Beautiful to die for
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Beautiful to die for |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Marc Schubring (composition), Frank Hollmann (orchestration) |
| Book: | Wolfgang Adenberg |
| Lyrics: | Wolfgang Adenberg |
| Literary source: | Frederick Ponzlov (screenplay for the film Grave Whispers - Love Moves Coffins ) |
| Original direction: | Jörg Gade |
| Premiere: | February 23, 2013 |
| Place of premiere: | Theater for Lower Saxony in Hildesheim |
| Playing time: | around 150 minutes |
| Roles / people | |
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To die beautiful is a musical by Marc Schubring and Wolfgang Adenberg from 2013, which was performed for the first time on February 23, 2013 in the Theater für Niedersachsen in Hildesheim .
background
The musical is based on the film Grave Whisper - Love Moves Coffins from 2002. The implementation of the material by the two musical authors Marc Schubring and Wolfgang Adenberg took around 9 years.
In March 2013 the play was performed at the Theater am Aegi in Hanover , in October 2013 again in Hildesheim, in the Capitol in Offenbach and in February 2014 the musical was shown in the Brunsviga in Braunschweig , where it was performed by the “Musiktheater AG - now or never “of the IGS Franzsches Feld was listed.
action
Beautiful to die for tells the story of the undertaker Boris Plots from the fictional British village of Wrottin-Powys. It begins with the funeral of the old mayor, at which Boris reunites with his childhood sweetheart Betty Rhys-Jones. Event undertaker Frank Featherbed and his assistant Delbert have settled in the village and begin to compete with Boris with their newfangled ideas and to revolutionize the funeral business.
first act
First scene
In a small town in Wales, there is a funeral service for the recently deceased mayor. The funeral oration will be given by his successor, Hugh Rhys-Jones, while the mourners think about what will happen at their own funeral.
Second scene
Plotz and Miss Gwynnffrt are still in the chapel when Frank Featherbed and his assistant Delbert approach them to introduce themselves and their new funeral concept. Then Plotz talks to Miss Gwynnffrt, who is now looking for a new dance partner for the upcoming tournament after her loss. Plotz offers himself to her because he is a passionate dancer. However, the lady refuses this offer and leaves. Then Plots thinks about why he doesn't make friends himself and why everyone always steers clear of him. Especially since he can't forget Betty, his childhood sweetheart.
Third scene
Betty is the wife of Hugh, the future mayor, whose mother she has to look after. In addition, she is not treated very kindly by her husband. When Dilys, her mother-in-law, who she is constantly harassed and ordered around, dies unexpectedly on a serving of breakfast cereal, her life takes a turn.
Fourth scene
The undertaker Plotz is now commissioned to organize the funeral and the funeral service, so he and Betty meet for the first time in his office in 30 years. They both remember their school days when they had fallen for one another before fate separated them. In addition, in Frank Featherbed, Plotz suddenly got a competitor in the funeral sector.
Fifth scene
Featherbed and his assistant Delbert try to win over the community for his new concept of event burial. For this he would like to spice up the conventional funeral ritual with modern design. They are considering distributing funeral vouchers in the community.
Sixth to ninth scenes
Betty suddenly appears unannounced at Boris, who is dancing in the room lost in thought. They get closer and dance together.
Frank Featherbed receives his first funeral commission from Mr. Pryce.
The funeral of Dilis is held, her death now gives Boris the idea that Betty should fake her death so that the two can have a future together.
Dick is working in the mayor's garden when he comes home and is annoyed with the drunk. He then instructs Betty to release Dick, but Dick explains to her that in a certain way weeds would also produce a beautiful flower, which is why he does not pull them up.
Tenth scene
Hugh, who has been having an affair with his secretary Meredith for some time, plans to get at Betty's fortune. Since Hugh wants to become the new mayor and elections are imminent, a divorce for political reasons is out of the question, and he is financially dependent on his wife Betty. So Hugh and Meredith come up with a plan to get rid of Betty.
