Tina. De Tina Turner Musical. Beatrixtheater, Utrecht, vrijdag 8 oktober 2021

Het heeft bijna twee jaar geduurd, maar mijn vriendin heeft eindelijk haar verjaardagscadeau uit 2019 kunnen uitpakken. De programmering van de musical rond de muziek en het leven van Tina Turner heeft nogal wat ingrijpende veranderingen moeten ondergaan, zoals voor vrijwel iedereen het leven anders is gegaan dan mocht worden verwacht in november 2019. Na vele malen van uitstel zijn we dan eindelijk in het Beatrixtheater beland, Karen de fan die Tina Turner in Ahoy heeft gezien tijdens de 'Private Dancer' tour en ik de liefhebbende partner. We gaan het hebben over mijn indrukken, want dit is mijn blog.

Mijn herinneringen aan Tina Turner gaan terug naar 1969 toen 'River Deep, Mountain High' voor de tweede keer een hit werd in Nederland. Ik zal het beslist eerder ook al gehoord hebben, maar heb daar geen actieve herinneringen aan. Het nummer is zo ongelofelijk opzwepend, met Tina als glanzend middelpunt temidden van Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. De volgende is 'Proud Mary', die dampende, opzwepende en verpletterend goede cover van Creedence Clearwater Revival's goede maar o zo brave song. Nog een paar singles volgden, met 'Baby Get It On' als laatste hit van Ike en Tina Turner in Nederland, misschien ook wel twee keer. Ik ben even te lui om het op te zoeken. Ook dat is weer zo'n enorm opzwepend geval, die de chemie die er wel degelijk tussen de twee echtelieden muzikaal bestond echt laat zien. Want wat er verder ook heeft plaatsgevonden, en Tina laat dat in al zijn ellende zien, er is schitterende muziek gemaakt.

Toch ben ik nooit verder gaan zoeken dan die paar singles die mij bevielen. De jaren 80 Tina Turner was niet echt aan mij besteed. Ja, ik kan de meeste hits moeiteloos meezingen, maar ik vind ze niet echt interessant. Er is duidelijk sprake van kwaliteit, maar het is mijn muziek niet echt. (Dat is iets anders dan echt niet.)

De musical is prachtig gemaakt. Tina zit alleen op haar knieën voor een verlichte showtrap. Dat zal naar de stage in Rio, zijn dacht ik. Het moment van de absolute top in haar carriëre. Die soloscène verdwijnt en maakt plaats voor een armoedige kerk, waar haar vader predikant is. Het dorpje Nutbush, Tennessee, ja, van die andere Ike en Tina hit single. Met zevenmijlslaarzen gaan we door de jeugd van Tina heen, waarin iedereen haar verlaat, behalve haar oma, die haar liefdevol opvoedt. De verhuizing naar St. Louis, de kennismaking met de miskende en gefrustreerde en getraumatiseerde rock en roller Ike Turner en de transformatie tot Tina. Anna Mae Bullock is niet meer voor de buitenwereld. Nou ja, iedereen die iets weet van Tina Turner, heeft dit alles al eens gehoord, gelezen of gezien in de film, 'What's Love Got To Do With It', een belangrijk motto in de musical overigens. Ik ga het verder niet herhalen.

Er wordt fantastisch muziek gemaakt tussendoor, in allerlei stijlen. De band, die wij niet te zien krijgen, op het podium wordt enkel stoer geplaybackt, is enorm swingend en kan met alle stijlen moeiteloos uit de weg. De oude hits van Ike en Tina zijn allemaal in het Engels. Dat geldt niet voor de zoetsappige liedjes die het verhaal ondersteunen en precies waarom ik een hekel heb aan musicals. Nou, hekel, hekel, niets op heb met musicals en er niet naar toe ga. Het zijn niet meer dan fraai gestileerde smartlappen. En juist daar breekt het tweede deel van de musical mij op. Alle grote Tina solo hits zijn vertaald naar het Nederlands en dat is zo zonde. Sommige nummers passen "Tina" net iets minder en dat is te merken. In andere is ze niet van echt te onderscheiden. Het typische hum geluid tussendoor van Tina, als er echt uitgehaald mag worden, dan is Nyassa Alberta echt op haar best. Ik snap dat de vertalingen nodig zijn om het verhaal aan de gang te houden, maar het ondergraaft de kracht van sommige nummers in mijn oren.

Echt prachtig is het einde. De trapscène komt terug en is de apotheose en catharsis van Tina Turner in deze musical. Zij is de beste vrouwelijke artieste op Aarde op dat moment en haar populariteit net zo groot als de grote, blanke sterren die haar gesteund hebben door de jaren heen. David Bowie's duet 'Tonight' is echt als gast op gelijke hoogte, niet de ster die een plezier komt doen. Tina is 'Simply The Best', "better than all the rest". Decennia van hard werken betalen zich eindelijk uit. Met de juiste hulp van een paar mensen op het juiste moment, niet in het minst haar nieuwe manager Roger Davis en de liefde van Erwin Bach.

Door deze scène viel het nummer voor mij echt op zijn plaats in het leven van Tina Turner, hoe symbolisch het voor haar geweest moet zijn. En hoe waar, ook al is het mijn muziek niet echt.

De finale met de reprise van de grote hits is natuurlijk geweldig. Iedereen staat op de banken, inclusief ik. De band komt eindelijk naar voren en krijgt de spotlight op zich. Als musical is de avond helemaal geslaagd. En Mijn Lief? Zij heeft enorm genoten.

Een opvallende observatie tot slot. Er speelt een bijna volledige gekleurde cast voor een vrijwel volledig blank publiek, met een blanke band. Dat voelt op een bepaalde manier heel raar, terwijl ik besef dat Tina, in ieder geval in Europa, een blank publiek had. Sterker, met blanke teams werkte, voor daar waar het grote geld zit.

Wout de Natris

George Kooymans, Christopher Plummer

Friday 5 February was a warm day for a winter. A day spent in a voluntary lockdown, with an afternoon stroll as usual by now. A day with a curfew from 21.00 hours onwards. A day chatted on Zoom with my son who lives in Oslo because he can due to the closed university for who knows how long and a day that I found 'The Little Black Book' filled with Oasis songs, lyrics and chords in a mini library along the strolling route of choice.

Friday 5 February was also the day that I woke up with my girlfriend telling me that George Kooymans is extremely ill and is not able to perform ever again and the day that Christopher Plummer died. What has that got to do with each other? you may ask. Let me tell you.

Kooymans plays in Golden Earring, a band I got to know as Golden Earrings and scored many a hit when I was very young. The first one I can truly remember is the band's first #1 hit 'Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Ki-Dong', that single the band did not want to be remembered of not much later. There are not many bands that can afford to ignore their number one hit single later on in their careers. Golden Earring(s) could, even when it went acoustic in the 90s, reviving its career.

