We've had a very impressive musical theatre season in Finland this far. The National Opera brought a non-replica of The Phantom of the Opera to Helsinki, and while the directing is somewhat unimaginative and the Phantoms too opera-ish for my taste, the production is big and fancy and impressive. It's also completely sold out since the day before the premiere. The Municipal Theatre of Helsinki (or Helsinki City Theatre, as they seem to call themselves) spent the autumn season playing a non-replica of Billy Elliot, and did it very well, impressing even international BE enthusiasts. For those preferring their musicals more subtle, there's an gorgeous A Little Night Music playing in Tampere.
ETA: A photoshoot teaser!
My personal highlight will premiere on 3 February 2016, though. Tanz der Vampire had a superb non-replica production in Seinäjoki some years back, and now the musical returns to Finland in the form of a brand new non-replica, this time in the Helsinki City Theatre. The Finnish translation is excellent, the musical director / conductor likewise, and the creative team previously did the Billy Elliot that IMHO worked very well, so the production has all the chances to be top-notch. They're using the current European script, but the directing, the scenography etc. will be made for this production only. In the past few years I've grown rather bored with the played-to-death, Disney-like original version of Stage Entertainment, so a brand new non-replica, let alone here in Finland, is good news for me. The run will be short, so if you have in plans to visit the Finnish Vampires, you'd better do it before the end of April 2016.
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| An early promotional picture that may or may not have something to do with the final look. Probably they just wrapped the guy in a random cape to represent a vampire. Copyright: Mirka Kleemola |
Links and information:
Vampyyrien tanssi by Helsinki City Theatre (Helsingin kaupunginteatteri)
Venue: The Peacock Theatre, Tivolikuja 1, Helsinki
(at the edge of the Linnanmäki amusement park, next to the SeaLife aquarium)
Arrival eg. by tram #3, stop "Linnanmäki".
Helsinki Public Transport route map & timetable for tram #3 (in English)
The tram runs through the city centre, so if you're looking for a hotel, anything around the Central Railway Station (Rautatieasema) or the districts of Hakaniemi and Kallio is easily accessible.
X = The gate to the Linnanmäki area and the theatre. The gate opens 1 hour before showtime!
Performances: from February 3 to April 27, 2016 (previews Feb 1 & 2)
Tickets: Lippu.fi (in English)
Seating chart (as pdf)
Seating chart vocabulary:
right = oikea
left = vasen
centre = keskusta
side = sivu
extra seat = lisäpaikka
wheelchair seats = pyörätuolit
Cast:
Alfred - Petrus Kähkönen / Miiko Toiviainen
Abronsius - Antti Timonen / Tuukka Leppänen
Count von Krolock - Jonas Saari / Mikko Vihma
Sarah - Raili Raitala / Anna Victoria Eriksson
Chagal - Kari Mattila / Risto Kaskilahti
Rebecca -Vuokko Hovatta / Leenamari Unho
Magda - Sanna Majuri / Laura Alajääski
Koukol - Juha Jokela
Herbert - Samuel Harjanne (understudy Peter Pihlström)
Ensemble: Emilia Nyman, Kirsi Karlenius, Sofia Hilli, Tiina Peltonen, Inka Tiitinen, Kaisa Torkkel, Kai Lähdesmäki, Sampo Kerola, Ilkka Kokkonen, Unto Nuora, Hanna Mönkäre, Tuukka Raitala, Sami Paasila
No 1st/2nd cast, everyone plays with everyone. In the shows when the cast members aren't playing a specific role, they're in the ensemble. The theatre publishes the cast lists on their website in advance. (Note: They may be subject to change!)
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