Eleventh and twelfth scenes
Frank Featherbed hosts his first funeral on site. Since the late Mrs. Pryce was a secret musical fan, he now arranges a ceremony in the style of the Phantom of the Opera .
Plotz tells Betty his plan that she should fake her death. The community doctor Dr. Owen is supposed to help them so that they can then leave for Tahiti.
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Scenes
Dick hangs up posters for the Spring Festival in town, doing very clumsily and some hanging upside down. Several people point this out to him. Hugh and Meredith also notice this festival. At the Spring Festival on the White Cliff they want to realize their plans and decide to poison Betty there.
The village festival is in full swing. So Betty falls down the steep cliff, apparently visible to all, before Meredith can administer the poison to her.
Second act
First scene
The residents of the village have gathered around Betty's body at the foot of the cliff. What Boris and Betty hadn't considered is that Frank is also interested in hosting the upcoming funeral. Therefore, the two undertakers at Hugh's must try to do this. Boris is ultimately awarded the contract.
Second scene
When Boris and Betty are now alone, they celebrate the success of their plan. But Featherbed has announced itself, so Plotz prepares the alleged body for burial. Frank is surprised that Betty looks so alive.
Third and fourth scenes
Hugh, who wished for the death of his wife because he had an extramarital relationship with his secretary, is initially not in the mood to surrender to Meredith that night. Only when she makes it clear to him that Betty would have wanted that, he gives in to her insistence.
Betty realizes that she has to leave her valley forever, so she goes out again the night before her funeral to say goodbye to it inwardly.
Fifth scene
On her tour, Betty meets the old gardener Dick, who is a drinker who no one takes for granted. Nevertheless, soon everyone believes that Betty is now a ghost in the place. Boris is struggling to dispel these rumors, which is made even more difficult by the fact that Hugh demands an open laying out.
Sixth to ninth scenes
At the funeral service, Betty now has to overhear that her husband had a lover and that they had even planned her killing. So she vows to take revenge on them.
Frank, who at the memorial service saw how alive Betty looked in the coffin, is now trying to get at the secret liquid that caused this and which Boris told him about. So he and his assistant break into Plotz's house and find a living Betty there. Finally, they come to terms with the couple and don't let them get exposed. In return, they receive a monopoly on future burials, as Boris and Betty plan to emigrate to Tahiti. They even help them get revenge on Hugh and his lover.
Tenth scene
Disguised as ghosts, they appear at the two of them at night. The vengeance has succeeded, Hugh and Meredith split up. In the end, Meredith goes to the convent as a nun, Hugh is left with a mountain of debt and Betty and Boris emigrate with Betty's fortune.
Songs
The CD for the piece was released under the Anything Goes Records label .