Christopher Plummer played captain Von Trapp in 'The Sound Of Music', the first movie I remember seeing. Not just me, my mother, my aunt and even my grandmother was there in Rotterdam in the Cineac. I guess I'm the only one alive who can tell about it, perhaps my younger brother was there also. If so he probably can't remember. I'm not certain when we saw it, what I do know is that I have the single 'My Favourite Things' / 'Edelweiss'. And who leads the latter into the singing, staging the beginning of the flight to Switzerland? Christopher Plummer, the man who hated frivolities in the movie. Plummer died, aged 91. 'The Sound Of Music' was one of my very first, intense, musical experiences. A story and songs that made a tremendous impression on a 6 or 7 year old.

George Kooymans turns 74 this year and can't perform / play guitar any more because of ALS. There's not to be a self-chosen goodbye after 59 years of being in the band that conquered the world, due to the Covid pandemic. In any other circumstances it might have been possible to do.

I have heard 'Radar Love' played in three continents, from a carnival in Spokane to a pub in Mudgee. Together with 'Venus' the song is everywhere. Kooymans wrote so many extremely great songs. The list of hits of Golden Earring(s) is near endless. Several of the songs are beyond memorable. They are exemplary. I never gave a lot about the band for its albums, exceptions noted, but as a singles band they were so good. Check out any greatest hits albums and you'll find out why.

Christopher Plummer, as an actor, of course is a musical footnote in my life, George Kooymans has been an integral part of my life since 1968. Truly a deep, deep thank you to all four Earrings for all those songs and performances.

It turns out that due to Covid I saw one of his last performances with Vreemde Kostgangers on 5 March 2020, days before the country closed itself, when jokes could be made from the stage about a lockdown, while I was already half watching people around me whether they were coughing. No one takes that experience away from me.

Wo.

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

De Domela Passie. Meindert Talma

Is de Domela Passie mooi? Dat is niet het woord dat ik zou gebruiken. Is De Domela Passie indrukwekkend? Dan is het antwoord direct ja.

Mijn idee is dat Talma dat effect wil bereiken met zijn 'requiem voor een anarchist', als ik het zo mag noemen. Dat is in ieder geval wel de indruk die ik overhoud van het tijdsbeeld van de man in de 19e en vroeg 20e eeuw dat Talma schetst.

Jarenlang fietste ik op weg van en naar huis langs de Domela Nieuwenhuisbrug. Maar heel weinig keren ben ik er overheen gefietst. Ik had zelden iets te zoeken aan de overzijde. Wie Domela Nieuwenhuis was, had ik maar een vaag beeld van. Een politicus van rond 1900, een socialist, maar dat was het wel. En dat hij Ferdinand van voren heette. Verder was hij toch een vrijwel vergeten persoon. Net wat minder bekend dan Jelle Troelstra en Abraham Kuyper, die vaker hun weg in berichtgeving vonden toen ik jonger was. Toch moet Domela Nieuwenhuis bekend genoeg geweest zijn om zo rond 1980 schat ik een brug naar hem vernoemd te hebben gekregen.

Aan al mijn onwetendheid maakt Meindert Talma een eind. Niet dat ik nu voldoende weet. Als ik meer wil weten, moet ik toch nog echt zelf aan de slag. Mijn indruk is wel dat Talma een biografie op muziek heeft gezet. Dit kan zo een musical worden als hij de ambitie heeft. Het is zeker weer eens iets anders dan 'Tarzan' of 'The Lion King'. 'Soldaat Van Oranje' komt qua verhaal het dichtst in de buurt.

Het komt hoogst zelden voor dat een nummer dat zo aarzelend begint, zo schurend ook, zich ontpopt tot een prachtig nummer. Toch is dit hoe De Domela Passie opent. 'De Vreeze Des Heeren' zit er zo goed in dat Talma het bijna niet durft de zingen. Het warme orgel, het prachtige koortje, de zacht zingende viool maken van de vreeze een warme deken die om je heen geslagen wordt en overal tegen beschermt.

Een predikant uit een predikantenfamilie die langzaam van zijn institutionele geloof valt, maar Jezus zelf nooit uit zijn leven heeft laten gaan. "Ik wilde doen en zijn als hem". Het verhaal, de passie, volgt het tragische persoonlijk leven. Drie Johanna's stierven jong, de vierde werd hem wel vergund zijn verdere leven met hem te delen. Vier Johanna's?! Ja, vier. Vijf kinderen stierven jong. De 19e eeuwse realiteit voor veel mensen, verenigd in een lied. Wat zegt dit over de zegeningen die wij anno 2019 hebben ontvangen en zo gewoon vinden dat er door sommigen aan getwijfeld wordt. Wat Domela overkwam, was in de 19e eeuw tot een eind in de 20e heel gewoon. Gezondheid komt niet altijd vanzelf.

Het verhaal volgt ook hoe Domela zijn ambt verlaat en de socialistische zaak gaat dienen, ook in de Kamer als eenzaam en genegeerd Kamerlid. Strijdend voor het proletariaat, dus een enorme bedreiging voor de vijf 'K's': Kerk, Koning, Kapitaal, Kazerne en Kroeg, want "vrijheid voor allen" is het einddoel. Dat was ook niet gewoon in de 19e eeuw. Twee jaar eenzame opsluiting werd zijn deel als journalist die zijn bron beschermt, zoals dat in 2019 heet. Als iets heel sterk naar voren komt in dit verhaal, is het hoe controversieel de man was in zijn tijd. Hoe hij zowel aanbeden als verguisd en gehaat werd.

Soms is in De Domela Passie de muziek ondergeschikt gemaakt aan de boodschap, zoals bijna onvermijdelijk is. Dat neemt niet weg dat het album als geheel een triomf is. Talma, zelf afkomstig uit het platteland van Friesland waar Domela Nieuwenhuis als een verlosser werd vereerd, heeft het jaar 2019, de honderdste sterfdag van Domela, aangegrepen om deze passie te schrijven. Met zijn onvaste stem leidt hij band en koor tot grootse hoogten. Meer gestructureerd dan De Kift te werk gaat, maar als ik dan moet vergelijken ten bate van herkenbaarheid, dan is dat de band waar ik op uit kom, gecombineerd met het inlevingsvermogen van Broeder Dieleman. De Domela Passie is een weergaloze prestatie die het verdient in zijn geheel ondergaan te worden. Al is het maar om de mensen van 2019 een spiegel voor te houden dat onze verworvenheden en vrijheid geen gegeven zijn maar iets dat is verkregen door de inzet en opofferingen van mensen die nu vrijwel vergeten zijn en als we niet uitkijken ook zo maar afgenomen kunnen worden. Alleen zo kijken en luisteren maakt wel dat de innerlijke kracht en uiterlijke pracht van De Domela Passie aan je voorbij gaan. Oren goed open zetten tijdens het opnemen van belangrijke boodschappen dus.

