Jekyll & Hyde: A Broadway Show Comes to Amstetten

Richard Mansfield in the 1887 double roll

Last week, Jekyll and Hyde: the Musical came to the Pölz Halle in Amstetten. I bought my ticket from one of the students and, surprisingly, it was worth it.

Why "surprisingly'? Well, a town of 20,000 people is not likely to attract class acts - fewer people means fewer cultural interests, right? At least that's how it goes in America. And, I can vouch from personal experience (this year) that certain - certain! - shows that make it to Amstetten's theater (yes, just one!) are slap-dash and mediocre. But this production was actually quite professional, although utterly Austrian.

If you haven't already disregarded this post as the blathering of a theater snob (or worse, hack critic!), please, read on.

A German-language rendition of the Broadway musical with fabulous singing and choreography, the overall feel of he performance reminded me of so many creep "classics" I've been exposed to through learning German. The dark side of Austrian humor continues to fascinate me. I maintain that there is a distinct Alpine and central European penchant for death and the devil. Could it perhaps be a holdover from they days of the Holy Roman Empire? Visions that come to mind:

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Calighari (need I say more?)
2. Brecht's Threepenny Opera (I had the wonderful opportunity to also see this staged in Berlin in 2007)
3. Das Parfum (notably the scene at the end where a mob of homeless Parisians literally eats him alive)
4. Cabaret (really, just Joel Gray's version of the MC)

...and the list goes on! Much less the 1931 and 1941 (respectively) sugar striped versions with Frederic March, and/or Spencer Tracy. Lots and lots of sexual innuendo, partial nudity, and skin-tight costuming (which showed off the rest of what wasn't exposed - I felt like I was back in Amsterdam!*) but, hey, I wouldn't expect any less in the land of Freud.

My overall critique of the musical is a positive one. Fabulous singing, dancing, costumes, the works. The actors even got a standing ovation at the end. And I know it's not Vienna (where a standing ovation really counts for something) I'd like to think that Austrians in general are discriminating in their tastes, at least the ones who attend plays, musicals and operas.

Should this grace be extended to my students, who made up a large portion of the audience that night? Well, let's give them the benefit of the doubt if they've come to the theater at all.

NB: *Over the Semesterferien I went to Amsterdam with Jake. A rendition of these events (plus photos!) is to follow...at some point in the future when I have time to upload my pictures :)

A Christmas Carol - Vienna

Last Thursday, I went to Vienna with the students to see a version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the International Theatre. By "International," they mean English-language theater.


And, yeah, it was interesting. Enjoyable. The students seemed to like it - and actually get the jokes, etc., which is a good sign! It's hard to gauge how much of their refusal to talk in class is confusion over the English language and how much is refusal to talk because they are either a) embarrassed/unsure of their abilities or b) buyers-in to the too-cool-for-school mentality. Hey, teenagers will be teenagers.


We were 70 or so, and completely filled the theater. Elfriede told me that there were ten students who were supposed to come, but cancelled. They had to bring chairs in for us in fact, so who knows where those extra students would have sat?


The performance itself was good - inasmuch as it was well acted and basically faithful to the story I know and love. My biggest problem was with Scrooge - the guy was about four feet tall, and emaciated with a shriveled face...if he had been two feet taller, I think he would have been perfect.

I mean, I'm not a sizeist or anything. But, well, the Scrooge I grew up with was the Alastair Sim version - released as Scrooge in the UK but known to me by its original title - and I still consider it the best version of A Christmas Carol. He was only 5'10" but looked taller. And, of course, there are the mythical performances of Basil Rathbone (6'1"), Albert Finney (5'9") and, of course, Michael Caine (6'2").



This is a tribute to the fabulous Muppet Christmas Carol, of which I could similarly rhapsodize. I mean, really, it merges the best of two worlds: Muppets and Michael Caine. Oh, and it also parodies holiday sentimentality, but in a family friendly, musical way that is imperceptible to anyone under 12. And most over 12, if we wish to be mean about it. But, really, no one can top Gonzo the Great as Mr. Charles Dickens. Especially not the narrator in the cramped English theater in Vienna.


Afterward, we went to the Christkindlmarkt near the Rathaus (city hall). And, like all Christmas markets, there was food, and Glühwein and little trinkets to buy, homemade soaps, crafts, hats and mittens...other things people normally give for Christmas. 


