It could have been greater...
Friedrich - Mythos und Tragödie - Metropolishalle, Potsdam, 30th June, 2012
The stage was open when entering the auditorium but all you could see where some stairs and this empty chair as on the picture right.
Some not too great impressions from curtain call:
With Frederick the Great's (Friedrich der Große) 300th birthday this year and various exhibitions around I had wanted to go to Potsdam anyway and with a musical to be on in June especially. But with all the other plans I had I just managed to go to it on its final day of the short run.
A musical rather loosely based on the great king sounded intriguing to me though a large number of reviews I trust sounded not great - of course there were the gushings from certain newspapers and websites - but what was mentioned in the more, well let's call them, honest reviews made more sense.
So after a nice morning in Potsdam doing some sightseeing as I hadn't been to the city for nearly 20 years and with not expecting much I was off to the Metropolishalle in Babelsberg next to the movie park a bit outside of Potsdam.
It already seemed like an odd location, a multi-purpose venue where "just" a stage and audience stands had been put into. The atmosphere inside was rather dark and weird, just not a place for me I'd expect to go to to see a show!
The stage was open when entering the auditorium but all you could see where some stairs and this empty chair as on the picture right.It was anything but full but then I hadn't expected it as just a few days before the producers had announced that the show was a financial flop with just 15,000 people seeing the show while it had required 20,000 to break even.
Cast:
Friedrich der Große - Chris Murray
Crown Prince Friedrich - Lutz Standop (understudy)
Hans Hermann von Katte - Maximilian Mann
Wilhelmine - Elisabeth Hübert
Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Heiko Stang
Gräfin Orczelska - Isabel Trinkaus
August der Starke - Petter Bjällö
Voltaire - Léon van Leeuwenberg
Sophie Dorothea - Patricia Hodell
Grumbkow - Andreas Goebel
Graf von Seckendorff - Christian Theodoridis
Ensemble: Guido Breidenbach, Maximilian Klakow, Michael Knese, Stephan R. Przywara, Christian Venzke, Markus Wegner, Tamina Ciskowski, Tina Haas, Katrin Lièvre, Nadja Weise, Juliane Maria Wolff
Swings: Kevin Hudson, Linda Stark
So the show... Advertised as a musical about the king as "no-one has known him before" it was clear from the beginning that despite the reviews I had read I was still not prepared.
Maybe sometimes it is better that you do not know much about the show but with me being well familiar with the life of the old Fritz and the contradictory essays from historians but when I get a musical that comes up with some creative ideas I am already put off.
A main question for me is: does a musical about a real person have to be accurate?
Well my answer to this is no, you cannot bring every single part onstage and need to focus on certain things and chapters BUT to come up with things which are just NOT true and leave ESSENTIAL bits to understand the person out is a massive no-go. Some may call it "artistic liberties" I just call it nonsense. I do not have an issue that the story is not told in chronological order which makes it hard to get into the story but soon you can follow it, and yes you may do not want a history lesson onstage, you want to understand the protagonists and their motifs and emotions but sometimes you just simply need to stick to the history when you put a musical on a stage about a real person. If I hadn't known about the king before I might have gone home thinking certain things about the king which are simply not true. And this is where the musical totally failed for me.
That the musical actually still did not answer the questions raised by this production as e.g. why Friedrich "changed" once he became king is another major issue for me.
Yes, it focuses massively on the father-son conflict between him and his father and how disappointed his father was in him, that Friedrich was a disgrace for the country but why he would turn into a clone of his father as portrayed in this musical is not really told.
Just to have one scene where he is the warlord and then another in which he is an ordinary man interested in literature, art and philosophy is not enough. The inner torn to understand these two sides but the last number just before he dies in the show is not shown and to portray that would have been the key to success or failure of this show to me. Well others saw it, I didn't but then I think I just have higher expectations than most.
I did not expect that Friedrich was portrayed as a greatest king, it is known he was not but what I got is not satisfying. It is even not that they had too much else to tell, the show is just 2 1/2 hours long including interval. Add another 15 minutes and you have some more time to answer some more questions and the show would not be too long with a 2 3/4 hours running time.
Saying that the show has some moments which are good in act 2 when it reaches its climax most notably when the old king faces death and the performances are largely convincing. Act 1 unfortunately with what is told has such a slow path sometimes and there are moments when the show drags that the just one hour long act 1 feels a lot longer. There's no decent climax, even not close to end of act 1, it feels too often just of a sequence of the various scenes they wanted to include without any decent development. The time "jumping" does not help and I have seen that work better in other musicals. And do not get me started on the totally unnecessary dull seduction scene. Do musical composer/lyricists etc think that nearly all musicals need such rubbish when it does not add anything to the show (especially when it is played even worse than the idea of it)?