Wo.

Je kunt de Domela Passie hier bestellen:

https://shop.excelsior-recordings.com/products/meindert-talma-de-domela-passie


of luister naar onze Spotify Playlist en ontdek waar we over schrijven:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Lazarus, Wednesday 6 November 2019, De La Mar Amsterdam

Photo: Wo.

Not long before David Bowie's demise his musical Lazarus premiered on Broadway directed by Belgian born, Dutch resident Ivo van Hove. The musical received loads of attention as things Bowie tended to receive through the past decades. New York is far away, so it never crossed my mind to go and look at the musical. Now that it has premiered in Amsterdam, it was an excellent if belated birthday present from My Love.

For readers of this blog it is no surprise that I have been a fan of David Bowie for most of my life. Starting with 'Space Oddity' in 1969 as a kid, to the hits of the mid 70s and first shows I ever went to. Bowie was the first that counted. Although I may not play his albums regularly any more, any time my ears pick up a Bowie song my brain makes a small leap of pleasant recognition. Bowie's music is still fairly omnipresent. It simply comes by regularly. Lazarus thus is a trip down memory lane, but not for 100% as I did not really care for most of Bowie's output until 'Blackstar' since 1985.

I will not give too much away of the show as there are too many visual surprises that you have to undergo if you haven't seen the show and all others have seen them. Those not intending to go? Tough luck.

Circa 10 minutes before the start of the show a man in luxury pyjama's walks on stage and lies down, sleeping. I wondered what would happen when at the umpteenth show he would. Neglected by everyone in the audience he just lies there. It is the star of the show, the Thomas Newton character. Now this is relevant information. If I had not read the November 'Oor' I would not have a clue what this play was about. So here it goes.

Bowie played in a movie in the mid 70s, 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', about an alien on earth, who can't return to his own planet. I remember having seen the movie, at some point, long ago. I did not like it, did not really understand it, I think and it did not interest me as a teenager. The end of the movie is not the starting point of Lazarus, but something like 40 years later, when Newton is lonely, depressed, alcoholic, delusional and who knows what more and a rich man living in a luxurious New York apartment.

The play starts with Ricky Nelson's 'Hello Mary Lou' playing softly in the background. My very first single at an extremely young age and the first song my son heard on earth right after being born as it played on the radio a nurse switched on in the hospital. Weird coincidences are a part of life. "Mary Lou" is the ex-wife or girlfriend of Newton and plays a large role in the musical, but is never present live. On screen she is though. An interesting use of media.

From there a multimedia show starts full of excellent surprises making full use of modern techniques that astonish. The story itself is weird but easy to follow with the pointers to the film in mind. But like in many musicals, the text is the excuse to get to the next song.

Photo: Wo.

The cast? Excellent, there's no other word for it. Totally convincing. Yes, of course in the first song, 'Lazarus', I missed Bowie's voice, the two leading ladies have a musical style of singing, that is distinctly different from rock music, but I forgot it all. The band played great. Together they made me forget David Bowie. From a fantastic version of 'It's No Game', always one of my favourites, there was no looking back. In fact hearing some of these beautiful songs being sung by women gave a whole new perspective to them. The absolutely beautiful 'Absolute Beginners' stood out for me, just like 'Life On Mars' and 'Changes'. The surprise however was the Blackstarised 'Heroes'. This version is absolutely fantastic. The visuals during the song on stage are just as amazing. So basic, just a puddle of white stuff spreading ever so slowly, is enough to create a great effect.

During the show someone became unwell. The show was stopped. Before the show I saw someone barely able to get up from where he was sitting and having to stop at the stairs not able to continue. I thought literally I hope you make it upstairs. Whatever happened, I hope you fully recover, whoever you are. The compliments go to the theatre and cast for handling this situation very professionally. The show was wound back, visuals and all a few sentences and continued. I saw the 'Valentine' character literally hurtling himself back into the concentration needed to play the show. Well done. This is the reason I want to mention the incident. The reason is tragic of course. Great part by the way, this 'Valentine'.

As a final comment - yes, I get to write about 'Joker' on a music blog. In Lazarus as in 'Joker' I was wondering the whole time: 'What is it I'm seeing?' Is it real or imagined'? Fascinating isn't it when the two can just flow into each other and it is for us viewers to decide what was real and what not, in a situation that is not real from the beginning.

Photo: Wo.

Lazarus? Great show, but only for Bowie fans. Well, unless you like everything around the music as well as there is a lot to enjoy, says My Love, who was not a Bowie fan, until 'Blackstar' and had a great evening.

The salute at the end is very much intended. A farewell from the master himself. With Blackstar, truly one of his best albums, the museum, the musical, David Bowie has orchestrated his own farewell into the finest detail. Just like the museum exhibition showed how he orchestrated the finest details of his career from the very beginning (and saved it all!?). Lazarus is a truly great salute from the master to his audience and fans. His legacy lives far longer for sure because of it.

Wo.

Information on Lazarus here:

https://delamar.nl/voorstellingen/lazarus/


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Saxofoon verhalen/Saxophone stories. Lazarus and Donny McCaslin live

Foto: Tineke G.

Dit verhaal kwam binnen in twee talen: Nederlands en Engels. In die volgorde plaatsen we het ook.

This story came in in two languages: Dutch and English. In that order you can find it here.

Deel 1

Het verhaal begint bij de zwanenzang van David Bowie: Blackstar. Naar later bleek was Bowie al enkele jaren ernstig ziek en wilde nog een paar wensen vervuld zien: een musical en een plaat met jazzmuziek. In 2015 werkte hij aan beide projecten. Na allerlei concepten als Diamond Dogs Tour, Serious Moonlight Tour, Glass Spider Tour met een mix van muziek en theater ontstond Lazarus. Precies een jaar geleden woonde ik een voorstelling bij in Londen met een aantal acteurs uit de oorspronkelijke New Yorkse uitvoering. Een show, met zijn hits en gebaseerd op zijn eerste hoofdrol in een film: The man who fell to earth.

Het verhaal gaat over de pogingen van deze man terug naar zijn planeet te gaan. Voor mij de manier om een laatste eerbetoon te brengen aan een groot artiest in combinatie met een bezoek aan veilinghuis Sotheby’s waar een groot deel van Bowie’s kunstbezit zou worden geveild. Samen met de grote tentoonstelling David Bowie Is, die nog steeds de wereld rond reist, allemaal signalen dat Bowie nog één keer vooruitkeek maar wel met een terugblik. Hij had het goed gezien, de hele wereld wil het allemaal zien en horen. Voor hem had het urgentie, maar wij zagen dat toen nog niet.