Now, I'm getting a little jaded with these things, because they've been up for a whole month now, and I've been to no fewer than a dozen Christmas markets all around Austria and Poland - there are several in Vienna alone. The one near the Rathaus is the largest.


Christmas is getting closer and closer. And I'm getting ready to go home. I'm wondering how reentry will feel. The last time I was in Europe, I stayed on the continent for an entire calendar year - not going home for Christmas (obviously) - but I think going home is necessary right now. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. Which, oddly enough, didn't happen when I was in Berlin. I was too excited (?) to go home. There is none of that this time, and I wonder whether this is because I am older (and, presumably, wiser) and I've done the whole "Europe" thing...or if it's a creeping, unconscious form of homesickness. Or if there are other factors at play. Unless I go to a psychotherapy session, perhaps we'll never know...

Vienna, by Contrast

Wednesday I got into Vienna. Still pretty tired, but wanted to look around the city.

So, I went to my hostel from Westbahnhof and, after depositing most of the luggage I had with me (THANK GOD) in a locker, I wandered around until I found the bus stop to get to my hostel.

But, of course, still being out of it, I needed a cup of coffee to stay awake long enough to get to my hostel without falling asleep on the bus or something & finding myself across town with no purse. So, I stopped at an outdoor cafe that served breakfast and had 2 cups. I think I ordered a Verlaengerte (a.k.a. Americano, if you're in Starbucks) with milk on the side. I wasn't quite sure how to get across what I wanted, especially since the owner (who was waiting on me) was Italian. Now that I know better, I can safely say there are about 30 different types of coffee one can order in Vienna alone.   

As I sat down, I happened to notice this sign across from my table: 

A long-lost relative working as a tax handler in Vienna?? Or maybe Weller is just a popular last name around here...I was tickled, at least.

 Once I got to the hostel, I was let in by the owner who was cleaning the place. And it looks really nice! With little leather rugs and parquet floors. There are 2 rooms with 8 beds in each. I'm sleeping on the top level, and it looks so nice I want to just crawl into bed right then. But, I feel like I will need to wait until the guy finishes cleaning, so I figure I and wander around for a couple of hours and then come back and nap.










<--  View of street from the room







I make it out to Museumsplatz & wander around snapping photos. I notice that the Volkstheater has some Neil Simon play on tonight, (Roses Geheimnis) so maybe I can enjoy some culture while I'm in the big city. The ticket is 9 euro, so, why the hell not?

Here are some of the photos I took while wandering around:

Natural History Museum

Statue of Maria Theresia (Hapsburg empress & mother of Marie Antoinette)
 -->

<--  Memorial wall of Emperor Franz-Josef I (husband to infamously vain Empress-Consort Sissi)

Statue of St. Micheal in Michaelerplatz. There is one just like this in Paris in Place St. Michel. Now I wish I would have gone there to snap a photo while in Paris, just for comparison's sake.

More Michaelerplatz photos...

And, steps away, the Roman ruins of Vienna! I am such a sucker for Roman Ruins. This is what's left of some self-appointed provincial emperor's 2nd century underground central heating system:

And the remains of his garden privacy wall: 

Gotta keep those Barbarians out, you know.

And then I walked right into the Spanish Riding School stables! They allow tourists to come in during weekday afternoons. This is pretty awesome, as the school is one of the "finest examples of classical dressage" that exists in the world.

Also known as the world-famous Lippizaner  horses...purportedly the best-trained horses in the world! Emma Martinson, I hope this makes my blog worth following ;) I have a feeling if horses can't do it, nothing will.







And then I saw these two kissing (or whatever they're doing...maybe they're fighting) and got a picture! Well, maybe it is worrisome if they are kissing because the Lippizaner school only trains stallions...but perhaps we can think of it this way: Vienna is a very gay-friendly city, and this extends to it horse population.










This guy looked right at me! I had  to get a picture. Probably a little Casanova at heart.  -->

 After this, I walked back to the hostel and took an nice long nap before I went out to the theater. That didn't really help, though, because I ended up falling asleep through part (maybe most?) of the play. From what I gathered, this woman is a writer who is having writers block, and her husband or somebody dies, and then she sees his ghost or something. It was also a comedy, so I was kind of like, hey, I've seen Blithe Spirit. How different can it be from this one? Maybe when I'm better reseted, I can go back to Vienna and give the Volkstheater another chance.