The music also put me off, I have read that people have enjoyed it I though do not like this, what I call "Schlagerpop" (think Cliff Richard and Barry Manilow style music but worse) with sometimes historical influences. Heard too often and it all sounded so often so much the same. Even a Wildhorn musical usually sounds more innovative compared to this.And the choreography in some scenes to support the music... Well, you could call it a modern approach, but when a musical is based in the 18th century, why not make much bigger use of the then modern dances?
Yes, in the big ensemble number you got some hints, but still mixed with too often ridiculous choreography elements that I could not help but laugh.
And that the music, while it already put me off with the melodies, the sound also annoyed me as it was sometimes extremely loud that I wondered whether the guy(s?) at the sound desk mistook the venue for a night club! My poor ears.
I read press reviews in which people complained about it to be too quiet especially at the back but if it was only half as loud at the back as in the front (sat second row) they must have tried to fix these issues but must have made it worse for the people at the front. I suppose it also did not help that the music was pre-recorded, yep no live band or orchestra, and not only that it was all created by computers and not even a proper orchestra, the synthesiser sound "quality" was too often poor. I understand it is an money issue to do it the cheap way but there are ways to do it more professional and still be affordable.
What was impressive though was the stage set. Well there is not much of a set but a staircase at the back and some smaller mobile ones used in various scenes plus the odd prop of a table, chairs, a fake piano - all very simple but effective. The various scenes were indicated by projections at the back as of the Sansscouci palace or barracks. Lighting was largely catching the atmosphere, there were just the odd moments when spotlights would go towards the audience blinding me which I did not understand the point of.
What was a great idea IMHO (I have read negative comments though) was the gigantic coatee on strings which appeared at the back as if a marionette in certain scenes as when the scenes topic was the army or the father-son conflict to underline the power the father and what he represented had over Friedrich.Costumes in general but the odd tacky wig are realistic and suitable for the show
Especially Chris Murray as the old king delivers a finest performance making the best out of the weak material. Being more a narrator in act 1 reflecting on his youth he takes over mid of act 2 and is such an impressive warlord when the story tells of the Seven Years' War and a heartbreaking old man when he faces his own death singing about how he is spitting image of his hated father. I have never seen a weak performance from him since seeing him the first time and he is most stunning again in this show.
Lutz Standop who was on as the young Friedrich was also formidable.
I really had wanted to see Tobias Bieri hearing so much great about him and his performance, but Lutz was just as good as I had pictured Tobias to be. He has a beautiful warm but also strong voice and gives the young Friedrich a lot of life without going too OTT and prim when the scene is one in which is highlighted how different he is to the ordinary man being interested in all kind of culture as music and philosophy. Just that his character wore one of the typical wigs back then annoyed me. Tobias, who has natural blond curls doesn't but I suppose since his hair looks like a wig there is no need. Though not wearing one would have made him stand out even more and already made him different just by looks. But I suppose that was a decision by the creative and not him.
Maximilian Mann as von Katte was lovely, also equipped with a beautiful voice though I must say his performance was sometimes a bit too slick for me lacking occasionally depth and emotions in his voice. His duet with the wonderful Elisabeth Hübert though was touching and inspiring.
Elisabeth Hübert gives a fetching whirlwind performance of the older sister Wilhelmine. Being a young rather innocent but still strong minded young woman was so convincingly played that it was fun to watch her. Too bad though she was given several scenes which are just not true. ;-)
Isabel Trinkaus as the countess Orczelska was, well, underwhelming. Some of the positive reviews about her I cannot understand.
Besides the fact that her seduction scene was totally unneeded it was played by her with so little appeal that you must wonder who choreographed this. But then maybe even if a decent choreography she would have failed as she just is not sexy. She cannot move decently, looking so stiff and rather uncomfortable (but considering the ridiculous lyrics she has to sing I would feel that way too), her voice is anything but erotic, this breathing might work on the Reeperbahn or in some cheap night video clip but on stage...
How any man would be turned on by that I do not know. It does not help that am not a fan of voice anyway. I never was when she was in Tarzan, she was one dull Jane and a lame Kala, she has a great technique but it is so unemotional but a weird breathing added as that is obviously their understanding of eroticism and in such a scene it just does not help.
