Dance of the Vampires Revival?

https://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2023/10/todays-blind-items-pardon-me-but-your.html#disqus_thread

Hmmmm?

I had an absolute blast at this show when I saw it on Broadway. I was also thrilled to see one of the few performances when the wonderful Rob Evan went on for Michael Crawford (who, admittedly, I am not a fan of).

I do believe that if they marketed this show properly, it could have some legs. It’s been a smash hit in Germany and elsewhere. Do I think it will be a smash hit in NYC? Absolutely not. But, they marketed the original Broadway production as this serious theatrical event where the Great Michael Crawford would return to Broadway, when in reality it was a hilarious camp-fest of vampires singing about why garlic makes them well hung. And using “Total Eclipse of the Heart” as a vehicle for a vampire to seduce a woman? I truly ate it up.

I’m curious to see if this is real, and what would happen if it returned, but you best believe that I will be eagerly *seated* if it does.

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 11:38 AM

jakethesnake said: "It was the loudest show I ever heard on Broadway. And I still slept through half of it. A complete bore."

Ha! My mother saw it and slept through the entire thing, so as with all theatre, your mileage may vary, - but particularly with a show like this.

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 11:47 AM

BrodyFosse123 said: "It’s been a smash hit in Germany and elsewhere. Do I think it will be a smash hit in NYC? Absolutely not.

The Broadway production was heavily tweaked and modified and was not the same production that was an enormous hit in Germany. Same way the London and Broadway production of TABOO were polar opposites of each other."



Yes, Crawford (coming off of PHANTOM) was pretty much singlehandedly responsible for destroying the Broadway production, since the producers and creatives gave him free rein to make changes, add "laughs" for himself, and otherwise "beef up" his role -- which wound up eliciting the exact opposite response from critics and theatregoers.

Yes, Crawford (coming off of PHANTOM) was pretty much singlehandedly responsible for destroying the Broadway production, since the producers and creatives gave him free rein to make changes, add "laughs" for himself, and otherwise "beef up" his role -- which wound up eliciting the exact opposite response from critics and theatregoers."

Yup. Crawford was the biggest creative force behind so many of the changes that resulted in a Broadway version that was heavily warped and distorted from the original German production. Both Vulture and NYT both did great write-ups a few years ago documenting the backstage bedlam.

I would love to see a more faithful version of the German production stateside, but I can't see it sustaining an open run for very long. Maybe as a limited run, and marketed as a late summer / fall event around the Halloween season.

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 01:30 PM

I had never seen a portly vampire before. Yes, please bring that back.

James885 said: "Yes, Crawford (coming off of PHANTOM) was pretty much singlehandedly responsible for destroying the Broadway production, since the producers and creatives gave him free rein to make changes, add "laughs" for himself, and otherwise "beef up" his role -- which wound up eliciting the exact opposite response from critics and theatregoers."

Yup. Crawford was the biggest creative force behind so many of the changes that resulted in a Broadway version that was heavily warped and distorted from the original German production. Both Vulture and NYT both did great write-ups a few years ago documenting the backstage bedlam.

I would love to see a more faithful version of the German production stateside, but I can't see it sustaining an open run for very long. Maybe as a limited run, and marketed as a late summer / fall event around the Halloween season."

Here's the Vulture write-up. It's a great read: https://www.vulture.com/article/broadway-dance-of-the-vampires-bloody-disaster.html

For the love of everything that is good, decent, and sacred..please NO!

Jim Steinman (may he rest in peace) became his own hack. He took "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young", a perfectly great song from the soundtrack of the cult classic, "Streets of Fire" and repurposed it (and not in a good way) for this god-awful crap. He also did it to some of the other songs from his catalog.

The US version of this "show" needs to be buried deep in the annals of Broadway hell.

CarlosAlberto said: "The US version of this "show" needs to be buried deep in the annals of Broadway hell."

Luckily, ours bears slim, if any, relation to it. :)

Updated On: 10/27/23 at 01:38 PM

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I'm involved, but not prepared to comment beyond that at this time."

See you at the Tonys, I’m sure.


Supposedly Gaten Matarazzo is part of a workshop for this, which sounds fun.

If you're referring to the interpolations within what is now "Hungry for Love," we just didn't have a female or ensemble vocalists handy at the time. (You also apparently missed the huge section that begins "And I need you now tonight...", I assume.)

For that matter, you'll be happy to know that the love duet at the top of Act II is virtually unchanged from the Grammy-winning original, with minimal blotting for characterization purposes.

Updated On: 10/27/23 at 07:10 PM