Mark Janicello - Page 2

Some performers walk on stage. Other performers make an 'entrance,' and then there is Luna Manzanares Nardo, the star and 'raison d'etre' for the touring production of CARMEN LA CUBANA.   Last night at the Admiralspalast, this gorgeous embodiment of Latin sensuality with a voice to match didn't 'make an entrance,' but rather devoured the entire production, the city of Berlin and most-probably the majority of northern Germany with a sexy blink of her eye and one quick flick of her pericon.

After the record-breaking run of THE ONE, if Krista Monson was worried about fulfilling the Friedrichstadt-Palast's or audience's expectations with her new show VIVID, she hid her nerves extremely well. She is a petite woman, blessed with a very winning smile, an enormous amount of energy, and a calm, nurturing aura that fills every centimeter of this cavernous theater. As the saying goes 'Dynamite comes in small packages.'

From the masters Shakespeare and Feydeau,  to John Cleese and Monty Python's Flying Circus, to the more recent works of Ken Ludwig and Michael Frayn, farce is a comic gift that keeps on giving.  The Theater Gods have given their highest blessing to the Renaissance Theater's hilariously funny production of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Mord auf Schloss Haversham).  If you want a laugh-out-loud evening in the theater, run, don't walk to get a ticket!  Everything's right about THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG.

Off-Musical Frankfurt's stripped-down, bare-bones, cheaply-produced touring production of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT that was foisted upon the half-empty Admiralspalast in Berlin last night had almost NOTHING to do with the musical presented on Broadway.   Last night's performance was like watching a 3rd-rate, Green Day cover band in a provincial nightclub. The audience and the musical both deserve much better.

20 years after watching Roman Polanski's world-premiere production, it was with great trepidation that I entered the Musical Dome in Cologne, to watch DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES again. To my surprise, it was a quick-footed, highly-entertaining show that was a vast improvement over the original Viennese production.

Watching CABARET in Berlin, near the original locations of Christopher Isherwood's Book 'I Am A Camera,' gives this Kander and Ebb classic even more dramatic weight than it could possibly have in a New York or London production.  At last night's Premiere of the revival of Director/Choreographer Vincent Paterson's production showed why Mr. Paterson has been called 'The Man Behind the Throne.'  Widely imitated, but never equaled, his work in Berlin is the best reason to watch this production. 

Jonas Kaufmann is probably the most sought-after tenor on the planet today.  His DOLCE VITA concert last night at Berlin's glorious outdoor Waldbuehne Amphitheater proved exactly why. Let's state the obvious. Mr. Kaufmann is a tall, very handsome man, who's in very good shape both vocally and physically.  He has been blessed with a unique, baritone-like tenor voice with very secure, clarion high notes that he uses with great intelligence and enormous musicality.  This is one of the most unique voices singing classical music today. 

Currently, the world of opera is sorely lacking superstar talent. Last night, at the Staatsoper unter den Linden, three of the world's brightest classical-music talents came together in a very expensive, glittering new production of Verdi's MACBETH. Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and conductor Daniel Barenboim, the Staatsoper's Music Director, were the 'above the title' names in the production. Of the three, only Mr. Barenboim, now 75, truly fulfilled his role in the production.

'Wop baba lu bap a wap bam boom!!' 47 years after its Broadway debut and 40 years after John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sang and danced their way into the world's collective consciousness, GREASE is still the word! This touring production of GREASE, which has been on the road in German-speaking Europe since October 2017 is an amalgam of both the original stage production and the 1978 film. The Admiralspalast in Berlin is the last stop of this mammoth production before taking a summer hiatus. Last night the T-Birds, Pink Ladies, and lovebirds Danny and Sandy gave a whizz-bang performance that thrilled the tough Berlin audience.

A group of young performers (Donna Lee, Darell Hanes, Alexander Simoes, Carrie Getman, Udo Wiegand, and Sara McKee) work with 100% commitment, futilely trying to turn Ken Shakin's THE WANDERING, a musicalized re-imagining of James Joyce's 'Ulysses,' (factually a short Oratorio), into a fully-staged operatic performance. They only partly succeed.