Cast:
Friedrich der Große - Chris Murray
Crown Prince Friedrich - Lutz Standop (understudy)
Hans Hermann von Katte - Maximilian Mann
Wilhelmine - Elisabeth Hübert
Friedrich Wilhelm I. - Heiko Stang
Gräfin Orczelska - Isabel Trinkaus
August der Starke - Petter Bjällö
Voltaire - Léon van Leeuwenberg
Sophie Dorothea - Patricia Hodell
Grumbkow - Andreas Goebel
Graf von Seckendorff - Christian Theodoridis
Ensemble: Guido Breidenbach, Maximilian Klakow, Michael Knese, Stephan R. Przywara, Christian Venzke, Markus Wegner, Tamina Ciskowski, Tina Haas, Katrin Lièvre, Nadja Weise, Juliane Maria Wolff
Swings: Kevin Hudson, Linda Stark
So the show... Advertised as a musical about the king as "no-one has known him before" it was clear from the beginning that despite the reviews I had read I was still not prepared.
Maybe sometimes it is better that you do not know much about the show but with me being well familiar with the life of the old Fritz and the contradictory essays from historians but when I get a musical that comes up with some creative ideas I am already put off.
A main question for me is: does a musical about a real person have to be accurate?
Well my answer to this is no, you cannot bring every single part onstage and need to focus on certain things and chapters BUT to come up with things which are just NOT true and leave ESSENTIAL bits to understand the person out is a massive no-go. Some may call it "artistic liberties" I just call it nonsense. I do not have an issue that the story is not told in chronological order which makes it hard to get into the story but soon you can follow it, and yes you may do not want a history lesson onstage, you want to understand the protagonists and their motifs and emotions but sometimes you just simply need to stick to the history when you put a musical on a stage about a real person. If I hadn't known about the king before I might have gone home thinking certain things about the king which are simply not true. And this is where the musical totally failed for me.
That the musical actually still did not answer the questions raised by this production as e.g. why Friedrich "changed" once he became king is another major issue for me.
Just to have one scene where he is the warlord and then another in which he is an ordinary man interested in literature, art and philosophy is not enough. The inner torn to understand these two sides but the last number just before he dies in the show is not shown and to portray that would have been the key to success or failure of this show to me. Well others saw it, I didn't but then I think I just have higher expectations than most.
I did not expect that Friedrich was portrayed as a greatest king, it is known he was not but what I got is not satisfying. It is even not that they had too much else to tell, the show is just 2 1/2 hours long including interval. Add another 15 minutes and you have some more time to answer some more questions and the show would not be too long with a 2 3/4 hours running time.
Saying that the show has some moments which are good in act 2 when it reaches its climax most notably when the old king faces death and the performances are largely convincing. Act 1 unfortunately with what is told has such a slow path sometimes and there are moments when the show drags that the just one hour long act 1 feels a lot longer. There's no decent climax, even not close to end of act 1, it feels too often just of a sequence of the various scenes they wanted to include without any decent development. The time "jumping" does not help and I have seen that work better in other musicals. And do not get me started on the totally unnecessary dull seduction scene. Do musical composer/lyricists etc think that nearly all musicals need such rubbish when it does not add anything to the show (especially when it is played even worse than the idea of it)?The music also put me off, I have read that people have enjoyed it I though do not like this, what I call "Schlagerpop" (think Cliff Richard and Barry Manilow style music but worse) with sometimes historical influences. Heard too often and it all sounded so often so much the same. Even a Wildhorn musical usually sounds more innovative compared to this.And the choreography in some scenes to support the music... Well, you could call it a modern approach, but when a musical is based in the 18th century, why not make much bigger use of the then modern dances?
Yes, in the big ensemble number you got some hints, but still mixed with too often ridiculous choreography elements that I could not help but laugh.
And that the music, while it already put me off with the melodies, the sound also annoyed me as it was sometimes extremely loud that I wondered whether the guy(s?) at the sound desk mistook the venue for a night club! My poor ears.
I read press reviews in which people complained about it to be too quiet especially at the back but if it was only half as loud at the back as in the front (sat second row) they must have tried to fix these issues but must have made it worse for the people at the front. I suppose it also did not help that the music was pre-recorded, yep no live band or orchestra, and not only that it was all created by computers and not even a proper orchestra, the synthesiser sound "quality" was too often poor. I understand it is an money issue to do it the cheap way but there are ways to do it more professional and still be affordable.
What was a great idea IMHO (I have read negative comments though) was the gigantic coatee on strings which appeared at the back as if a marionette in certain scenes as when the scenes topic was the army or the father-son conflict to underline the power the father and what he represented had over Friedrich.Costumes in general but the odd tacky wig are realistic and suitable for the show
Especially Chris Murray as the old king delivers a finest performance making the best out of the weak material. Being more a narrator in act 1 reflecting on his youth he takes over mid of act 2 and is such an impressive warlord when the story tells of the Seven Years' War and a heartbreaking old man when he faces his own death singing about how he is spitting image of his hated father. I have never seen a weak performance from him since seeing him the first time and he is most stunning again in this show.