Op dus naar Londen voor een voorstelling in een speciaal opgebouwd theater met de verwarming op 23 graden Celsius en te weinig oplopende rijen stoelen. Het podium kon ik dus niet goed zien terwijl de artiesten nogal eens zittend of liggend acteerden. Het verhaal kon ik de tweede keer beter volgen dan de eerste keer, maar het lijkt me wat los zand om van hit naar hit te hoppen en uiteindelijk toch met de raket terug te keren. Er was te weinig tijd. De voorstelling eindigde met een groot portret van Bowie en een staande ovatie. Vooral voor hem. Ik was dus niet geheel positief, maar de songs werden goed uitgevoerd en het voelde goed erbij te zijn. Behalve die hits, waren er ook de 4 laatst opgenomen nummers waaronder Lazarus. Nu kan het haast geen toeval zijn dat Bowie als de mooiste muziek de 4 letzten Lieder van Richard Strauss noemt, maar dat terzijde. Al met al een gedenkwaardige voorstelling die wellicht nog een voortzetting gaat krijgen in Nederland.

Deel 2

Photo: Tineke G.

Bij de live band van Lazarus was er nadrukkelijk een saxofoon aanwezig, het instrument waar Bowie sinds zijn 14^e op getoeterd heeft. Bij elk concert kwam die sax uit zijn doos wat door veel fans werd verfoeid. Voor Blackstar had hij iemand uitgekozen die dat veel beter kan en dat is Donny McCaslin. Een integere muzikant die niet wist dat zijn opdrachtgever ziek was en die ook zijn muziek nauwelijks kende. De Blackstar musici waren dan ook met stomheid geslagen en ontzet door het overlijden van Bowie. Dezelfde mannen waren in 2016 te zien en te horen op North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam. Nu zijn ze afzonderlijk op tournee door Europa met verscheidene sessiemuzikanten.

Zo stond Donny McCaslin tot mijn verbazing op vrijdag 3 november in LantaarnVenster te Rotterdam voor 20 euro in een zaal voor 500 bezoekers. Hoewel ik nooit naar jazz luister omdat ik er slecht tegen kan, kocht ik direct een kaart. Ik werd niet teleurgesteld.

Het eerste nummer werd aangekondigd als nieuw en had nog geen titel maar wel een sound. Met een drummer, een bassist en Jason Lindner van de Blackstar band op keyboards werd er een stevige sound neergezet. Ik vond het mooi en ik genoot ervan naar de drummer te kijken die als het ware heel creatief maar wat raak sloeg met zijn stokjes of is dat juist jazz? Natuurlijk kregen we Blackstar te horen, van een remarkable person, zoals Donny zei. Er werd ook een nummer gewijd aan de man waarvoor we ons al een jaar schamen in Amerika. Het heette Beast en eindigde in een saxuele schreeuwpartij. Plotseling kwam er een vocalist tevoorschijn die zo bij Sparks had kunnen invallen als de toetsenist zou uitvallen. Hij paste er uitstekend bij en kon alle kanten op met zijn vocalen terwijl hij verschrikt of niet op zijn gemak rondkeek. Bowie’s Small plot of land bracht hij er ook uitstekend vanaf. Na anderhalf uur en een langdurige erg diepe buiging van McCaslin kwam de band terug met Tempest als toegift. Toen was het over en verdween iedereen achter het toneel. Direct daarna stond Donny weer bij het publiek met een doos CD’s en klaar voor een praatje. Het bleek een hele bescheiden, aardige, zeg maar lieve man. Het volgende optreden vindt plaats in Antwerpen, daarna nog wat meer bestemmingen en dan volgt Groningen. Gaat het zien!

Deel 3

Vrijdag 17 november 2017 staat Blackstar drummer Mark Guiliana in dezelfde zaal voor dezelfde prijs. Ik ben van de partij. Ik ben benieuwd en ook hiernaar: op zijn recente CD Jersey State staat een track met de titel: “The mayor of Rotterdam”. Daar wil ik meer van weten.

Wordt vervolgd.

Foto: Tineke G.

Part 1

The story begins with David Bowie’s swan song: Blackstar. As turned out after his death David Bowie had been seriously ill for some years and wanted to see a few more wishes fulfilled: a musical and a record with jazz music. In 2015, he worked on both projects. After all sorts of concepts such as the Diamond Dogs Tour, Serious Moonlight Tour and Glass Spider Tour with a mixture of music and theatre, we got Lazarus. Exactly one year ago I attended a show in London with a number of actors from the original New York cast. A show, with big hits and based on his first starring role in a film: The man who fell to earth.

The story is about the attempts by this man to go back to his planet. For me the best way to a final tribute to a great artist in combination with a visit to Sotheby's where much of Bowie's art collection would be auctioned. Along with the great exhibition David Bowie Is, that still travels around the world, all these were signs that Bowie once more was looking forward while looking back. He was right again, the whole world wants to see and hear it all. For him it was urgent to share his past, but we didn’t see that at the time.

On so to London for a performance in a specially built theatre King’s Cross with the heating on 23 degrees Celsius and rows of seats that were ascending too little. Because of this I could not see the stage well as the artists were often sitting or lying down. The story I was able to follow better the second time than the first time, but it seemed to me like conversations to get from one hit to another and a final return by rocket. There wasn't enough time, it seemed. The performance ended with a great portrait of Bowie and a standing ovation. Especially for him. I was not entirely positive, but the songs were done well and it felt good being there. Apart from all those hits, the last four recorded songs including Lazarus were performed as well. It may be no coincidence that Bowie once mentioned the most beautiful music he ever heard are the 4 letzten Lieder by Richard Strauss, but that aside. All in all, a memorable performance that may get a continuation in The Netherlands.

Photo: Tineke G.

Part 2
The musical Lazarus had a live band with of course a saxophone, the instrument that Bowie had played since he was 14. Every concert that sax came out of its box, something that was detested by many fans. For Blackstar Bowie had chosen someone who could play it much better and that is Donny McCaslin. A true musician who did not know that his employer was ill and whose music he barely knew. The Blackstar musicians were stunned and horrified by the death of Bowie. The same men performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam in 2016. Now they tour Europe separately with various session musicians.

To my surprise Donny McCaslin was going to perform in Lantaarn Venster in Rotterdam for 20 euros in a hall for 500 visitors on Friday 3 November. Although I never listen to jazz because I can’t stand it I bought a ticket immediately. I was not disappointed.

The first song was announced as new and still had no title but what a sound. With a drummer, a bass player and Jason Lindner of the Blackstar band on keyboards, a solid, wonderful sound. I thought it was great and I also enjoyed watching the drummer who was very creatively using his sticks or is that jazz? Of course we got to hear Blackstar, written by a remarkable person, as Donny said. A next song was dedicated to the man that makes America feel ashamed since last year. It was called Beast and ended up in saxual shouting. Suddenly there was a vocalist who could be a good substitute for the Sparks keyboardist. He fit in excellently and could use his voice in all directions while looking deranged or uncomfortable. He sang Bowie's Small plot of land very well. After one and a half hours and a long-lasting very deep bow of McCaslin, the band came back with Tempest as an encore. Then it was over and everyone disappeared behind the stage. Suddenly Donny was standing in front of the audience with a box of CDs and ready for a chat. He turned out to be a very humble, nice, let’s say sweet man. The next gig will take place in Antwerp, then some more destinations and then Groningen. Go see it!