Deutsche Oper Berlin's Verdi Festival 2018 took a very inauspicious turn with last night's woefully underrehearsed performance of LA TRAVIATA. Within the first 8 bars of the Prelude, I knew we were in trouble. Unfortunately, I was not mistaken.

In the right hands, Rossini's IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA can be one of the funniest pieces in the standard operatic repertoire.  At the many productions of this work that I have seen, there were, at best, a few smiles. When comedy is not done right, it's a tough, often sloppy, slog.  Last night at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden, I (and the rest of the audience) laughed out loud numerous times during this thoroughly charming, utterly delightful and simply hilarious production.  BARBIERE at the Staatsoper has restored my faith in going to the opera in Berlin. In contrast to most productions in Berlin, IL BARBIERE splendidly entertains, rather than tries to 'educate' its audience, and does so with wit, style, and skill.

WAHNSINN! dresses up the extremely commercial, completely interchangeable Wolfgang Petry songs with a clever set design, colorful costumes, interesting choreography and a couple of memorable performances. Enrico De Pieri as Peter (the nominal lead) in the show, almost single-handedly saves this enterprise from utter meaninglessness by imbuing Mr. Petry's superficial songs with more gravity than they deserve and by creating a believable character with genuine emotion that the audience could care about.

If you let a Chimpanzee drive a speeding locomotive, you'd get a train wreck similar to DIE FLEDERMAUS at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Former operatic tenor Rolando Villazón is responsible for 'directing' this unmitigated disaster of a very expensive new production. Were I not on assignment to review FLEDERMAUS for Broadwayworld.com, I would have left after the first 20 minutes of Act One.

The British are Coming!!!  If Sid Vicious and Bertold Brecht had a baby...and Tiny Tim was its Godfather, the result would be something like the British Cult Trio THE TIGER LILLIES.  Plant your tongue firmly in your cheek and make your way to the Admiralspalast to catch THE TIGER LILLIES in Concert. Their 2018 Tour 'Still Alive and In Concert' will be making a stop at Berlin's Admiralspalast on June 30th.

Theater Erfurt's General Director, Guy Montavon was responsible for nearly turning THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, (Der fliegende Hollander) Richard Wagner's technicolor, romantic dream of an opera into a black, white and grey nightmare. The story of the Dutchman, Wagner's tragic 'pale Sailor' cursed by Satan to wander the seas eternally on a ghostly ship, who is finally rescued by the chaste love of a sea captain's daughter, (Senta), was nearly capsized by Montavon's very questionable directorial concept and exacerbated by absurd choices in the makeup-, lighting- and costume designs.

At the Deutsche Oper Berlin on Saturday night, David Pountney, director of CAV/PAG saddled these beloved works with a concept so profound in its stupidity that it was often mind-blowing and jaw-dropping in its inanity. If there is a special club in Hell exclusively for bad stage directors, Mr. Pountney has earned a lifetime membership.

If you want 'bang' for your entertainment buck, make a beeline to the Theater im Keller's Website and try to secure a ticket to BERLIN? WE! LOVE! YOU! As the show only performs on weekends and seating is very limited, I would advise you to plan ahead and take any ticket you can get, but get into that theater and watch these talented comedic actors strut their collective stuff.

Last night, at the Comic Opera of Berlin I was gobsmacked.  Their production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF was hands down, the single best performance I have ever witnessed in my 24 years living and working in continental Europe.  Nothing else I have ever seen, anywhere on continental Europe, even comes close. Run, Crawl, Beg, Borrow or Steal... but get tickets to this show.

An "officially licensed" touring production with the blessing of both Dan Ackroyd and Judith Belushi (John's widow) The Blues Brothers is a highly-choreographed, very entertaining, commercial product that has no pretense of being artistic … and that is it's greatest asset. This is pure, escapist entertainment. This is a show where you check your brain at the door and just enjoy the music, the atmosphere and admire the discipline and professionalism of the artists onstage.