Review: THE TIME FOR THEATER FESTIVAL at Teatr Muzyczny Poznan

The second edition of the Poznan musical event is on and it is full of emotions. Everything you need to know is here but halfway through this theatrical marathon let me highlight two points.

The Musical Gala is something every Polish music lover should see. Such a quantity and intensity of good songs is hard to find anywhere else. All from musicals presented on Polish stages: Pretty Woman, Pilots, Singing In The Rain, Catch Me If You Can, Kombinat, Six, Cats, and many others.

Great performers, singers, and dancers in a true review of the best notes and essence of musical comedies. Directed by Ewelina Adamska-Porczyk, this evening at the theater will make your soul sing. With modern songs from all over Poland, comes the icing on the cake, the ending that was begging: the song from the Metro musical from the 90s is still on the move.

The second of October is also an important date for Polish Musical Scene because, for the first time this year, the National Plebiscite of Musical Premieres Season 2022/2023 awarded the prices. The trophy for best actress went to Natalia Piotrowska-Paciorek (We Will Rock You), for the best actor to Marcin Franc (West Side Story and Catch Me If You Can), the best premiere was Beauty and the Beast (Teatr Muzyczny in Poznan), and the song This crowd does boom (1989 by the Juliusz Słowacki Theater in Krakow and the Gdansk Shakespeare Theater). The best director award went to Magdalena Piekorz (Tootsie), for the best choreographer to Agnieszka Branska (We Will Rock You), for set designer Anna Chadaj was awarded for Beauty and the Beast, which had also the best costume designer, Agata Uchman.

One of the most important parts of this festival is the 1989 musical (called Polish Hamilton), a rapped musical story of the fall of communism in Poland. Made by three extraordinary women - director Katarzyna Szyngiera, stenographer Milena Czarnik, and choreographer Barbara Olech - modern history reveals its own story with the superb music of Andrzej Webber Mikosz and the astonishing lyrics of Marcin Napiorkowski. I do not agree that it is a Polish Hamilton even if there are some similarities. It's like calling pierogi Polish ravioli, what a belittling simplification. 1989 is something different, it is ours and it affects us much more than other stories nations. There are a lot of really good moments there, ones that can inspire and lift your spirits. The group scenes are superb, there is an energetic and electric dynamism, and astonishing stage movements spice it up even more. Walesa (Rafal Szumera) is almost like Freddy Mercury (I loved this vibe!), Mateusz Bieryt as Wladyslaw Frasyniuk has a super charming charisma, Marcin Czarnik as Jacek Kuron is perfectly strong and vulnerable at the same time. We witness their struggle in battle but also their existence after victory when it comes to living and deciding which direction to take. Great power is in the hands of astonishing women: Krystyna Frasyniuk (Agnieszka Koscielniak) has this heartbreaking mix of hope and helplessness, Gaja Kuron (Magdalena Osinska) is full of energy and she leads like a tornado, last but not least he there is Danusia Walesa (Karolina Kazon) who sings her feminist manifesto in a way that gives goosebumps all over the body and audience.

The huge highlights for me are jazz arrangements, artful rapping, roller skate girl (perfectly breaking the space), messing around with light and dark, lyrical songs about women’s sorrows, prison gangsta songs, using folk motifs, mixing private stories to Great History, a disco-polo/Wyspianski (great combination) party mood. The scenography is well-designed and even better executed, there is a car, a prison, a neon with meat on it, a dance floor, and an apartment room on the second floor. The choreography is aligned with the voices, which is not so obvious in Polish musicals. There are a lot of sweet details there that make the time of the performance like a while of enjoying good whiskey, although perhaps, in the Polish climate, I should write vodka instead... The topic is difficult and sad at some moments, but the play is far from overcomplicated or sad. My absolute favorite moments are the songs of the general (Rafal Dziwisz) with a company of three grotesque black creatures. It's the perfection!

The other perfection of the show is the young and extremely talented Antoni Sztaba. The things he does on stage and the amount of energy he brings are just out of this world.

The production is a well-known success and a must-see despite political views, you will believe in human power. It’s an important piece and certainly opened a new chapter in the Polish musical playbook. The theaters behind it: The Julius Slowacki Theater in Krakow and Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre are not musical but dramatic theaters which only proves that anything is possible with talented people and great ideas.

Both plays just burn up the appetite. Stay tuned for what comes next during the festival and enjoy it as much as you can.

Photos:

Teatr Muzyczny in Poznan

Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre

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