Foto: Tineke G.

Part 3
Friday 17 November 2017 Blackstar drummer Mark Guiliana will perform in the same venue for the same price. I'll be there. I'm curious and there’s something else: on his recent CD Jersey State there is a track with the title: "The mayor of Rotterdam". I would like to know why.

To be continued.

Tineke G.

Kairos September 2017 on Concertzender by .No

It's that day of the month again that Wo. sits down and listens to the radio show of .No called Kairos on Concertzender. Through the years something has changed as more and more artists who made it to the pages of this Blog find their way to the show. Songs that fit really well in the concept, while Wo. is exposed to music that he would never have heard in his life, make their way to his ears. Sometimes he even truly likes them. So what has .No put on his playlist this month?

Too often people seem to die in .No's circle of friends, teachers and acquaintances. Again the show is dedicated to someone, unfamiliar to me, who crossed that mysterious border that awaits us all. The show starts with a befitting piece of music, the 'Intro' to that beautiful album 'Another Place' by Amsterdam band Maggie Brown. A song that makes the listener cross the border into the album, one of my favourites of 2017 and the 10s.

'Intro' is very short and soon an acoustic guitar takes over. Again Bruce Cockburn comes by. The song is more traditional than Maggie Brown's. Moodwise the selection works well. In this English folkstyle song called 'Life's Mistress' the Canadian tells a story of watching things from the outside in and how the lady is one with nature. The guitar is intricately plucked, playing different melodies on the bass and higher notes. This man can play.

A famous song is up next, but in a estranging version. A sound like Indonesian gamalans play the melody, Sidsel Endresen sings 'The Lady Is A Tramp'. The song by Rodgers and Hart from the 1937 musical 'Babes In Arms', made famous by Frank Sinatra. In this version the vocal melody totally remains in its strength, meets and then joins another culture. Endresen together with Bugge Wesseltoft created something truly new from something now 80 years old. Whether I like it is another question, but the same goes for the musical version and Sinatra's. I can hear how good he sings, but it is from another generation, so close to alien to my ears. It makes me understand my own musical generation gap, rap, house, trance, etc., better and appreciate the taste of youths in the 10s for what it is: their music. Although several of them truly appreciate the bands and songs that I like best.

The gamalan is slowly replaced by a piano that could have been a Sinatra accompanying piano, but is not. It is Brian Eno from one of his more famous titles, that I never listened to until now, 'Ambient 1. Music For Airports'. And indeed the air travellers in the 70s and 80s may still in general have liked Sinatra style music. I'm in for an initiation of Eno's ambient music, I see. Over 16 minutes. So I'm closing my eyes and listen. Sinatra leaves the song and is replaced by a repetitive piano motives, with ambient sounds and tape hiss and estranging notes that are thrown into the whole. The version of 'The Lady Is A Tramp' worked well with this composition as a fine introduction I notice. The music has a calming effect on me, if not drowsing me, making me feel sleepy, but also a bit sad. Nothing seems to be going on any more. As if the world has stopped turning, aeroplanes stopped flying and airports only catch cosmic waves, particles and debris, that are translated into music for airports. With no people there to listen. And yes, that makes me feel sad. Impressive? Yes. Too long? Yes, also, but only about three minutes.

Maurice Duruflé's In Paradisum (from Requiem Op.9)' by The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford disturbs the ambient music, probably a whole LP side, with angelic singing and some music hidden somewhere deep in the mix, a small church organ. The singing is a relief after the repetitive ambient, close to minimal music of Eno. Slowly the subdued emotions rise and deeper voices join the childrens'.

The piano chord that follows is flawlessly placed. Once again Low Roar comes by. This time with the song '13' from its album 'Once In A Long, Long While'. A piano plays sole, sparse notes accentuated by a chord. Is it my imagination or do I hear the choir mixed in here and there, deep in the background?

In general I notice again how deep .No has moved into piano driven music. Where I remain a guitar guy, I tend to listen to a lot of piano once a month. Which makes for a nice change.

Jonas Munk & Jason Kolb also return to Kairos. For a snippet of their music called 'Odessa'. No famous stairs here, no pram rolling of them either. Just a windswept place created by electronic sounds, over before I know it, with another slow playing piano moving in.

This is Jeroen Elfferich's 'Snowflakes'. The piano tickles like slow falling snowflakes can do, those first small flakes that drift through the air, solitary, having no impact apart from how beautiful it looks. Sometimes just before real snow starts falling, covering everything and muffling sounds and the world. Elfferich's music is like that first flakes. Slowly gathering momentum with a second melody. I have the impression that I'm hearing more than two hands at work, so is this a work for two pianists? It seems very much like it. And then it stops. And starts again, the last flakes are falling down. No, they are not, we get some more.

Martin Pals returns too. The folk tune is sung by Rosan Vloedgraven. The playing by Pals. The singing is in a way like Jerney Kaagman did in the first and best incarnation of Earth & Fire, the music spans several centuries. Sort of confusing, yes, but also an exercise that shows that the (prog)rockers of the early 70s had their influences in traditional folk. All evolves, returns and evolves again.

From here the music changed so fast that I lost count and had to start listening again, forcing me to revise my storyline completely.

By now another veteran of Kairos and this Blog is House of cosy Cushions. The guitar composition is something I truly like. Some sounds come in, a treated voice emulating a horn of some sort. It's over very fast, but yes, I like this.

Then Bhava comes back. I think for the third time in a row I'm hearing something of the album on Kairos that makes me wonder why I liked the album by The World of Dust so much? Where are the songs, .No? Give them to us. They are so good! This jazzy outing is made to sound like it comes to us from another century, as if one of the earliest recordings. .No gives us only a minute, so have no way of knowing whether this is it or that there is more, preventing me from getting the point The World of Dust wants to make here, as I am not getting it now.

In moves a piano and a violin. Minco Eggerman returns with his Georgian album 'Kavkasia', a song called 'The Other Side Of Dawn'. The violin is as disruptive as the Greek players on the Chris & Carla album recorded in Thessaloniki, where they played The Walkabouts together with the Greeks. I am talking about the solo violin here and not the string section that sounds like a movie soundtrack where lovers see the sun go down together. In the background the guitar goes on without hesitation as does the sole piano.

And where does This Leo Sunrise start? Can I catch it the second time? Am I crazy or is .No's playlist fooling me. As the guitar and piano finally disappear, I can only suppose that the two scratching violins belong to 'The Gardener Path'. When things go quiet, singing starts and I recognise the song. English folk is, again, the basis of this song. Folk mixed with ambience. I think I have found this month's overarching theme here. Slowly the song expands, but remains calm and tranquil. The faint estranging effects in the background give 'The Gardener Path' something scary as if more could happen here than just listening to a song. Well done, This Leo Sunrise.

