History of Vampire Musicals

[EugLoven]

Posted: 4/11/06 at 2:30pm

A friend pointed this article. I don't know if it's been posted already (too tired to scroll).

THE HISTORY OF VAMPIRE MUSICALS
(includes Buffy!)
http://newyorkmetro.com/arts/theater/features/16639/index.html

Fun read. Kinda sad...

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/06 at 2:36pm

There was also a film musical "spoof" that I remember (vaguely) seeing as a kid called "Son of Dracula."

It starred musician/composer/singer Harry Nilsson ("The Point," "Everybody's Talkin'," "Courtship of Eddie's Father" Theme, etc.)... and it wasn't very good... but I do remember it!

IMDb.com

Updated On: 4/11/06 at 02:36 PM

[knows_too_much]

Posted: 4/11/06 at 2:40pm

History of Vampire musicals:

AND GOD SAID LET THERE BE CRAP...

and vampire musicals were born!

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 3:15am

I don't know why I'm doomed to revel among such close-minded minds

[FireFuryFlame]

Posted: 4/13/06 at 8:42am

"Meat Loaf songwriter Jim Steinman transformed Roman Polanski’s 1967 vampire spoof, The Fearless Vampire Killers, into a comic extravaganza. Originally written in German."

Sorry... sorry. Please look outside the scope of things. This musical was never intended to be the God-awful 'comedy' it turned into - I'm assuming here that no one has heard the fantastic original German recording.

"(“Vampires in Love” is identical to “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”)"

Think about it... perhaps that is because it's the same song? Make the connection... Steinman wrote both.

[My Name in Lights]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 7:13pm

First off, I apologize for the length of this post.

I have to say that I was a fan of DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES, having seen it multiple times during its short run, and never saw the theatre empty when I was there, although the Minskoff is one of the largest theatres in New York. The critics didn't like it, but I often heard people talking at the end of the show (on the way down the many escalators of the Minskoff)saying how much they enjoyed it. There were always crowds around the souveniers section asking for a cast recording... Yet it closed (and no cast recording).

A number of reasons could have caused its early closing, but it will go down in the record books as a flop because of critical review, probably not because of what really happened. While I don't claim to know the real reasons, it could have closed for various reasons beyond the critics. Many shows that don't fair critically, do so because of word of mouth. This usually happens when a show doesn't cost that much to produce and the producers are willing to give it a chance. DOTV had large details given to the production. I was one of the fortunate few to have been on a tour of the backstage, and the attention to detail in the sets had to be quite expensive. The sets were sensational. Also, the salary afforded Michael Crawford was rumored to be astronomical as well. DOTV was a huge production, not flawless, but certainly way better than its critical comments. As far as the production being funny in parts, I believe it was supposed to be that way, because the movie upon which it was based was a satire. DOTV was supposed to be like The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth are in my Neck, a film by Polanski. Though I have never seen the entire film, I have seen clips. With a title like that, did anyone (critics or otherwise) think that the musical version was going to be anything but camp?

It seems that according to today's critics and Broadway standards overall, DOTV committed the worse crime ever...it was a fun show that make you laugh and entertained you. The talent was outstanding, and yes, the music was very familiar, but it worked!

Needless to say, when DOTV closed, I had hopes for DRACULA, THE MUSICAL. This show didn't work at all. It was darkly lit and contained so many special effects, they were distracting. The music was nothing unusual or catchy, and overall, one could see the writing on the wall. Despite Tom Hewitt's performance, DRACULA flopped, but deservedly so. It was a downer.

LESTAT may or may not be worth seeing, I don't know. But it also may have come too soon after the other two shows failed. After the disappointment of DRACULA, I am hesitant to see LESTAT unless some deep, deep discounts become available. Then maybe...

[Phantomerik15]

Posted: 4/14/06 at 10:50pm

hmmm...i just read this article in the New York magazine.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 6:18am

My Name In Lights:

Dance Of The Vampires, from the Minskoff (Broadway), is in *no way* based on The Fearless Vampire Killers other than *name only* And the same goes for the original German version which is still playing around today.

From my perspective, which is quite notorious through-out the communities, Dance Of The Vampires failed because they turned a beautiful, ironic / gothic "opera" (if you will) into a cheesy, lame musical comedy which lacked any substance, subtlety or meaning. The English lyrics, from the songs that survived, also meant *nothing* compared to Kunze's German originals which are quite scary.

People say you can't compare the two, but in order to see why the show failed in the first place you have to (inevitably) do so. The German show ran at an excess of over two-and-a-half hours (I think) of non-stop music, detailed orchestrations, an intimate setting that looked humungous (the Broadway staging resembled a school production in the Himalayas, IMO) and was very consistent in its story-telling devices. Everything in Germany, somehow, seemed to come together and *really* work.

The show that played Broadway is a contradiction to what was in Germany. The show that played Broadway was a monstrous defamation and should have a lawsuit (Polanski saw the videos and was un-impressed).

The original film, ironically, was butchered in the U.S. A lot of the footage was cut, which had all the irony and substance of the story, with a new animated intro. which turned the feel of the satire into a 'Hammer Horror'. Polanski was devastated with the changes and, to this day, supports his cut. The story never did well on U.S. shores

I feel if they had have taken a risk with something that was already successful it would have paid off. People would have been curious about an attempt at a resurrection of dark musicals. It would have worked, despite the criticism. The creative team conformed to the fashion, which didn't work with D.O.T.V., and destroyed the show. I blame everyone on the team. All of their work, from what I've seen, was so terrible I had to walk away

Updated On: 4/21/06 at 06:18 AM

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 4/22/06 at 2:16pm

And that's only including the ones done in New York. God knows how many "bastard" versions are out there....