A final weekend in the forest
Räuber Hotzenplotz - Schmidt Theater, Hamburg, 7th & 8th January 2012
I had only intended to see the last show of this run on Sunday afternoon but once I learnt that Jan was not doing it but the morning show and would also not join "Villa Sonnenschein" I had to go to his final two shows too just to make the most out of it.
With the last show over just 24 hours ago when starting to write this I am still not sure how to put it into the "right" words. It was definitely a wonderful weekend and I would not want to miss any minute of it.
It is incredible how attached I got to this cast, well all but one, and how much this show gave me in the last three months since seeing it the first time in October. Mad actually that my most seen show this season 11/12 so far is a kids show ;) (will change by end of March! Or actually maybe not when the show returns in April, oops)!
7th January 2012 11.00am
Robber Hotzenplotz - Götz Fuhrmann
Kasperl - Jan Radermacher
Seppel - Manuel Ettelt
Grandmother/Fairy - Annic-Barbara Fenske
Constable/Sorcerer - Timo Riegelsberger
8th January 2012 11.00am
Robber Hotzenplotz - Torsten Hammann
Kasperl - Jan Radermacher
Seppel - Manuel Ettelt
Grandmother/Fairy - Annic-Barbara Fenske
Constable/Sorcerer - Markus Richter
8th January 2011 2.30pm
Robber Hotzenplotz - Torsten Hammann
Kasperl - Mario Saccoccio
Seppel - Manuel Ettelt
Grandmother/Fairy - Annic-Barbara Fenske
Constable/Sorcerer - Markus Richter
So I got quite a variety of cast. The only one I really missed though was Elena Zvirbulis as the grandmother/fairy who had her last show on Friday.
I am sorry, but Annic-Barbara Fenske just bores me, for me she just lacks nearly everything Elena has: the charm, the elegance, the eloquence, the merriness… and I am not a fan of her singing voice and her technique either. But besides that with having two different Kasperls, two different robbers and two different constables/sorcerers and the best Seppel there is onstage I couldn't really have asked for more.
This weekend started on Saturday at 11am. I had a seat in the third row, not too close, not too far away, perfect view and I was a bit out of view for certain people. ;)
Pleased to see Götz Fuhrmann once more as the robber as I hadn’t seen him for a while. It was funny to see the guy Götz picked as the fly agaric as he had been to the show before a couple of weeks ago (one I even had been to) and had been picked then too. So he knew what to expect and properly played it out. Still the whole forest scene is a bit too rushed for me but besides that it was overall a fun performance. I can only hope that when the show returns in April that he still gets to play the odd show with only two shows per week then.
It was Timo’s show with him showing off his adlibbing skills especially as the sorcerer which had me in stitches knowing the show far too well by now. As when the robber gets to the sorcerer to sell Kasperl Jan had problems to get out of this bag getting stuck so Timo commented “yeah, so dance a bit for me”.
Later in the show when it is the following morning one of the magic tricks did not work so he tried it again and it worked then the older lady next to me was “ah”-ing quite loudly so his comment was “Hörst Du die Unken unken?” – a little word play in German.
But it got even more funnier: when the sorcerer returns to the castle after Kasperl had run away and Seppel ends up in the castle Timo lost his affixed fake white long goat beard. It took him a few seconds to notice and picked it up from the floor while his character is to get upset about the robber. So it uses the moment and shouts at Seppel “Never seen a beard before? I can shave without a razor. Can you do that?” Poor Manuel had to try so hard not to laugh, only partly worked. Timo put the beard in one of his pockets to finish the scene but at the end of it he is to look for Kasperl he tells Seppel that he is now off to grow a new beard (and indeed it is back when he returns). Bless Timo!
At the curtain call Timo is also the one doing the little cast presentation at end and since the cast recording came out a few weeks ago presents that as well. It was upside down and kids being kids one had to say it he turned it around commenting “die jetzt richtiggestellte CD” where that word “richtigstellen” is usually used for rectifying and correcting something, okay he did that too but it was more referred to the turning around, another mini word play so to say. There were a few more funny adlibs from him but that would go too far right now. Overall a most entertaining performance from him on his last show for me.
I was more than pleased then to have both Manuel and Jan together onstage though with the schedules sometimes around I kinda expected Manuel not to be Seppel on Sunday for the morning show and I so wanted to see the two together at Jan’s last show – thank God I was wrong as I learnt the following morning.
I just adore the two, they are just made for each together (onstage ;-) ) harmonising so well and feeding of each other’s energy being slightly worryingly mental sometimes. This friendship of Kasperl and Seppel just feels so real, they seem to be on exactly the same wavelength understanding each other without words. Just simply a perfect match. What more could I ask for?
Well a second show with the two on….
….8/1/12 11.00am
The following day then it was time for Jan’s final show. Sat in the second row but with the boy in front of me being scared and disappearing with his father leaving their friends (who also left after end of act 1) less than ten minutes into the show I had clear view over the stage.
Overall it was a mellow show, thought Jan played it more safe than usual which I had noticed before when people he knows were in and as I learnt after the show it was the case again but still a good performance – especially his and Manuel’s sweet duet in act 2 was so touching that I even got a bit teary. I cannot wait for it to be April when I will see him again onstage.
My star of the morning though was Manuel. His Seppel just gets dumber and dumber and more and more naïve. I really liked him before, especially after my trips last summer to the middle of nowhere aka ‘Jahrmarkttheater’ in Wettenbostel but these days I just love him. ;)
I was so pleased that Torsten and Markus were on after I saw Götz and Timo the day before. Both are just right for their roles especially Markus as the sorcerer. Seriously one day he will literally explode and not just his character as manic as he gets. I recall how suspicious I had been never been a fan of him before as I always found him rather dull but this show has definitely converted me. I can hardly imagine anyone else being more entertainingly hair-raising and formidable as Markus is.
8/1/12 2.30pm
So after nine shows with Jan at my tenth show I got to see Mario as Kasperl at last. Okay, need to be fair…. Erm, well, yes am totally utterly biased, but nevertheless I must say I prefer Jan by miles.
Mario is enjoyable, so am sure people who are not as biased as me will like him a lot (?), the scenes I really like is when Kasperl gets hyped up after e.g. the sorcerer is destroyed, and the whole “searching the castle” scene to find the enchanted fairy at end is wonderfully depicted being a less obvious scared boy but one who wants to prove he can conquer his fears. He is also far more creative with the names for the sorcerer (Kachelmann… yeah…) and with Jan anything but vocally fit for weeks now it was nice too to hear the proper split of dialogues as Jan would not do some of the shouting in the forest etc. – and Mario definitely has a lovely clear voice.
What I totally missed though was the boyish pertness Jan has and I expect from a cheeky smart boy, he also reminded me sometimes more of a Seppel (does not help I suppose I have seen him a few times in that role) and I missed the spontaneity and especially the dynamic with Manuel as Seppel. It missed the “unsophisticated”-ness and it sometimes looked like “trying too hard”.
My personal moment of the show was, as we thought we’d change the ordinary white napkin lying on the table in front of us (sitting in the front row in “my” seat) the robber asks for at the end of one song for a more childish one with zoo animals on (to get some kind of a muck up final show ;-) ). Not sure whether Torsten noticed it properly but people in the audience definitely and him taking that napkin got several laughs, first time ever. Yeah, we certainly have lost the plot….
Well, overall a wonderful weekend spent in the forest and I am already counting days till I can return to it even though I have now my other favourite show back at the Schmidt theatre (but with Jan not part of cast it will only be half the fun anyway for me). Roll on 8th of April! :-)
