Christian Ranke - Page 3

DOGFIGHT is a marvelous show. This intimate, carefully written musical had its Scandinavian Premiere on Monday night at Riksscenen in Oslo. It shows what musical theatre really can be in its truest form. You don't need huge scenery and big effects. It all depends on great material, strong performers and an inventive creative team. And this is indeed masterfully performed by a very strong ensemble.

It has been a long journey for director Renate Stridh in bringing this musical to Norway. On August 26 she will finally present the Scandinavian premiere of Dogfight at Riksscnenen in Oslo. BroadwayWorld caught up with her recently, and had a talk about the production.

It is very difficult to tag Johan Osuldsen under one banner. He started out as a dancer and performer, spanning over several decades. Later he became known as a choreographer and director and subsequently directed for television. He is also a composer as well as translator of several musicals (including Stephen Sondheim's 'Company', 'Into the Woods' and Jason Robert Brown's 'The Last Five Years).

This is my second review of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in two months, and while the prior was a staged production, this new one at Ullensaker Kulturhus, is a straight up concert. In my opinion it has always worked better as a concert. The Lord agrees with me - Lord Lloyd Webber, that is.

It is not easy to interpret what the deeper hidden meaning behind 'Lazarus.' On one hand it feels very much like a theatrical extravaganza, a piece that unfolds in dream logic composed of a series of tableaux of life's many questions, like existentiality, sex, love and death. While other may, understandably, view it as overly pretentious and, minus Bowie's music, not easily accessible.

Members of the male ensemble of the Norwegian production of THE BOOK OF MORMON has entertained the audiences at Bikuben on three ocations previously, taking inspiration from the Broadway tradition of performing show tunes meant for the opposite sex. While their final round of gender swapping ballistics was not as 'tight' as their last show in November, they yet again demonstrated that a great act does not need to be on the main stage to be captivating.

DOGFIGHT will open in Oslo in August. The 2012 musical, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul with a book by Peter Duchan is finally getting its Scandinavian premiere.

231 productions presented NEXT TO NORMAL last month at Koppang, Norway. Considering the fact most performers on that stage had next to no (!) experience doing musicals and this was their debut, I was floored. And what a debut it was. Great performances from everyone on stage, wonderful (full) orchestra and inventive direction!

The "blueprint" still works! Wallmans Oslo delivers entertainment in a big way, with a whopping stage show, big voices, tightly performed choreography, lavishing costumes and a huge amount of entertainment.

Charlotte Braenna played Lucille Frank in the Scandinavian Premiere production of Jason Robert Brown's PARADE, just out of school. She has since starred in many musicals such as Kathy Selden in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, Mother in BILLY ELLIOT and MARY POPPINS at Folketeatret. Recently she played Sandy in GREASE at Chateau Neuf. Currently she is playing Meg Giry in the premiere production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

Alle guide-boker forteller deg at hvis du planlegger en tur til New York City, bor det a se et Broadway-forestilling sta pa toppen av prioriteringslisten ... og de har rett. The Big Apple tilbyr en rekke museer, restauranter og steder a besoke, og likevel kan ingen av dem sammenlignes med den magien du finner Broadway. Hvis du har planer om a se et Broadway-forestilling pa din storbyferie (og det burde du ha), dette er din steg-for-steg veiledning om hvordan du far billetter til det showet som passer best for deg.

Musically Jesus Christ Superstar at Sarpsborg scene is a joy to witness. It works in all aspects with the performers, choir and musicians. Directorially it is more of a hit and miss, with both captivating sequences while others got a little lost in the huge crowd on stage.

What happened to the deaf and the disabled both before and during World War II? What atrocities and unimaginable acts of evil were committed? This is an extensive topic, and unknown to most people. Over the years, Teater Manu has acquired a large archive of documentary material, and has interviewed Holocaust survivors. Teater Manu also gather inspirations from the Holocaust Museums in Jerusalem, Oslo and Berlin. It will tour the US and CANADA March 7. - 24.

an homage to the likes of Broadway Backwards and Miscast, appropriately named (Wo)Man up. It has been such a big success they have already done it three incarnations at various dates. The show last November was packed to the rafters, so I would advice Det Norske Teatret to maybe consider doing the fourth outing on the main stage. I know at least I would have loved the final outing to go out with a bang!

The Broadway Mega-hit will open in Norway 2020 at Chateau Neuf. The musical has played on and off Broadway since 2006 and is still going strong.No cast are announced yet. It will be directed by Tore Sergei Myklebust and Choreographed by Kirsty McDonald. Hans Einar Apelland will serve as Musical Director.

The creative team has delivered a beautiful, inventive and masterful version of the classic 'The Wizard of Oz'. Visually it is pleasantly different to what we are used to, but it is very audibly familiar.

THE FULL MONTY as a whole delivers where it has too. Even though final product is a little uneven in places, it still does what it is supposed to do - taking the audience on an Intriguing journey of these characters lives.

On the Norwegian musical theatre scene he has originated roles such as Sky in Mamma Mia and Galileo in We Will Rock You, as well as playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, Karl Oskar in Kristina and Freddy in Chess. Currently he is playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera for which he recently won Best Actor in a Musical at the Regional BroadwayWorld Awards. The show also won Best Muscial.

On Friday January 25 on the Bikuben stage at Det Norske Teatret, headed by Belinda Braza, arranged its second 'speed date' with musical theatre composers, not well known to the Norwegian public.

Bikuben at Det Norske Teatret has proven to be the ideal arena for smaller cultural events of that would otherwise struggle to find a home in the commercially driven theatre scene. This new season started off last Friday with a sold-out small Sondheim-concert at the foyer stage of the theatre, in the spirit of 'Side By Side By Sondheim'