- How will it be with me? - Hugh and the mourners
- What's wrong with the people? - Boris
- When you think about it - Betty, Dilys, Hugh, Meredith
- What I want to tell you - Boris and Betty
- Beautiful to die for - Frank and Delbert
- When you dance - Boris and Betty
- You don't do that - Hugh and Meredith
- There is no return from death - Frank, Delbert and Ensemble
- Are you dead for now - Boris and Betty
- Dance the Gravedigger - Frank and Ensemble
- Wettbestatten - Frank, Boris and Hugh
- Alive like never before - Boris and Betty
- Do it for Betty - Hugh and Meredith
- The things you love - Betty
- Aaaaaaahhhhhhh !!!!!!! - Dick, Colin, Miss Gwynnffrt, Boris, Betty and Ensemble
- Open coffin confessions - Meredith, Hugh and Betty
- To the grave - Betty
- Witching Hour - Betty, Boris, Frank, Delbert, Meredith and Hugh
Reviews
Reviews of the Hildesheim performance
- “[…] The dance music is not only troublesome, it also brings a head full of melodies. The clear plot after plots and the many twists and turns make 'Beautiful to die' a lively experience that has now been embedded on CD and successfully preserved. A lot of fun for everyone who may only longingly experience one of the following productions. "
- “[...] Two and a half hours of fireworks with intelligent puns and lively original music. Burned down by Jörg Gade with a feeling for the adorable-bizarre characters, for timing and effects. A fun and intellectually demanding evening that is never embarrassing or disrespectful. [...] "
- “[...] Even if the subtitle is a little exaggerated, because it might not be enough for a 'musical for eternity', the piece by Marc Schubring and Wolfgang Adenberg showed so much joie de vivre that the premiere in Hildesheim was enthusiastically applauded. [...] "
- A recording of the Hildesheim performance was released on October 16, 2013 as a CD. “ To die for , the audience appeals with its black humor, a good dose of romance and the score by Marc Schubring, which is linked to the swing era. Even the listener, who could not see the performance at the Theater für Niedersachsen, can convince himself from the now available studio recording that a subject from the undertaker's milieu is also useful for an entertaining musical comedy. "
Reviews of the performance in Hanover
- “This simple story with all too clearly drawn characters would be little without the two clownish event undertakers Frank and Delbert. Jonas Hein and Tim Müller are the perfect entertainers who bring the 50s heaviness to life with black humor and clever puns. In their show performances with the whole ensemble, the production by director Jörg Gade and also the music are really in top form. The rhythms of samba, cha-cha-cha and tango and the tap and rock 'n' roll interludes inspire. "
Reviews of the Braunschweig performance
- “Indeed, director Kaja Brandenburger and Felix Goltermann, as musical directors, set the bar that the school ensemble has to cross very high. The two people in charge of production not only report this in a personal conversation, it can be observed above all at the premiere in the sold-out cultural center. The piece is mastered with flying colors after a nine-month trial period [...]. "
- “Students or professionals? You could hardly see the difference in the Brunsviga: There the musical group “now or never” of the IGS Franzsches Feld rushed through the premiere of the play “Zum Sterben schön” by Marc Schubring and Wolfgang Adenberg - in front of full ranks. [...] "
Web links
- To die for on musicalzentrale.de
- Dress rehearsal Hildesheim on youtube.com
- Press comments on Beautiful to die ( memento from February 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on tfn-online.de
- To die for on felix-bloch-erbe.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Solid comedy: “To die beautifully” in Hildesheim ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on thatsmusical.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ To die beautiful - A musical for eternity by Marc Schubring and Wolfgang Adenberg ( Memento from February 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on hannover-concerts.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ^ To die beautiful on October 16, 2013 in the Hildesheim City Theater at info-harz.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ Beautiful to die for. ( Memento from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF) on offenbach.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ Dance the gravedigger! on braunschweiger-zeitung.de, report from February 9, 2014; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ To die nice on bs-backstage.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d texts and artists (PDF) on adenberg.de
- ↑ To die nice on musicalzentrale.de; accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ^ Discography albums by Marc Schubring on hitparade.ch
- ↑ Beautiful to die for: A musical for eternity on jpc.de
- ↑ More beautiful than beautiful to die ( memento from February 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on musical-co.net, accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ Review: WP “Nice to die” at the TfN in Hildesheim. at felix-bloch-orben.de, accessed on February 12, 2016.
- ↑ From the lie to the grave . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine. February 25, 2013.
- ↑ To Die Already A Musical For Eternity. on cduniverse.com
- ↑ CD review: "Beautiful to die - a musical for eternity" on detlefsnotizblog.blogspot.de, accessed on February 11, 2014.
- ↑ "Beautiful to Die" - deliciously macabre musical . In: Neue Presse Hannover, March 19, 2013.
- ↑ Politically incorrect and instructive . In: Neue Braunschweiger from February 9, 2014.
- ↑ Dance the gravedigger! In: Braunschweiger Zeitung. February 10, 2014 (fee required).