Dance of the Vampires
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Wikipedia-Article "Dance of the Vampires"
- For the Roman Polanski film that was released in Germany as Tanz der Vampire, see The Fearless Vampire Killers.
Dance of the Vampires (or Tanz der Vampire as the original German version is named) is a musical, which deals with the legend of vampires. The music to Tanz der Vampire was composed by Jim Steinman and the lyrics written by Michael Kunze.
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Vienna
Tanz der Vampire premiered at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, Austria on October 4, 1997. It won the 1998 IMAGE AWARD, (International Musical Award Germany), for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. In addition Steve Barton, who created the role of Graf von Krolock, got the 1998 IMAGE AWARD for Best Actor. The production in Vienna closed on January 15, 2000.
Original Vienna, Austria Cast, World Premiere 1997
Graf von Krolock ..... Steve Barton
Sarah ................ Cornelia Zenz
Professor Abronsius .. Gernot Kranner
Alfred ............... Aris Sas
Chagal ............... James Sbano
Rebecca .............. Anne Welte
Magda ................ Eva-Maria Marold
Herbert .............. Nik Breidenbach
Koukol ............... Torsten Flach
and ensemble
Germany
The show had its official German premiere in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 31, 2000 at the SI-Centrum, where it closed on August 31, 2003. A new production of the show started on December 16, 2003, in Hamburg, Germany, following the soon-to-be-mentioned Broadway production, and is still running there.
Original Cast, Stuttgart, Germany, 2000
Graf von Krolock ..... Kevin Tarte
Sarah ................ Barbara Köhler
Professor Abronsius .. Werner Brauer
Alfred ............... Aris Sas
Chagal ............... James Sbano
Rebecca .............. Anne Welte
Magda ................ Maaike Schuurmans
Herbert .............. Thomas Mülner
Koukol ............... Torsten Flach
and ensemble
Revival Cast, Hamburg, Germany, 2003
yet to be found...placeholder
United States
The New York/on-Broadway production, starring Michael Crawford as von Krolock, opened at the Minskoff Theatre on October 18, 2002, and closed on January 25, 2003 after 117 performances. The producers of the show wanted a rewrite instead of adapting the successful Austrian version, and as such, they hired comic playwright David Ives to give the book that kind of a slant. The result was a very different version with lots of campy humor that lost the style and feeling of the original show, resulting in a big flop on Broadway.
Original Cast, New York, USA, 2002
Count von Krolock ..... Michael Crawford
Sarah ................ Mandy Gonzalez
Professor Abronsius .. Rene Auberjonois
Alfred ............... Max von Essen
Chagal ............... Ron Orbach
Rebecca .............. Liz McCartney
Magda ................ Leah Hocking
Herbert .............. Asa Somers
Boris ............... Mark Price
and ensemble
Warsaw
The Warsaw production, with Roman Polanski as artistic director, opened at Roma Teatr Muzyczny on 8 October 2005. It is a Polish version of the original Vienna production.
Original Warsaw, Poland Cast, 2005
Count von Krolock ..... Łukasz Dziedzic
Sarah ................ Malwina Kusior
Professor Abronsius .. Rozmus Robert
Alfred ............... Jakub Molęda
Chagal ............... Wojciech Paszkowski
Rebecca .............. Grażyna Strachota
Magda ................ Dominika Szymańska
Herbert .............. Jakub Wocial
Koukol ............... Jakub Szydłowski
and ensemble
Plot
GERMAN PLOT
Alfred, a young scientist, is the assistant of professor Abronsisus on an expedition to Transylvania. The professor has made it his life's work to prove the existence of vampires and to set mankind free. On the search for the castle of the vampire Count von Krolock, they got lost in deep snow in the wilderness. Half-frozen, they finally reach a lonely country village and stumble upon an inn. There, the farmers and lumberjacks sing the praises of garlic, which makes Professor Abronsius suspect that they have finally reached their destination, but the village inhabitants deny that such a castle exists. Alfred falls in love with Sarah, the innkeeper's beautiful daughter, and Sarah also likes the young man. As Sarah's father, Chagal fears for his daughter's innocence and boards up her bedroom door. While Sarah and Alfred dream separately of each other, a threatening shadow falls over the inn. Count von Krolock makes it clear, that he has his eye on Sarah.
