Tanz Der Vampire UK Production

Posted: 8/5/14 at 6:56am

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the wonderful work of Mr Jim Steinman. Having written for artists such as Meatloaf and Bonnie Tyler, Steinman is often billed as one of the best songwriters and lyricists of our time. However, many of you may not be quite so well acquainted with his work in musicals. As well as Whistle Down The Wind (which I'm sure many of you do know), his music is also the jewel of the fantastic Tanz Der Vampire with book and lyrics by the esteemed Michael Kunze.
The piece has seen, and continues to boast, many successful productions across Europe and Asia in major venues. Unfortunately, after an incredibly heavy rewrite for American audiences, the production flopped majorly on Broadway. This Broadway production was completely different, from top to toe, to any of the European and Asian productions. Due to the resounding failure of this production, the piece has lost it's reputation among english-speaking audiences, culminating in the production never coming to the UK. Which, in it's original state (with an English translation), I believe could have been a big hit.
In short, I really do believe this show has potential, with work, to be popular with UK audiences. I am currently in the early development stages of trying to bring this fantastic show to the UK and would appreciate it if anyone who would be interested in being involved in the production in any way would either leave a comment or email me at [e-mail].

To see the trailer for the 2011/12 Berlin production with the incredibly talented Drew Sarich, click on the attached link.
Tanz Der Vampire Trailer

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:26am

How would you bring it to the UK? Are you a production company?

I'm sure everyone on here is aware of Tanz, I enjoyed the show and actually enjoyed Dance of the Vampires in a campy way (the show is not top to tail different from Tanz, yes lots of things got changed but Tanz is still pretty camp)

[bob8rich]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 12:25pm

Would love to see this show in the UK! Never got to see the Broadway show but have recordings of both the OBC and the German version - and love both! I'm also a HUGE Jim Steinman fan - possibly the greatest composer/lyricist of rock ballads ever!

I agree it's all a bit camp - but the score is SO stunning to listen to!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 4:41pm

Unless you're a wealthy producer or production company you're wasting your time. Look what happened with Rebecca in the US.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 4:44pm

The closest thing to a UK production is the upcoming as of October French premiere at the Mogador. Looks spectacular and based on the original Vienna version. It will be directed by Polanski himself and not just a recreation of his original by some other director. They've got a very good social media campaign going on and it seems like they have put together a good budget. It's open run for now and booking at least until March 2015, if I remember correctly.

[BroadwayB8bE]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 5:05pm

I imagine France is the only place Polanski could really direct it without being extradited.

This show would not do well in London. The critics would see to it.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 12:26am

I want a UK production of this show so we can finally have a proper English-language cast recording (and since I have lost all hope of it ever coming anywhere NEAR the US again).

And, I mean, lots of successful shows got bashed by critics. Phantom, Les Misérables,and even Wicked if I'm not mistaken all got mixed to negative reviews when opening, and look where they are now. If done correctly, I think Tanz could survive the scathing critics and be a success if it serves well to the audience.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 4:47am

The aesthetic is wrong for British tastes, I fear. The original movie has a different balance of black comedy and romance; the musical is silly in the wrong way- in both languages. The score, on the other hand, is triumphant.

Personally, though, I would cut 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. There are better songs in the show and this one has so many negative connotations of Bonnie Tyler, 80s hairdo's and ham acting that it is more of a hindrance than a help.

[Eurotrash]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 5:02am

If Stage Entertainment suffers a 4th UK/US flop in a year, with Made in Dagenham, they might be tempted to try something different. Could they move the Paris production to London when it closes? Good stunt casting with the Count would make it a likely hit, but who? Rhydian Roberts might be camp-tastically great in the role.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 7:11am

Not a chance this will come here, its a fun show but it feels more like the rest of Europe than the UK, i dont think it would sell here. The US one will have put everybody off (though as i said i enjoyed it, i thought it was a camp masterpiece lol)

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 8:30am

I alaways thought this could be something that the esteemed Arcola or Southwark Playhouse could grapple with, but 2 very experienced posters on this thread say it wouldn't work here, so I will go with there better judgement here.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 11:47am

I feel it couldn't. This is a megamusical, and it needs to be staged as such. I think Southwark and the others manage to have spectacular results, but they usually chose shows with some sort of substance.

If anything at all, I think it could work as a concert in London. But even that would be a bit random and coming out of nowhere.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 4:21pm

The only problem with the idea of cutting Total Eclipse of the Heart is that the tune to that song shows up everywhere in the score (in Gott ist tot, the ballroom scene, random instrumentals, etc.). It would be even more confusing for the audience if they kept hearing that song pop up in small bits.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 4:46pm

Well, I think it would obviously need to be replaced. It's only a hypothetical though, because I'm sure the egos involved would never see it as a negative in the production.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 3:25am

No way, it's one of the biggest numbers in the show and it's pretty thrilling to watch.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:50am

Agreed. The way the number is used in the show is stunning and I never gave Bonnie Tyler or the 80s a thought when watching it. If anything were to be changed, they should replace the lyrics of Tonight is What it Means to Be Young with a translation of the German lyrics. They are far more creepy and menacing. A much more chilling finale.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 2:05pm

If this needs to be a mega-musical, then this certainly will never happen.

Big mistake to open this cold in New York, then expect Michael Crawford to sell the show.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 2:05pm

If this needs to be a mega-musical, then this certainly will never happen.

Big mistake to open this cold in New York, then expect Michael Crawford to sell the show.

[Sally]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 2:37pm

They tried changing it to better suit a Broadway audience. For a variety of reasons that. did. not. work.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 2:53pm

Speaking of Southwark Playhouse, I'm still waiting for them to do Carrie. It would be a perfect place for an intimate staging based on the recent Off-Broadway revival. But with real blood, please. And maybe a bigger band.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 3:12pm

I actually prefer the "Totale Finsternis" version of the song to the original Bonnie Tyler one. The only reason people were giggling whenever "Total Eclipse of the Heart" showed up in the Broadway version was because the show treated the number as just another joke in its long line of gags. It had nothing to do with the song itself; it's with how it was presented in that particular production.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 4:05pm

To the OP:

Good luck, but if you're smart, you won't try. Email with full details in your inbox.

[Eurotrash]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 5:19am

^a rather mean post, if you want to disparage the idea privately, why not keep it fully private? Absolutely no reason at all why this show wouldn't be a massive hit on London.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 6:16am

As it was said earlier, this show just has the wrong aesthetic for London (or Broadway).
In my opinion, if it wasn't staged as a megamusical, it simply does not work. And the costs of producing it as a megamusical are exuberant. It's a big show with big seats, many costumes.

Style wise, the show has missed the boat. Even London audiences now are pretty much over megamusicals. Tanz fares well in Europe because there are far less musicals, and the competition is generally low. It did well in Vienna, and the main reason behind its success in German speaking countries is built on its original success, legacy and reputation from Vienna in the late 90s.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 7:41am

a rather mean post, if you want to disparage the idea privately, why not keep it fully private? Absolutely no reason at all why this show wouldn't be a massive hit on London.

See the rest of this thread for why it would not work in London, but trust me that I'm not saying this out of hatred for the show. I love the show. Rather it is my involvement with a previous abortive attempt to germinate a new English adaptation that compels me to write this person and assure them that it is not worth the trouble they're about to put into it. In the same shoes, on a project that is involved with a morass of entanglements, wouldn't you want to be warned you were cycling toward a cliff?