Church bells mixes with the violin. More sacred music. Not coincidentally from an album with that title. Men's voices of Theater of Voices sing solemnly something composed by an anonymous. Disappeared in time. That there is hope for any anonymous was proven last week by research on Medieval manuscripts that over 200 years after their discovery are attributed to a clerk of a Dutch baron. So be patient anonymous composer of 'Resonemus Hoc Natali'. Who knows what lies in store for you.

We move on to a cheap piano (I'm not buying it, but o.k.). Dustin O’Halloran & Adam Bryanbaum Wiltze composed a minuet for a cheap piano, with some electronics behind it to hide the cheapness? The piano playing, once again, is sparse. The electronics are just as sparse. The piano sounds rather flat, so it might be cheap after all. But why would one want to compose a minuet for a cheap piano? It is beyond me.

A piano starts the last song. We are back at the beginning of the show with Maggie Brown. It's album ends with the song 'Hummingbird', the song that Marcel Hulst commented on that the band couldn't find the right guitar intro to and settled for a piano instead. 'Hummingbird is a beautiful song that ends the album 'Another Place' and this Kairos. For you, listener and reader, I hope that .No will return to the album and let's you join in the pleasure of listening to the purest of pop songs 'Hail To The Rain' or the title song. If not, go to Maggie Brown's Bandcamp page and buy the album there. In 2017 there will not be many better albums, says,

Wo.

You can listen to this month's Kairos here:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_411751/

Playlist:


00:07 Maggie Brown. Intro. Album ‘Another Place’. Private label.
00:48 Bruce Cockburn. Life’s mistress. Album ‘High Winds White Sky’. True North Records TN 3.
03:59 Rodgers/Hart. The lady is a tramp Sidsel Endresen & Bugge Wesseltoft. Album ‘Nightsong’. ACT (4) ‎– ACT 9004-2
09:20 Brian Eno. Music for Airports 1/1. Album ‘Ambient 1. Music for Airports’. EMI 50999 6 84523 2 2.
25:42 Maurice Duruflé. In Paradisum (from Reqiuem Op. 9). The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. Dir. Bill Ives. Album ‘Sacred Music’. Harmonia Mundi HMX 2908304.33.
27:15 Ryan Karazija. 13. Low Roar. Album ‘Once in a long, long while’. Nevado Records 823674059620.
31:52 Jonas Munk & Jason Kolb. Odessa. Billow Observatory (Jonas Munk, elektronics, Jason Kolb, guitar & elektronics). Album ‚Billow Observatory‘. Felte 003.
33:10 Jeroen Elfferich. Snowflakes. Album ‘Zero’. Private label.
38:35 Martin Pals. When comes that sleep Rosan. Monad (Rosan Vloedgraven, Martin Pals). Private recording.
40:06 Richard Bolhuis / House of Cosy Cushions. Outcast Cats. Album ‘Haunt me Sweetly’. Outcast Cats records CAT 0C01.
42:08 Stefan Breuer. Cumulus. Bhava. Album ‘The World Of Dust’. Snowstar Records/Tiny Room Records.
43:28 Minco Eggersman. The other side of dawn. Album ‘Kavkasia’. Volkoren 73.
45:45 This Leo Sunrise. The gardener path. Album ‘Spoken’. Tiny Room Records TR008.
50:51 Anonymus. Resonemus Hoc Natali. Theatre of voices. Dir. Paul Hillier. Album ‘Sacred Music’. Harmonia Mundi HMX 2908304.33.
54:03 Dustin O’Halloran & Adam Bryanbaum Wiltze. Minuet for a cheap piano number two. Dustin O’Halloran & Adam Bryanbaum Wiltze. Album ‘A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Erased Tape Records ERATP032CD
56:49 Maggie Brown. hummingbird. Album ‘Another Place’. Private label.

Jesus Christ Superstar. World Forum The Hague, Sunday 8 January 2017

"The best rock opera ever", read the claim on one of the banners inside the World Forum. Well, no doubt about it. The power of the music, the songs and the performance all underscores the claim. I am so glad that I bought myself a ticket.

In 1972 I was taken along to a musical called 'Godspell'. I can't remember much about it if I'm honest. Just a feeling of being in awe of an event of this scale, in a theatre. Why this is relevant, is that it prepared me for that movie that was going to come in 1973, the film adaptation of a musical I had heard about of course. Knew songs from as there were several hits through the years from that musical. The movie I remember quite vividly, probably also because I've seen it more than once since, but also from that first showing in a movie theater in Breda called 'Grand'.

The music from the movie is with me ever since. The album can be counted as being among my favourites of all time. And then there came these placards around the country announcing the musical with Ted Neeley in the starring role. That seemed odd at first. How can a 70+ man play the 30 something Jesus? I set myself over that and went.

In the hubbub before the show, there was faint music seemingly coming from the stage and not the PA. At first I could not make out what I was hearing, until I heard Robert Plant's familiar whine. But what song? It was more as if the music was there to prepare, to motivate the people busy on the stage behind the curtains than for us, the audience. And then that famous, fierce drum intro broke loose and there was no longer any doubt which album was being played: Led Zeppelin IV; 'Rock And Roll'. The final boost for all already on stage. Let's kick some ass: ROCK AND ROLL!

From the very first notes I was moved and spellbound. The intro notes of the electric guitar, that scary piece of music, sent shivers down my spine and made the tears run over my cheeks. It was simply a very emotional moment and there were several more to come. When 'Judas'  started singing his opening song 'Heaven On Their Mind', heaven on earth was reached. It just doesn't get much better than this when talking about musical experiences. I put it right there with hearing Paul McCartney live for the first time in 2012 and 'Hair' in the mid 00s.

The magic of the theatre is played out beautifully. What light can do! Show something which did not seem to be there before and make something disappear. The revolving bandstand that at the same time is a moving stage and is used to create constant motion and distance. The flights of stairs on the scaffolding are used constantly and are used in support of the maddening crowd. The hats of Caiaphas and Annas that remain fantastic creations. Two actors who could have stepped into Rammstein without anyone noticing, as my girlfriend commented. When 'Annas' grabbed an electric guitar to play a blistering solo in the grand finale, he showed her right to.

If you know the musical, there's nothing new I can tell you. For those who don't, go out and listen to it. What I would like to share is the beauty and the power of this musical. All things human come by. The two sides of Jesus, man and God, are shown so well. The doubt of doing the right thing versus the strength to carry it all through in the conviction of making the right choice. It is all there. The role Judas has to play, as it is all ordained. It is easy for Jesus to forgive him. Judas is just playing his part in the story. Without Judas no Christ's passion. So who are we to condemn Judas, right? He condemns himself and drives himself into insanity and a cruel ending.