The next day, Professor Abronsius tries to find out what the landlord and landlady know about vampires. His investigation meets with silence. When a hunchback appears in order to get some candles, everyone becomes nervous and this makes Abronsius certain that the cripple acts as a servant for the vampire. He is determined to find out the truth. A fierce flirtation develops between Alfred and Sarah. Sarah is against letting anyone else use the bathroom in which she passionately likes to bathe. Alfred observes her through the keyhole and witnesses Count von Krolock coming through a skylight and inviting Sarah to the annual midnight ball in his castle. Alfred raises the alarm so Abronsius and Chagal come quickly, but the vampire has vanished.
Later, Alfred sings an ardent song under Sarah's window. But Sarah had left her room a while ago in order to collect a present from the Count, which the hunchback has left in the snowy garden. When she discovers Alfred, he thinks she has come down because of him. She sends Alfred inside under a pretext and opens the present. Inside is a pair of red boots. Sarah puts them on and dreams about being the admired centre of the annual midnight ball. Before Alfred returns, Sarah tired of boredom, runs away. She wants to go to the castle. Alfred's cries wake Chagal in the house. He hurries after his daughter and leaves the desperate Rebecca behind.
Meanwhile, Sarah finds herself in the castle. She wanders the halls restlessly and meets the Count. The ruler of the vampires seizes the girl's throat and longs to bite her, but he resists, waiting for the ball which will be held the following night.
The next day the lumberjacks bring the stiff, frozen corpse of Chagal into the inn. Professor Abronsius professionally establishes that the landlord may become a vampire. He suggests putting a stake through the dead heart so that Chagal does not become a member of the undead. Rebecca prevents this and chases the vampire researcher away. In the night, Magda comes to the room in order to see Chagal and sees how thoroughly death has changed him. As she turns away, the body comes to life. Chagal seizes his maid and bites her throat. Then he lays the lifeless Magda under the cloth that had covered him. He has just enough time to hide under the table before Abronsius and Alfred return. They are about to drill through the heart under the cloth. At the last moment they notice what has happened. They find and overpower Chagal. He asks for a favour and suggests that he will lead the strangers to the castle, if they spare him. They set off immediately. On the way, Chagal runs off, but Alfred and Professor Abronsius find the castle. They are just about to look at the splendid portal when Count von Krolock appears. He welcomes the strangers and invites them to be his guests and, to Alfred's dismay, Abronsius accepts. The Count's son, the gay Herbert, also appears to greet them. He is very happy to have found a playmate in Alfred. Von Krolock sees to it that he can speak to Alfred in private and tries to lure him away from Abronsius. He calls the professor an old fool who has no idea about the wishes and needs of a young man like Alfred. Instead, von Krolock offers himself as a paternal friend. He hints that he can lead Alfred to Sarah.
Alfred has a horrible nightmare. He awakes and resolves to save Sarah. Before he can go to look for her, he has to accompany the professor to the castle's vaults. There they discover the catafalques of the Count and his son Herbert. On the descent into the crypt, the professor gets caught on the banister and cannot free himself. Alfred, who is already downstairs, is told to open the coffins and drive stakes through the vampires' hearts. However, he proves to be completely unsuitable for this task. Without having achieved anything, Alfred climbs the stairs again and frees the professor. Whilst searching for a better way into the crypt, they come across the castle library. Abronsius sees the collection of books and forgets about the vampire hunt.
There, Alfred hears Sarah singing. He follows the sound of her voice and finds Sarah in a splendid bathroom in the castle. She sits in the bath enthusing about the Count's generosity and doesn't listen to Alfred's calls for her to flee with him. Eventually she expels Alfred from the bathroom because she wants to get dressed. Alfred is desperate. His love for Sarah, however, does not falter. On the contrary, he swears to do everything for her and to give everything to her. He returns to Abronsius in the library to ask his advice. The professor is still busy with the books and as he has not thought of anything better, he advises his assistant to bury his nose in a book as well. Alfred reaches into the shelf at random and begins to read "Advice For Lovers." Contained in there is encouraging advice for him. And when he thinks he hears Sarah's voice again, he returns to the bathroom. Instead of Sarah, Herbert is waiting for him. Alfred tries in vain to get out of the way of the Count's son's advances. While Herbert shows him how they will waltz at the ball, Alfred's glance falls on a mirror. There he sees only himself, although Herbert is standing next to him. When the gay vampire eventually gets hold of his victim and falls on him, Professor Abronsius surprises him by diving on Herbert and hitting him with an umbrella.
Alfred and Abronsius climb the castle towers. Suddenly the vampire Count steps out. He no longer pretends to admire the Professor. Once again he orders Alfred to separate himself from Abronsius and follow him. He then vanishes into the night.
