This review contains *spoilers*, so do not read it, if you still haven’t seen the show and are going to see it...
My experiences with the Finnish Vampires - 09.03.12 and 10.03.12
Dear reader, this is going to be very long(!) and I will try to divide it into smaller chapters, so you can read what interests you and skip other parts.
The chapters are:
- Background
- Impression of the Musical
- Finnish and me
- The stage, sets, scenes and costumes
- The characters
As a big fan of the German production of the musical, I cannot avoid a comparison between the two. However, I am not going to try to make up my mind on which of the two versions I like the best, because I like both of them!
If you do not want to read the whole review I will give you the short version of what I think about the Finnish version of “Dance of the Vampires” ------------------------------------------->
Background:
Some might have an addiction with drugs others with sports or food, but my addiction is crystal clear: musicals and especially the musical Dance of the Vampires. I have seen the German version 12 times (one time in Oberhausen and 11 times in Stuttgart).
Even though that I read a lot of reviews praising the Finnish version of Dance of the Vampires, I was still a bit nervous because I like the German production a lot.
What if such a little theatre could not pull such a musical off and what if I did not like how the characters of the play were portrayed?
Many things could have gone wrong (just think on the Broadway production...) and I was about to spend a lot of money on this musical (at least paying for musical tickets, train tickets and hotel is something which is not cheap when you are a student).
My first plan was to see only one show (with a Finnish friend), but I then finally bought a ticket to one more show.
After my first two shows I wanted more (Wer mal Blut geleckt hat möchte mehr) and luckily I got a ticket to the evening show on saturday as well. I sat in the back row from which I had a nice view over the scene. In my first two shows I sat in the first row, first to the right and then to the left
As the next many praising words reveal, I am far from disappointed and I do not really now if this is a critical review anymore, or just a lot of praise rambling out of me. But I do think that they deserve it.
If you, dear reader, once happen to meet me, you will find out that I am actually very much down to earth (and afraid of strangers and shy as well) and not screaming of excitement every third second (As it might seem in this review).
Impression of the musical:
There is one word which covers my overall impression quite well and that is WOW!
The musical is so different but at the same time so amazing.
Finnish and me:
Unfortunately, as I am not fluent in Finnish I cannot comment on the translation, but I was told that it should be more or less directly translated from German to Finnish.
As I know the German version by heart, it was not difficult to understand the lines and the small amount of lines I actually did understand sounds quite similar to the German version.
But I had to get use to the actors talking and singing in Finnish, it just sounds weird when you are used to hearing them speak and sing in German. So in my first show, I had to giggle a bit for myself the first couple of minutes, which did that I ruined the first scene for myself, but luckily, I had at that point still two more shows to go.
Moreover, in the scene Knoblauch I thought I knew the only Finnish word for garlic, so I was mentally ready to sing along with the cast.
But, to my surprise they did not sing Valkosipulia, but something else which I did not understand and I was a bit puzzled on why on earth they had changed such an important factor of the song. It was then later explained to me by my new Finnish acquaintances that they just sang another word for garlic (kynsilaukka), because it fits better to the song than Valkosipulia (I think it was explained to me that kynsilaukka is an older word and meant something connected to nails/claws?!)
The stage, scenes, sets and costumes:
Even though that the stage was small, it was not a problem for this production.
The scenes, sets and costumes are really beautiful made and very detailed. It works really well! It also shows that other theatres should not be afraid of making this musical, because they do not feel they have the space (Yes, this is a hint do the Danish theatres...)
Moreover, they had new ideas to cope with the little space, and I like most of them which in my opinion works better than in the German production.
My favourite scene which they completely re-renovated was the scene in the crypt. Wow, that is really an amazing set and it works so well. It is so nicely done with the crypt rising from the floor and that it is actually the real Krolock and Herbert who lies in their coffins (I love the moment when they sort of “wake up” after Alfred dropped the stake and the hammer)
Other scenes which I found really good too, was Das Gebet and Ewigkeit.
In Das Gebet I have never been so emotional and the way the set was built it just made it more intimate and you can feel the doubt in Sarah whether running away or to stay with her family. So in that scene I do not miss the turning house from the German production.
Ewigkeit was fabulous as well. I like the set with the graves and that some of the vampires came out from the wall as well. It looks so cool and the sounds effects from the graves are nice as well! Other sets and scenes which I also like are the castle and the library (that library actually looks like a real library).
In Das Gebet and Carpe Noctem I like the fact that Sarah and Alfred are a part of their own dreams. Notably are the moments the two Alfreds have together in Carpe Noctem.