The hypocrisy of the people, not only because the choir plays both sides, but because it undoubtedly is true. And what was Jesus for some? A religious figure? A fundamentalist for others? A (wished for) insurgent to a third? Probably all, as, if the story is even faintly true, he was a threat to many in oh so many ways. The doubt of doing the right thing of making the right decision as a leader id played out fully, except by the man to whom he poses the biggest threat: king Herod. The water with which 'Pontius Pilate' washed his hands, turning into read while he does so. Such a great little detail.

The man Jesus needs love and attention to. "He's just a man", as the 'Mary Magdelen' character sings. He wants it and gets it. She gives it.

As in the movie the musical highlight is the 'King Herod' scene. One small role, only one song and the actor takes it all for 110%. What a feast in a late 70s disco glamour kind of way.

During the lashes scene, the audience is shown that little has changed since the year 33. First I thought, this is too much of a good thing and doesn't belong in this musical, but during the counting and the driving music, the message got across loud and clear: nothing has changed, really. Violence, occupation, intolerance, war, more violence and more hatred.

And then something bizarre happened. 'Jesus' is led away, the stage goes dark and the audience starts clapping as if the show is over!?? Eh, something important still has to come, people. Then, on the stage curtain letters are shown: "1984 years later". How symbolic! We see 'Judas' dressed in white on one of the lounge sofa's of the World Forum starting to sing the title song of the opera, 'Superstar'. Not much later a few lights are turned on in the theatre, a side door opens and 'Judas' walks in with the female "angels" in tow and 'Jesus' following, gracefully, resigned. While under way to his crucifixion the audience starts clapping along to the hit song enthusiastically. Elated about having the stars of the show in their midst. So there is the most bizarre of contrasts: people are clapping to a very much loved song, while the lead character of the musical, 'Jesus', is led to his imminent death. The same feeling I get when I see people applauding the funeral procession of a famous person who is brought to his final resting place, transposed to a musical theatre. Once I realised what I was doing, I felt so embarrassed, almost ashamed. Clapping a man to his death, "will you die for me", that most shocking of lines in this musical, cheered on.

A grand finale with an audience that kept silent when the last note was truly played. The spell was broken by the conductor of the band (and presaged by a smile from the bass player, showing it was over). Then all lead players were brought back with the music of their signature song. Under a fantastically large applause.

Yes, the audience average was 60+ and a lot older people were there, more females than males, and yes, Ted Neely's voice isn't what it used to be and not all in the cast were as good as the movie originals, but that all did not matter. This was a stellar performance, a great show and one of the greatest stories ever told. A story that effected the lives of millions over two millennia. A story that still affects millions upon millions, for good and for bad. For me it is a story, but with some eternal truths and values that help people abide by ethics and rules that we need to get through this live with some dignity and peace as without them we are quite lost as is shown, unfortunately, on an almost daily basis. Now I still know the story from the church of my parents and grandparents. The generation after me? I seriously doubt it.

Wo.

Hair. Original Broadway Cast

Wo. takes us back again to his early youth and the music he encountered while listening to Radio Veronica and its Top 40, Morse bleeps from fishing boats and all. This time it is the "The American Tribal  Love-Rock Musical Hair" that is the centrepiece of his attention.

"Darling", that is how the hardrock version of 'Hair' by Amsterdam based rock band Zen started, a song I heard for the first time in the late fall of 1968. It entered on spot 40, the cheating spot to push a Dutch record, but soon after landed on the #1 spot of the Top 40 in January 1969. 'Hair' was one of at least five hits that stem from the musical that made it to the charts, making it perhaps the most successful musical, chartwise, in The Netherlands.

I'll admit upfront that I'm cheating again from my original rules. I know the album for decades, as my late uncle Ben had the album at the time, although I did not start to appreciate it until the late 70s. I just did not have the stamina for albums at the time. So many unknown songs (and in different versions than the songs I knew) was more than my 9 year old patience could handle. Singles and the radio were just perfect, thank you.

In this century I have seen the musical twice and both times was moved to tears by the music. For unknown reasons to me, except that I notice that music I know from that age, seems to do that to me in specific circumstances. It touches on a special place in my brain, something gone for ever, with people that are no longer here and the music that is. Whether that explains it, I really do not know.

Hair. It stands for hippies, full frontal nudity, peace, love, happiness and anti-Vietnam rallies. A world without worries or so it seems until major world issues impend doom for youth. In that it caught the sign of the times in several ways. In 2016 we know that the hippie era only lasted for two years and was killed in Altamont. The ideas that were more practical or fair are all around us, though they are, sometimes to my sincere astonishment, still being fought by Christians (peace and love?, remember?) and conservatives alike. Sometimes in most violent ways. The two never even met somewhere in the middle.

Hair stands for fantastic songs and melodies. The music that Galt MacDermot composed is so special, so vibrant, so alive that it is almost beyond comprehension. There is so much emotion, optimism and youthfulness oozing out of it all, that it is impossible not to become infected by the joy of it all. Not to want to grow your hair and just take to the streets and see what happens. Boy, did I want to grow my hair when I was 9 years old. That was another three years away, before my mother gave up the struggle. And dreamt about being a hippie (whatever that was). "As long as I could grow my hair" and wear a flowered shirt.

The storyline, thin as it may be, was totally past me, then. I just knew those singles from the radio and putting all the dimes and cents aside, was able to buy 'Hair', the single, in its last charted week of over five months in total. Just in time and have it to this day. That fantastic, raucous, rock version with that wild lead guitar. It had nothing much to do with the original version, which I heard for the first time in the cover version of a band called The Cowsills; and hated it. The story is still thin, but aligns with 1968. Like "Jupiter with Mars" in Aquarius'. It is that simple. We all know now what was about to happen. How many people died, the protests, the war, everything. Claude, the guy in the musical, dies in Vietnam to.. That this musical touches on racial issues? On being high and have inner and outer body experiences? On free love and to have children out of wedlock? What did I know!? Perhaps a little more than I think now, but certainly not all.

That all changed. Foremost though, I simply love all the songs now. From the beautiful 'Aquarius' to the naive 'Frank Mills', the biting 'Ain't Got No' and the explosive ending in the melancholy, sad, yet so vibrant 'Let The Sun Shine In'. There is such richness in the melodies, in the singing, the harmonies. I simply do not know a better musical, o.k. 'Jesus Christ Superstar' perhaps. (That I'm to see as a musical for the first time coming January.) The range of emotions that is touched upon is phenomenal.

Again, that then almost 40 year old (now 88 year old), father of four children and house dad all around, Galt MacDermot, was able to tap into something that he had no knowledge of at all, astonishes me most. He wrote the music that will be remembered forever as the epitome of hippiedom. Rado and Ragno, who wrote the lyrics, were (old) hippies. Hair is their concept, let's not forget that, but the real strength of the musical lies in the songs. They will live forever.

