Dance of the Vampires - Paris Production — Page 2

Well it was my birthday...
My recipe for London would be a visual revamp, if you'll pardon the expression, an astute bit of casting for the count but otherwise leave it well alone as it's fabulous.

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There's new footage of what looks like the press call, and the production is spectacular.

Unlike the Broadway version, this is the franchised StageEntertainment version, which has had successes in Europe. This production is directed by Polanski himself. I would imagine that it would be successful..They have an aggressive advertising and social media campaign going on, and compared to other productions in Paris, this is seriously spectacular with a mega-musical feel to it (vs the bare bone concept/arena concert style that is famous in France).

Footage link below. The part starting at 2:21 looks amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxPQ7z5YvGQ

Updated On: 11/4/14 at 02:40 PM

Well, as stated in the thread before, the Broadway production was not representative of the best of the show, and it's largely still going around because it isn't/wasn't the Broadway production. English-speaking audiences did not get to see or hear much of what had wowed Europe in the years preceding; most of Polanski's and Kunze's original story and libretto, filled with black comedy, were scrapped in favor of an ultra-campy, slapstick, more "Americanized" approach, which did not sit well alongside the score that remained (in large part) from the original.

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Updated On: 11/4/14 at 11:49 PM

Saw this at the weekend and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be entertainingly dreadful (and I do love a good Bad Musical) but actually, apart from a couple of questionable moments, I actually thought it was pretty wonderful.

For starters, it is almost entirely tongue-in-cheek so there is no chance of rolling in the aisles in the wrong places, as the show itself is one step ahead of you there. Then there's the score: yes everybody knows "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" is in there but on top of that there's almost an embarrassment of good tunes, any one of which Andrew Lloyd Webber would kill to have in any of his more recent scores, from power ballads to comic patter songs to a rollickingly rousing finale. Every number lands but there are moments when the music is breathtaking, helped by the fact that the singing in a large company is uniformly magnificent.

Physically, the production is opulent, clearly no expense has been spared in the settings, costumes and wigs. Many of the stage pictures (but especially the floating graveyard) are gorgeous. Also, the staging makes full use of the entire auditorium, much to the consternation of the small children in my row (who otherwise sat still, entranced, as was I).

I think it is such a shame that this piece, which plays like an unholy (undead?!) alliance of Phantom, Beauty & The Beast and Rocky Horror (though is considerably more fun than the former two), is known primarily by the Michael Crawford-led turkey that lost a fortune on Broadway in 2002. The terrific evening I had in Paris suggests to me that we are really missing out.

Does anyone know if there is going to be a cast recording for this production? As much as I'd love to just up and fly to Paris and see this, I'm going to have to settle for listening to an album instead, if they even decide to release one.

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They decided to only play from Fri-Sun and cancel the shows during the week. Not a very good sign, I'm afraid.

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