Happy Hallov veeeen!

In memory of the incredible Long Islander Steve Barton, who was loved here.....


Am kicking myself. It is one of those grey days where it never really gets light, so I left my camera at home. ÄÄÄÄÄ.... wrong. Got to the tram station at the hospital to go home, and there was this young guy with the BEST Halloween costume I have EVAH seen. He looked like a Hentai action figure, just so off the charts for original I figure he'd been working on that for months. So I was cursing for not having taken the camera. Inwardly, of course.

Got off at Jakomini to change to the bus, and whaddaya know there were five vampires out there in costume, wearing black capes with blood red satin lining, handing out leaflets.... because.... they are reviving 'Tanz der Vampire' in Vienna, and they were from the cast, doing promotional work. Fantastic make-up. I saw it twice back in the day, once with Peter, and once with my cousins.

It's based on the 68 film 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' by Roman Polanski, which no one I know there seems to have seen, but it is a VERY popular cult film here. The musical was composed by Jim Steinman, Polanski directed, the sets were just amazing, and the song 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' played a central role in the score. And despite all the bombastic sets, the most effective 'effect' to my mind was a chorus singing the beginning of that---- quietly, spookily, 'Turn around....' And when they got to 'Turn around, bright eyes', the voices were all around you, to the side, behind you, and the 'vampires' were in the audience, and when you turned around, there they were. They were so silent coming in, you didn't notice. It was nice and creepy. Which proves that it doesn't have to be bombastic to be effective.

Tanz der Vampire has been a long running hit here and throughout most of Europe. It opened on Broadway a couple of years ago, and thanks to that douchebag Michael Crawford, he ruined it completely, and I think it ran ten regular performances, and folded. Probably the most expensive and most embarassing flops in recent Broadway history.

Soooo.... since it is Halloween... here is the ballroom scene, 'Total Eclipse'. Austrian star Thomas Borchert plays Krolock, and he is good, but Steve Barton was definitive. He created that role. I believed this was the Stuttgart production, but no, they brought the whole damned set from there onto a poplular German TV show. It was similar to the original Vienna one, but... ok... maybe the audio isn't the best here, but you'll get the idea. Have fun, play safe if you go out tonight.