Wo

For those not familiar with that single that opened the musical for me in 1968, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO8cMRbDkfE

Warhorse, Luxor Theater 6 December 2014

Photo: Wo.

There's some singing in Warhorse, so let's try and do a review. This is not the sort of show I usually go to, but there being a special occasion in the family, I received an invite and all members of the three generations were present for the matinée show.

Warhorse is a story about a teenage peasant boy, his horse and the first World War. The magic of the show is the viewer's brain which transforms a horse skeleton device, operated by no less than three men, into a real horse. And that was the part that did not work for me. It took me too long not to see the guy operating the head and neck of the horse. I did see the grace of the movements. Close to ballet. And how good the movements were and all. But it did not become a horse for me except for one or two moments. (E.g. 'Dogville' transformed into a real village. An empty stage. So I have the ability to see what is not really there on occasion.)

I was more impressed by the stupidity of war that was shown so well. The people in the village going of to war cheering. "We'll be home in a few months", and all joined the cavalry of Devonshire, including the horse, sold by a constantly drunk, rather stupid father. Sabre drawn the officers charged, like it was Azincourt in 1314 and were mowed down by machine guns and obliterated by shells from large canons. (Wrong example, I know. The British long bows!, but you get my drift.) And chivalrous as they were raised, they all charged again, those who survived. For King and country, God and who knows who else. And again and again. Until millions had laid down their lives in the mud of the Sombre, IIzer, Verdun, etc.). A scene with a (skeleton) tank and the horse was the best scene of the show. Really, really impressive. Telling it all.

Rotterdam view: Wo.

"What is your dad's role in Warhorse"?, a kid can ask. "Well, he's the fence". "And the bow railing of a ship".

There's some community singing, but not really as a musical. There's also a commentary part being sung. Moralistic like an angel choir in a medieval play commenting on what's transpiring in the different acts. Unfortunately there's so much going on at the same time, that I had trouble hearing the comments clearly. Too distracted by all else going on. Time passed shown on a cloud above the stage, from 1914 to 1918.

Warhorse is impressive, but also a bit of a gimmick and a paper thin plot and a predictable ending. Which is all forgiveable. What I thought impressive was perhaps not what the creators had wanted me to find impressive. The impact of the show was also quite different on the generations. Where I was confirmed in my conviction that war is about the stupidest thing humans can get caught up in, the sixteen year old in our family, grown up on war games and endless effortless, without any consequences, killing, thought it to be so cool to go to war. He completely understood the merry, festive atmosphere when all went off to war in August 1914. Something I find unbelievable. What does that say about our days?

Wo.

Warhorse is travelling NL in the coming months. Check out where here:

http://www.warhorse.nl/

Woef Side Story door het Ro Theater

De West Side story is zo lang als ik me het kan herinneren die elpee met een rode hoes met donkere ladders er op. Een elpee in de kast bij mijn oom Ben en later bij vrienden van mijn ouders. Eigenlijk voor mijn tijd dus. Pas jaren later leerde ik dat het ook een film was, een musical en dat die ladders hoorden bij de zogenaamde "brown stones" in New York City, waar de brandtrappen aan de buitenkant voor het huis hangen. Een aantal van de nummers, zoals 'Maria' en 'America', zijn nummers die ik mijn leven lang meeneem en zal waarderen.

Toen ons werd gevraagd om aan te sluiten bij een aantal gezinnen die samen naar het theater gingen, hebben we ons aangesloten, maar waar we naar toe gingen, is mij een tijd lang ontgaan. Het opzoekend kwam ik erachter dat Arjen Ederveen een van de hoofdrollen speelde en dat het een musical over "het verhaal van Romeo en Julia", maar dan met honden betrof. Het spijt me te moeten zeggen, dat ik nog nooit een programma heb gezien met Ederveen waar ik langer dan een paar minuten naar kon kijken. Ik zal nu al verklappen, dat daar verandering in is gekomen. Woef Side story? Romeo en Julia? West Side story?, dacht mijn brein.

Het werd een bijzonder leuke, muzikale, onderhoudend en (soms hilarisch) grappige avond. Verschillende toneelvormen liepen door elkaar. Zelfs de klucht ontbrak niet. Als ware het John Lanting's "Theater van lach", was er zelfs een deurenscene, waar mensen iedere keer net op tijd uit tevoorschijn komen of door verdwijnen. Het verhaal werd opgezet in de traditionele rei vorm, alhoewel er met de serieusheid ervan heerlijk werd gespot. De vondst van de vlooien, prachtig hoe de vier armen werkten, die alles aankondigen, tussendoor bezingen en becommentariëren werkte heel goed. Ook om de kinderen in de zaal mee te krijgen. In een enkel geval leek het een traditionele poppenkast als uit de zaal iets werd geroepen naar het toneel.

Wel was het even wennen om mensen in hondenpoppen -geen kostuums! (kijk naar de poster om het je voor te stellen)- rond te zien lopen, maar die slag was gauw gemaakt, omdat het gezelschap mij het verhaal in kreeg. De straathonden versus de rashonden voor de hondenshows, stoere machohonden (de reactie van de dames toen "Beluga" opkwam!) tegenover gaydogs en mooie "blondines". Ederveen en Alex Klaasen stelen een deel van de show als Dr Prick en burgemeester Slap. De laatste is ronduit hilarisch en waarschijnlijk de leukste om te spelen. Wellicht ook de gevaarlijkste voor lijf en leden. En Klaasen als "Sniffer" is ook heel bijzonder om te zien. "Puppy" is ronduit cute.

Het verhaal volgt grofweg Romeo en Julia, op zijn hondjes, met alle dramatische, maar ook seksuele verhandelingen van dien. Hoogmoed en de val, leven en dood, ware liefde en villeiniteit, niets is het verhaal vreemd.

De choreografie rond de honden/mensenpoppen, tot in kleine details wordt fantastisch neergezet. Af en toe lijken het echt honden. De mens, ja, want er spelen ook echte mensen mee, hond verhouding vervaagt soms, als niet alleen de pop, maar ook de mens in de pop wordt geaaid in een sterfscène. Of als ze samen zingen.

Verder is het stuk in meerdere wijzen inspannend. De mens stuurt de hondenpop aan vanuit oncomfortabele houdingen, de bek gaat steeds open en dicht als er gesproken of geblaft wordt. Er wordt telkens van rol verwisseld, dus heel veel omkleden. Pas tegen het einde lukt dat niet meer volledig, omdat meerdere personages samen komen in een situatie.

En de liedjes? Ja, die klinken overbekend op een nieuwe, Nederlandse tekst. "All you need is blaf"! Nee, niet van de West Side story, toch zeer toepasselijk. Conclusie? Een heel erg leuke avond uit voor het hele gezin.

Wo.

Hier kunt u zien waar Woef Side story bij u in de buurt speelt.