I really had wanted to see Tobias Bieri hearing so much great about him and his performance, but Lutz was just as good as I had pictured Tobias to be. He has a beautiful warm but also strong voice and gives the young Friedrich a lot of life without going too OTT and prim when the scene is one in which is highlighted how different he is to the ordinary man being interested in all kind of culture as music and philosophy. Just that his character wore one of the typical wigs back then annoyed me. Tobias, who has natural blond curls doesn't but I suppose since his hair looks like a wig there is no need. Though not wearing one would have made him stand out even more and already made him different just by looks. But I suppose that was a decision by the creative and not him.
Maximilian Mann as von Katte was lovely, also equipped with a beautiful voice though I must say his performance was sometimes a bit too slick for me lacking occasionally depth and emotions in his voice. His duet with the wonderful Elisabeth Hübert though was touching and inspiring.
Elisabeth Hübert gives a fetching whirlwind performance of the older sister Wilhelmine. Being a young rather innocent but still strong minded young woman was so convincingly played that it was fun to watch her. Too bad though she was given several scenes which are just not true. ;-)
Besides the fact that her seduction scene was totally unneeded it was played by her with so little appeal that you must wonder who choreographed this. But then maybe even if a decent choreography she would have failed as she just is not sexy. She cannot move decently, looking so stiff and rather uncomfortable (but considering the ridiculous lyrics she has to sing I would feel that way too), her voice is anything but erotic, this breathing might work on the Reeperbahn or in some cheap night video clip but on stage...
How any man would be turned on by that I do not know. It does not help that am not a fan of voice anyway. I never was when she was in Tarzan, she was one dull Jane and a lame Kala, she has a great technique but it is so unemotional but a weird breathing added as that is obviously their understanding of eroticism and in such a scene it just does not help.
Léon van Leeuwenberg as Voltaire certainly steals his show with his "Cabaret" emcee style number about life in the palace Sanssouci "Bienvenue In Sanssouci" though saying that it was "Cabaret" style that is the musical where this number, not only the actual song, but the way the number was performed and choreographed was clearly stolen from the opening of Cabaret. Still a great entertaining performance from Léon van Leeuwenberg.
I also enjoyed Petter Bjällö as August der Starke, yes maybe a tiny bit too camp but it kept me entertained and was well sung (I adore his voice) if the scene in his castle already was not adding much to the show.
Patricia Hodell as the mother was totally underutilised - what a waste of talent! Okay, she was, as Petter, also in the ensemble numbers, but considering that she was apparently so important to Friedrich as he mentions in the show when he faces death, how important she and his sister were to him, the role was not given that importance.
The father aka Heiko Stang on the other hand was given due to the story focus a lot of stage time. I liked him, a very nuanced and detailed performance, though am not sure about some of the actions told in the story how, even if fiction, realistic they are. But again it is the book that is to be blamed and not the actual performance.
The rest of the cast was also well chosen IMHO performing the ensemble numbers well showing off their talents as much as it is possible in some of the weakly choreographed numbers.
Certainly Christian Theodoridis as count of Seckendorff shines with his fantastic pointed Austrian accent but the not featured performers certainly carry the show too in their scenes.
Well, overall I am still, even more than two weeks later, torn. The life of Friedrich has some great moments that could be told and the musical picks some good ones to start with but the creatives made then some decisions I cannot understand. I do not regret that I went to see it due to the largely grand cast but thinking about what the cast could have been capable of if they had a better book that still disappoints me.
Apparently despite this run being a flop there are thoughts to bring the show back in 2014. I can only hope the creatives re-think a lot of act 1 and the focus of the show. If not I will definitely not return to the show.
Patricia Hodell as the mother was totally underutilised - what a waste of talent! Okay, she was, as Petter, also in the ensemble numbers, but considering that she was apparently so important to Friedrich as he mentions in the show when he faces death, how important she and his sister were to him, the role was not given that importance.
The father aka Heiko Stang on the other hand was given due to the story focus a lot of stage time. I liked him, a very nuanced and detailed performance, though am not sure about some of the actions told in the story how, even if fiction, realistic they are. But again it is the book that is to be blamed and not the actual performance.
Certainly Christian Theodoridis as count of Seckendorff shines with his fantastic pointed Austrian accent but the not featured performers certainly carry the show too in their scenes.
Well, overall I am still, even more than two weeks later, torn. The life of Friedrich has some great moments that could be told and the musical picks some good ones to start with but the creatives made then some decisions I cannot understand. I do not regret that I went to see it due to the largely grand cast but thinking about what the cast could have been capable of if they had a better book that still disappoints me.
Apparently despite this run being a flop there are thoughts to bring the show back in 2014. I can only hope the creatives re-think a lot of act 1 and the focus of the show. If not I will definitely not return to the show.
Some not too great impressions from curtain call:
