Review: Vampyyrien tanssi

To begin with, I have to say that I’ve been to see more of the plays, musicals haven’t gotten me excited for some reason – until I noticed Dance of the Vampires in the Helsinki City Theatre’s repertoire. And why? The story is already familiar from Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck (1967), which, like the play, also represents a horror comedy. A demanding sport, but if it succeeds, it is really enjoyable to watch – just like in this exemplary case.

Dance of the Vampires is an absolutely amazing musical! The beginning alone was insanely great: a Quasimodo-type rag playing the organ with devotion while the notes echoed powerfully all the way to the back of the hall. That was it!

Professor Abronsius (Antti Timonen/ Tuukka Leppänen) and Alfred (Petrus Kähkönen/ Miiko Toiviainen) have come to a remote area in search of vampires and on their way settle in an inn where Alfred falls in love with the owner’s sweet daughter Sarah (Raili Raitala/ Anna Victoria Eriksson). However, the vampire Count von Krolock (Jonas Saari/Mikko Vihma), who lives nearby, manages to entice Sarah and lure her with him. Professor Abronsius and Alfred follow the trail to the count’s castle.

The sets and actors’ costumes have been invested in with great care, down to the smallest detail, and everything has been miraculously managed to fit into the small space. Spectacular results, just pleasing to the eye. In this case, a different kind of eye candy is served by the charismatic Count von Krolock, played by Mikko Vihma (the Count in the film version, on the other hand, was not particularly pleasant), who would certainly have attracted quite a few female viewers from the audience. Even a handsome voice!

Another singer-wise talent is Raili Raitala, who captivates with her big, sweet eyes and flaming red hair, which immediately reminded me of Sarah, played by Sharon Tate in the film. Good solution. Unfortunately, you couldn’t always make out the lyrics from the sing-alongs, but you could make out the solo songs in general. The comedy side of the musical was mostly taken care of by the duo Professor Abronsius and Alfred. They seemed to play together really well. I just leaned back in the chair and enjoyed – and laughed.

I expected a lot from this beforehand in the midst of all the hype, but I wasn’t disappointed! So all the praise has not been in vain.