Review: Vampyyrien tanssi
The cult musical Dance of the Vampires has conquered the world since 1997. Starting from the third of February, the Helsinki City Theatre’s Peacock Theatre will be able to take part in the musical’s charming, heartfelt humour and dark vampire romance in Finland.
Dance of the Vampires is based on the 1967 vampire parody film Fearless Vampire Killers, directed by Roman Polanski. Based on the film, Michael Kunze wrote the script for the musical and the lyrics of the songs. The flower of humour did not wither when the form of performance changed, as the musical has a twinkle in the corner of the eye. Jim Steinman, who was responsible for the composition, is widely known as a musician and producer. Dance of the Vampires is Steinman’s most successful musical composition. The musical, which premiered in Vienna, was directed by Polanski, who also directed the original film. In Finland, Dance of the Vampires premiered at the Seinäjoki City Theatre in 2011 and is now making a comeback as a performance at the Helsinki City Theatre.
Dance of the Vampires is a thoroughly composed musical, in which most of the dialogue is conducted by singing or at least speaking in sheet music. The story takes place in Transylvania, where Professor Ambrosius (Antti Timonen) has gone on a vampire hunt with his assistant Alfred (Petrus Kähkönen). After getting lost in a snowstorm, the two stay at the Jewish Chagal’s (Risto Kaskilahti) inn. At the heart of the story is the love story between Alfred and Chagal’s daughter Sarah (Raili Raitala). Problems in the relationship between the young people are created by an overprotective father and a sharp-toothed rival suitor, Count von Krolock (Mikko Vihma).
The plot of Dance of the Vampires resembles a typical vampire story with all its clichés, including garlic, stakes, and vampires sleeping in coffins. What makes it exceptionally captivating is its wry humour, which combines witty verbiage and situational comedy. A horror comedy combined with a melodramatic musical is a combination that has charmed the world with the help of Dance of the Vampires for almost two decades. Steinman’s compositions strike directly at the spine from the very first bars. Steinman has used compositions from his earlier, mainly lesser-known works in Dance of the Vampires, but Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart, which was originally translated into German for the musical as Totale Finsternis, has also been given a new lease of life. The Finnish lyrics work excellently, and the humour has not disappeared in the translation work, for which a big thank you to Marika Hakola, who was responsible for the Finnish translations.
The lighting and sound design are perfectly designed to support the story so that they are suitable for dark vampire romance as well as musical comedy. In particular, sound effects are used to emphasize the comedic aspects of the musical. The sets and costumes, on the other hand, strongly support the vampire-romantic aspect of the story. The journey back in time to historic Transylvania is palpable.
In the performances, all emotions are experienced, from the cheerful to the romantic and tragic. In particular, Kaskilahti in the roles of Chagal and Samuel Harjanne in the roles of the count’s son, Herbert, are the most comical characters in the musical, and their exploits can be laughed at with tears in your eyes at best. Vihma’s interpretation of Count von Krolock, on the other hand, even reaches the point of tragedy in his melancholy, which makes you wipe the corners of your eyes for a completely different reason. Vihma’s vocal performances cause cold shivers and soft knees, as the man’s voice seems to have been designed for the role of a seductive vampire count. The dance scenes in the musical are even comparable to rock ballet, and the dancing vampires tempt the audience to dance with them. As a whole, the musical, which is oozing with humour, romance and sexuality, is a captivating package that is guaranteed to return to again and again, in several languages.