opened in
Hamburg, Germany
December 5, 2003
By Silvia Niederstraßer
(German fan)
Theatre Marquee
in Hamburg
Review of "Tanz der Vampire“ on December 5th 2003 (dress rehearsal) the vampires are
in Hamburg! When you arrive at the Hamburg station these days you see a big poster with
some vampire teeth and at the bus stops you see posters of Count von Krolock biting
Sarah's neck.
It is the first time I have ever seen this musical and I was very excited. The “Neue Flora”
has an oversized sign with some vampire teeth and the title: Tanz der Vampire Das Kult-
Musical in Hamburg Rockig! Bissig! Kultig! (“Dance of the Vampires” the cult-musical in
Hamburg. It rocks! It bites! It’s cult!)
You enter the theatre on a big flight of steps. You enter the theatre lobby through glass
doors. At this showing there was nothing vampire-like except for some pictures of "Tanz"
in Stuttgart, Germany. The rest was too modern and cold somehow. There were some
pieces of modern art and some sculptures.
The seats in the theatre are raised, so you can see everything from every seat – it’s very
good! Unfortunately I didn’t see Jim Steinman, Roman Polanski or Michael Kunze. The
speaker of the theatre said, that this is the last dress rehearsal before the premiere
December 7th.
I enjoyed the show very much! The first sounds of the overture began while you saw the
castle of Count von Krolock with a crowd of bats flying around the castle. It gave me the
shivers and also fascinated me. Than you see the forest where Alfred is looking for
Professor Abronsius. During the show you get one goose flesh after another! Somehow I
had the shivers all the time!
The music of Jim Steinman and lyrics of Michael Kunze, with and the direction of Roman
Polanski fit very well together! It’s the best musical that I ever saw!! Everything is creepy
and erotic. The most exciting part, of course, is when Count von Krolock arrives on
stage. When he comes on stage for the first time, the seats vibrated from the music – and
than he began to sing “Sei bereit” (Be Ready) with his dark voice. Wow it was exciting!
During the performance the actors and actresses walk through the rows of seats. It even
snows in the auditorium! I was sitting at the end of a row of seats and so some of the
actors passed by me. The creepiest thing was when they walked up the stairs after the
song “Ewigkeit” (Eternity). One of the vampire-ladies hissed at me.
It was more than worth to see the show and I’m sure, that it won't be the last time I see it!
I recommend this musical to everyone who loves Jim Steinman's music and vampires!
I’m still totally enthusiastic about it! I’d like to win a life-time-ticket for it! Thank you very
much to the creators of this great musical!
Count von Krolock - Felix Martin
(understudy for Thomas Borchert)
Sarah - Jessica Kessler
Alfred - Frederik Wickerts
Professor Abronsius - Oliver Heim
Herbert - Norbert Kohler
Magda - Anna Thoren
Chagal - Jerzy Jeszke
Rebecca - Jan Merchant
Koukol - Stefan Büdenbender
Austria October 4, 1997 and
closed in January 15, 2000.
Tanz der Vampire played in
Stuttgart, Germany -- closed
there and opened in Hamburg.
Click here to read about the
original production. It
includes the information on the
director, music, lyrics, book
and a synopsis of the show.