Looking down on the cemetery from the castle's battlements, the professor and his assistant witness the graves opening. The undead of the past centuries push the gravestones aside and loosen their stiff limbs in order to march in a long procession to the midnight ball at the castle. When the cemetery is empty, von Krolock appears. Lost in thought, he goes from grave to grave. He remembers the numerous sweethearts he has killed as a vampire and becomes conscious of the misery of his existence. Every time he seizes happiness, he just destroys it. The more he tries to satisfy his greed, the greater it becomes.
Meanwhile, the midnight ball has begun in the castle's ballroom. Alfred and Abronsius have dressed as vampires and mixed with the guests. Eventually von Krolock appears and opens the party with the announcement that this year there will be a rich meal. Then he presents Sarah. He dances with her and bites her throat. During the next minuet Abronsius establishes that Sarah has withstood the blood loss and is still alive. The attempt to carry her off fails when the vampires recognise the two men as mortals because their images are reflected in the mirror. Von Krolock orders the vampires to give them to him. Alfred and Abronsius make a cross out of two candelabras. Horrified, the vampires retreat.
Later, Alfred, Sarah and Abronsius hike through the winter landscape of Transylvania. When they have escaped to safety, they rest. While the professor busies himself with notes about the dangerous expedition for his scientific work, Alfred and Sarah sink into an embrace. But what seems like a happy ending is the beginning of the vampires' world domination...
NEW YORK PLOT (borrowed from the official website of Jim Steinman)
We are in a Transylvanian graveyard near the village Lower Belabartokovich. It is three nights before Halloween, 1880-something.
Sarah, the beautiful teenage daughter of the local innkeeper, is out picking mushrooms when a pack of very cool young vampires appears out of the mist, dancing with rapturous abandon. Sarah is entranced as a coffin rises from the ground containing the mesmerizing and extremely cool Count Von Krolock (alias Michael Crawford).
The Count sings to Sarah seductively and promises to return for her at the total eclipse of the moon--when Sarah, in exchange for a small bite, can become Queen of the Vampires and rule the world. How can any small-time girl resist?
But then arrives Professor Abronsius, a rather intensely wacky vampire killer, with his handsome if sweetly dim assistant Alfred. Alfred is instantly smitten by Sarah and vice versa. Torn between Alfred and the Count, Sarah runs off to Krolock's castle, pursued by Alfred and Abronsius.
There are ecstatic love duets, close encounters, unbridled dancing, wild comedy and, of course, bats and a madman named Boris. Sarah has to choose between earthly love with Alfred, or eternal passion with Krolock in the Vampire State Building.
The climactic vampire dance erupts as the moon starts to eclipse, and everybody somehow manages to find happiness....Transylvania-style.
Songs
GERMAN PRODUCTIONS
ACT I
Knoblauch (Garlic)
Eine schöne Tochter ist ein Segen (A Lovely Daughter is a Blessing)
Nie geseh'n (Never Seen)
Gott ist tot (God is Dead)
Wahrheit (Truth)
Einladung zum Ball (Invitation to the Ball)
Draußen ist Freiheit (Freedom is Outside)
Tot zu sein ist komisch (To Be Dead is Funny)
Finale 1. Akt (First Act Finale)
ACT II
Totale Finsternis (Total Eclipse)
Carpe Noctem (der Alptraum) [Seize the Night (The Nightmare)]
Für Sarah (For Sarah)
Wenn Liebe in dir ist (When Love is In You)
He, ho, Professor (Hey, Ho, Professor)
Ewigkeit (Eternity)
Die unstillbare Gier (The Insatiable Greed)
Tanzsaal (Ballroom)
Draußen ist Freiheit (Reprise) [Freedom is Outside (Reprise)]
Der Tanz der Vampire (The Dance of the Vampires)
NEW YORK PRODUCTION
ACT I
Overture
Angels Arise
God Has Left the Building
Original Sin
Garlic
Logic
There's Never Been a Night Like This
Don't Leave Daddy
The Invitation
Forevermore in the Night
Death is Such an Odd Thing
Braver Than We Are
Red Boots Ballet
Say a Prayer
Come With Me
ACT II
Vampires in Love (Total Eclipse of the Heart)
Books, Books
Carpe Noctem
For Sarah
Death is Such an Odd Thing (Reprise)
When Love is Inside You
Eternity
Confession of a Vampire
The Ball: The Minuet
Never Be Enough
You Will Live Forever
Braver Than We Are (Reprise)
The Dance of the Vampires