Because of the small stage and the fact that there is no orchestra in front of the stage, it all gets much more intimate. When you sit on the first row, you sit about one meter away from the actors when they stand at the edge of the scene. I would never have thought it would work, but it does! Even though I had to look up sometimes to see the faces of the actors and I do imagine that first row is no good if you have problems with your neck.
Furthermore, sitting so close to the action also gives you some weird urges such as clapping extra loud after every song while smiling or having a sad face (depending on the song and the mood of the character), comforting the character when he or she is sad and to dance with the vampires in the scenes of Das Gebet, Carpte Nochtem and Ewigkeit.
To specify, I do have these urges even when I sit on the back row, but they just somehow gets intensified by sitting in the first row (and I am glad that I cannot see myself during a show such as Dance of the Vampires, my facial expressions must look ridiculous sometimes...)
What also impressed me was how they had contact to the audience throughout the show. I have seen some very bad tries on breaking the fourth wall in other musicals and plays, but they do it very well in this musical. E.g. when the vampires tries to scare you, which they do a couple of times by jumping down the scene into the faces of the audience, bites them or just when they make their “vampire growl” into the faces of the audience.
Another example is in the end of the musical when both Sarah and Alfred turns to vampires and leave the scene to walk out of the room by following the left and right aisle.
Here, Alfred is literally eating his way out. In my third show, I suddenly more or less had Alfred on my lap, biting my neck while doing his vampire growl. That was a new experience(!) for me and I like the new wild side of vampire Alfred.
Thinking of the scenes with Herbert and Alfred (wenn liebe in dir ist) and the scene where Alfred and Sarah is turning to vampires (when they are rolling around on the floor); I really like that they are not afraid of touching each other and they do not seem as frightened of body contact as in the German version. All this touching(!) really give a new dimension to the picture of a wild vampire.
If I should mention something which I actually miss, it must be the blood. In my opinion they do not use blood enough. There is no blood at all in Carpe Noctem and I think it is a shame now when the musical is about vampires and they bite each other a lot in that specific scene (It works in the German production, so I do not know why they do not do in in this).
Also, I find the images projected on the screen, when changing the set, a little bit weird and off, but I somehow got used to them in my third show.
The characters:
Firstly, then he whole cast are just great, and they are really good together.
Krolock (Jyri Lahtinen): From the start, he already had it difficult, because I for a long time have had a favourite Krolock (the German actor Matthias Stockinger). But I was not disappointed of Jyris Krolock and I did not miss my German favourite Krolock (Sorry to all the Stocki-fans reading this, but Jyri really is good!)
I really enjoy Jyris portrayal. He does very well in showing the loneliness of the count and on the same time he pulls the macho and alpha male off very well. He is just pure evil!
Also, in the last scene of the first act (Vor dem Schloss) when he laughed, I got chills running down my spine. At that very moment, I was scared of him.
Also, the Finnish Krolock (and to some extent Herbert) apparently have some sort of ju-ju power, which he use in the last scene of first act, where he mesmerise the professor and particularly Alfred. I find that very cool and it is a really nice detail which I never seen that clearly performed in the German production.
I find it interesting how Krolock “flies” down to Sarah at Einladung zum Ball, it looks really good and think it is better than how they do it in the German production.
On the top of that, I really like Juris singing as well! In Unstillbare Gier I got very emotional and I love the way in which the Count is portrayed here, so vulnerable when he is lying on the ground and singing.
When he finally bites Sarah, I love how he first softly bite her ear and thereafter brutally bites her in the neck.
Alfred (Ville Salonen): What can I say? I really adore the Finnish Alfred and Villes portrayal of him. I have never seen an Alfred who is so much in love with Sarah.
Alfred is young and not that experienced in life and maybe it do not always seems so, but Alfred do have a lot of courage even though he loses it sometimes. But he always pulls himself together again with the help of his love for Sarah and his admiration for the professor.
Ville does a very good job by showing this and I really believe him and I could easily fall in love with Alfred (Well I could, if I in general did not like women more than men...)
In addition, I really enjoy listening to Villes singing, he is a very good singer and I had to smile the whole way through the song “Für Sarah” (in all three shows)
Not to talk about the way he also use his body language to express all the things and emotions which Alfred is going through (keeping his eyes closed tightly when there is something he do not like and the way he expresses pure excitement).
To sum up, I found my favourite Alfred!
Professor (Esa Ahonen): This was a very pleasant surprise as well.
