE GRAND SHOW at QUERRY ST.MARGARETHEN?

After last year's success, the star-studded Musical concert is back in the picturesque quarry.

We are still in the middle of summer, enjoying the sun and chatting about the upcoming shows opening later this year all over Austria and Germany. In the meantime, Nils Lunow and his team are working hard on transforming Colognes Musical Dome into the spectacular home of Moulin Rouge. Over 30 chandeliers, numerous fairy lights, the Windmill, and Moulin Rouges's elephant need to find a place in Cologne's famous Musical tent.

ELISABETH, VBW's most successful show, is back for a three-night-only Concert at Vienna's stunning Schönbrunn Castle, starting performances on July 30. This year's Empress will be Maya Hakvoort, who has played ELISABETH in Vienna and worldwide. She boosted her career back in the days when she stepped into the role at the famous Theater an der Wien. To shorten the waiting, the VBW released a video with Hakvoort and the excellent VBW Musical Orchestra, conducted by the show's composer Silvester Levay singing the show's Hit Song 'Ich gehör nur mir.' It's been too long since we got the chance to enjoy the dramatic story in the breathtaking scenery, but now one of the most significant summer events is just around the corner, and we are more than interested to see this year's Concert Cast on stage.

What did our critic think of ELISABETH IN CONCERT at SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE? After the massive success in 2019, ELISABETH, the Musical about Austria's famous empress, is back at Schönbrunn Palace for a three-night-only run. You might never witness a concert in such a unique location perfect for one if not the most successful Austrian musical, written by Michael Kunze (book and lyrics) and Silvester Levay (music). The concert feels like a celebration of the show's unbroken success. Since opening night in 1992, ELISABETH has become a global phenomenon. More than twelve million people have seen the story about Elisabeth's tragic life and death. A Musical National treasure, history Made In Austria.

Final Bows for MISS SAIGON and CATS in Vienna.

REBECCA finally returns to the Raimund Theater! Michael Kunze & Sylvester Levay ('Elisabeth,' 'Mozart!') have created another magnificent masterpiece that has already captivated more than 2 million visitors* worldwide in twelve countries and ten languages. The spectacular production, based on the world-famous novel by Daphne du Maurier, is coming back to Vienna this September. Francesca Zambello (Director of Original Production) is recreating the show for the revival run with Simon Eichenberg (Choreography) and Peter J. Davison. ( Set Design)

Stefan Konrad ( Chairmann of Nestwärme Austria) and his Vize-Chairman, Barbara Obermeier ( curr. CATS/Vienna) are doing it again. After their successful first charity concert (click here to read about it), Konrad and Obermeier are doing it again on June the 13th.

Stephen Sondheim is one of Musical Theatre's most splendid of all time. He gifted us with numerous shows full of hit songs everyone is familiar with. Sondheim sadly passed away, but his work will live forever on.

Christian Struppeck invited Austria's most influential press members to the Cast Presentation for the upcoming production of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame into one of the most iconic landmarks in Vienna, the St. Stephans Cathedral with its famous bell, the Pummerin.

The upcoming 2022/23 Season at the Landestheater Linz marks the 10 Anniversary of Linz's very own Musical Ensemble. With a successful story, numerous Opening Nights, Multi Awarded shows, and performers, Linz became an international Address in the Musical circus. Expectations are always high and even higher after productions like the recent TITANIC or many others. The 2022/23 Season presentation proves undoubtful that there will be no exception in the Anniversary season.

Christian Rey Marbella, who plays the Engineer in Vienna's recent production of MISS SAIGON  chatted with us about his connection to the show and how he once saved a performance of MISS SAIGON in the West End. MISS SAIGON at the Raimund Theater is running until June.

It's getting busier at our theatres, rehearsals, opening nights, the lights coming back on, and our beloved theatres back. Arne Beeker, Linz's very own Dramatic Adviser, texted me after a rehearsal of FANNY AND ALEXANDER, the latest work of Gisele Kverndokk (music) and Øysten Wiik (book and lyrics), based on Ingmar Bergman's 1982 movie, about how special this show is going to be.

Welcome back to GAGA-Land, WE WILL ROCK YOU by QUEEN, and BEN ELTON is back on tour with a new staging by Cornelius Baltus. WE WILL ROCK YOU went out to be a Hit after Opening Night back in 2002 at Londons Dominion Theatre.

Time is fleeting. More than 20 million people worldwide have done the Time Warp since Opening Night back in 1973. Richard O'Brian's tunes still made people dance and sing, some of them perfectly dressed for Frank'n'Furter's Floorshow. No one ever expected this little show to generate an ongoing hype, a musical party that nothing can rely on. If you don't know, you know now! The ROCKY HORROR SHOW is a one-of-a-kind Musical Theatre sensation. A divine party with illustrious characters and catchy tunes, one of the secrets of the show's huge success. The likes of Rob Fowler ( Frank'n'Furter) or Stuart Matthew Price ( with one of the best Riff-Raff interpretations of all time) set a very high bar when the Tour first hits the road. Massive shoes or heels to fill for the current cast members. The whole plot is brought back to the roots, and the (thrifty) set design reminds you of the good old B-Movies. The fewer people you get on stage, the more you have to increase the volume. Of course, Rockn Rolls Number one rule is, the louder, the better, and damn it ( Janet), Musical Director Dan Tomkinson and his fellowship of musicians transformed the Halle F into a Rock Venue.

The Tony Awarded Musical from Maury Yeston ( Music and Lyrics) and Peter Stone ( Book) brought back on stage at the beautiful Landestheater Linz, one of my favorite modern theatres in our hemisphere. A show with many different stories, full of tragedy and sadness, all about a supposed to be, unsinkable ship, created to write history. History was written on April 14, 1912, but not how J.Bruce Ismay ( Karsten Kenzel) hoped. It went out to become a historical tragedy, remembered even after more than a hundred years as the fatal collision with an iceberg, and many lost souls in the Atlantic Ocean.

After almost two years and all the Covid 19 difficulties, MISS SAIGON finally raised the curtain for Opening Night at the beautifully refurbished Raimund Theater in the presence of Producer Cameron Mackintosh.

Heading into the 2022 theatre season, Austria has a wealth of productions that deserve your attention. In this feature, I break down some of the shows that I will definitely be getting tickets to see. From Saigon to Rydell High, a ton of shows to choose from, so go out there and get your tickets before they're gone!

If you don't know, you know now. CulinarICAL, once created as a birthday gift for Vindobonas Master of Ceremonies, Wolfgang Ebner is a mix of fine cuisine and entertaining show tunes, a CulinarICAL.

It has been a while since we sat down with the famous countertenor, Ray Chenez, at his producers office in Vienna and had a chat about his fascinating project called BROADRAY! (click here to read about our first meeting) and what he has in mind to do with it. We talked a lot about the role of countertenors in musical theatre, Broadway history, and upcoming projects. The whole idea started with his producer's suggestion to sing more musical show tunes after she heard him performing CHICAGO'S A Little Bit Of Good at a birthday party. After hours of brainstorming, recording, arranging, and the small matter of a global pandemic, BROADRAY! finally got his shot and came alive at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in the heart of Vienna for one night only. Sad to say, without any live audience in the room where it happened, but Chenez gifted us with a professional recording, so you can enjoy BROADRAY! in your very own living room. Ray Chenez is giving an entertainingly vivid and exciting performance you should not miss out on.