Review: MARK SEIBERT - MUSICALS at Ebertbad (Oberhausen)

Musicals

By: Mar. 11, 2021
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Review: MARK SEIBERT - MUSICALS  at Ebertbad (Oberhausen)

What does Mark Seibert stand for ? A German musical singer with a homebase in Vienna (Austria) and a fully booked calender with shows in both countries. After he had finished his studies with distinction at the Conservatory in Vienna in 2005, he played a range of different leading characters in many succesful musical shows. I personally saw him the first time in ROMEO&JULIETT, in which he played Thybald, the anti-hero with a vulnerable soul. Mark introduced WICKED to the German audience by playing Fiyero, and he was Galileo in WE WILL ROCK YOU. Always looking for a challange, he took the part of Count von Krolock who requires a baritone belt (even though he is a trained tenor) in TANZ DER VAMPIRE (DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES) or the Death in ELISABETH. Mark Seibert knows how to give existing characters his personal touch, no matter if he has to play an evil guy, a romantic soul or even a comedian. But talking about challenges means that Mark Seibert has always treasured the chance to create a character and to be the first one who breathes new life into it. This is why the musical SCHIKANEDER, which premiered in Vienna a couple of years ago, attracted him. He once described that "working from the scratch" is a gift, especially on this show with Stephen Schwartz and Trevor Nunn. He will create a new charater this summer in Fulda, where he is scheduled to play Robin Hood in the new musical of the same name, which is created by Chris de Burgh and Dennis Martin.

Between (and even during) his ensuite engagements, he manages to set up his own concert series with live perfomances in different theatres throughout Germany and Austria. And if this isn't remarkable alone, Mark Seibert also finds ways to realize his own CD projects. For those projects, he usually picks up songs which have not been chosen by many artists before, or he is rearranging popular songs. On his recently issued Christmas album, e. g., he shows his passion for a swing style, which led to an enormously positive feedback by his fans. By the way, Mark Seibert is thoroughly organised and he manages to stay in touch with his fans through live chats with Q&A on a regular basis - particulary in these days when artists cannot directly interact with their audience.

After his studio concert (review: /germany/article/BWW-Review-MARK-SEIBERT-THE-STUDIO-CONCERT-at-Private-Studio-Vienna-20200520) Mark Seibert decided to do a live streaming concert at the Ebertbad (Oberhausen) on Valentine's Day, which was produced by SOUND OF MUSIC and for which he invited Marle Martens and Thomas Holer. Both guests have been working with Mark Seibert in many shows. This is why they were putting the highlights of ELISABETH, DANCE OF THE VAPMIRES and MOZART together in medleys. Although none of these shows have made it across the pond so far (DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES failed in 2003 due to different reasons), all songs enjoy great popularity in Germany and Austria. Consequently, these songs have been sung by many artists. So what are the characteristics of Mark's interpretations? From my point of view, Mark Seibert always shows strong confidence in what he is doing. This comes along with his convincing charisma and high demands and expactations on himself.

I mentioned his desire to discover new songs or to rearrange popular ones. Between the medleys, he chose the song "Sarah" from the two time Tony nominated musical THE CIVIL WAR which was written by Frank Wildhorn and Gregory Boyd. Telling a true story, Mark Seibert knows exactly how to tone this powerful song. A second - similar - dramatic ballad "Ich fliehe in den Krieg" (I escape to war) was a sneak peek from the mentioned upcoming musical ROBIN HOOD by Chris de Burgh an Dennis Martin.

I'd also like to highlight that Marle Martens sang Jane Seymour's song "Heart of stone" from the musical SIX and Thomas Holer aroused our curiosity on CINDERELLA with "Only you, lonely you".

Furthermore, Mark Seibert and Marle Martens brought some Broadway atmosphere to us by singing "Only Us" from DEAR EVAN HANSEN and Marle Martens continued with "She used to be mine" from WAITRESS. Assuming that many people in Germany haven't heard about these shows, I missed a brief introduction to both songs. Regarding "She used to be mine", this song has been sung by so many incredibly talented female leads that I personally would have prefered to see Mark performing this song like for example Jeremy Jordan did in one of his concerts.

To sum it up, it was a great afternoon with all these songs of shows we are deeply missing. Hopefully, the circumstances will bring back live shows in theaters and concerts shortly.



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