Somehow Esas portrayal of the professor seems more real and less “senile” than the German version, without losing the fun parts and the comedy in the role.
The professor and Alfred also had a very good chemistry and they work very well together! I really like the professor in Tanzsaal when he gets carried away with the dance or when he adores Krolock together with another ensemble member (By the way, it is hard not to be distracted when you see the professor in that dress. I simply love it!)
This professor is also quite different, much more robust and somehow stronger than the German counterpart which is always more thin and fragile, but I quickly got use to it.
What I also like, is that the professor is still from Königsberg in this production and that he sometimes count in German (Like at the ball when the trio wants to escape). In my first show I was at first a bit confused, because I thought I understood the Finnish very clearly until I realised that he spoke German and not Finnish.
Again, the Finnish professor is very close to be my favourite Professor.
Sarah (Raili Raitala): The Finnish Sarah is a very independent woman with her own opinions, but still, she gets seduced by the mysterious Count von Krolock and I really like the Finnish Sarah (After I could abstract myself from the red wig, which I did not like).
I am impressed by Railis portrayal of Sarah. It is very honest and one of the best I have seen so far. I really believe in this Sarah and I follow her through the struggle of leaving home, the interest in the young man Alfred and the attraction to Krolock.
Chagal (Heikki Vainionpää): I never really been a fan of Chagal and how he is portrayed in the German production, and unfortunately I am still not the biggest fan of this character.
It is not due to the actor or his singing, it is more due to the fact that character of Chagal always has to overact and be extremely comedy-like. It works for some, but not for me. With that being said, I still think that Heikki did a good job!
Rebecca (Leena Rousti): See, this is how I always wanted the character of Rebecca. In the Finnish version she is not portrayed as a ugly woman, but instead as a strong women with a more healthy relationship to her husband. Here, both Chagal and Rebecca both seem to care for each other, even though that Chagal still runs after other women.
Moreover, I actually got quite emotional and really felt with Rebecca in the scenes where she first loses her daughter and then her husband.
Magda (Anne Vihelä): I like the Finnish Magda and I was really impressed by her solo Tot zu sein ist komisch.
Herbert (Jouko Enkelnotko): This is one of the most changed characters and what a change!
It might come as a shock if you are used to the German Herbert to meet this very robust man all in pink and fluffy stuff such as fur and corset. But, I really adore the Finnish Herbert and I love Joukos portrayal of him. I especially like his solo Wenn Liebe in Dir ist.
So, what is left to say than: I also found my favourite Herbert.
Koukul (Antti Railio): He deserves some words of his own as well. Koukul is along with Herbert one of the most changed characters. From the hunchback in the German production to a stylish servant of the count. The size of Koukul is impressive as well, and his fur coat and his hat only make him even more huge.
I also really like that Koukul in this production of the musical gets so sing, it works really well and I got a bit scared of him when he appeared in the scene of Carpe Nochtem with a whip to control the vampires.
Ensemble: I love the ensemble, they all did such a great job and it was a joy to see and hear them in action! If I could (and dared) I would have given them all a hug. Particularly, I love the ensemble in Tanzsaal where they interact so well with each other and the main characters and you never know where to look, because so much is happening.
An example is how one of the ensemble members takes Sarahs dress in his mouth and crawl beside her when she is going towards Krolock. Also, when Krolock sings that Sarah is his all alone, I like how some of the ensemble members get angry and first gets calmed down when hearing that there is also something for them (At least if I understood the Finnish lyrics correct...)
I also love that the ensemble actually dares to really scare the audience and they do it in so many different ways. They are not afraid of scaring the audience and I love it!
I also noticed that in Finland, black is the colour if you are a vampire. At least all the vampires are dressed in black, besides Herbert and Krolock who have a bit of colour. I do miss some more colours, even though I found the costumes of the Finnish vampires really nice and beautiful.
Last comments:
My dear reader, we have now almost reached the end of my review and I will refrain from making several hearts (you know, those smiley-hearts everyone makes on Facebook?), even though they would be a nice add to the illocutionary force which I am trying to convey here.
So, what I want to say instead of bombarding you with sketchy smilies, is that I really enjoyed this musical and I am looking forward to see it again in the weekend of their last performances.
I also want to thank Olli-Matti Oinonen! Thank you so much!!!
Lastly, I want to thank all the nice (Finnish) people that I met during my stay. Thanks for making my stay in Seinäjoki even better, answering all my questions, the discussions, and to put up with my more or less non-existing Finnish knowledge and proficiency (Anteeksi, minä en puhun Suomea...)
