Dance of the Vampires: T&G Chronicles

Remember that infamous 2002 Broadway flop Dance of the Vampires with Michael Crawford? Two fans of the original German language production sat down amidst the COVID-19 quarantine to watch it for the very first time.

[@emptymasks]

'michael crawford was not more important than set design' how absolutely right you are, he shouldnt have been more important than set design, and yet...

[@Merina2222]

I can't believe this doesn't have more views. Your commentary is hilarious. This production was such a travesty. I wish the original production was more appreciated in the English-speaking theatre world! EDIT: Okay but Max von Essen as Alfred is freaking adorable. What the heck. So cute. And what a VOICE.

[@paulinaskowronska6961]

God bless you for making this video because now I don't have to watch the entire Broadway production while knowing how terribly it went. Good thing everyone is not pretending it has never happened and it has nothing to do with the canon European productions

[@justmewood8818]

There’s another preview version of the show you two should watch! It had alot of changes, it’s called D of the V on KZbin.

[@mikkiduf]

The original German version is really good!!!!

[@MaryQ113]

I laughed my a** off at this. As a Tanz fan myself (seen 5 times on stage in Austria and Germany and countless bootlegs), I found this production to be hilariously offensive (thank you btw for that insert from Einladung zum Ball at the end, served its purpose as detox xd) You have a major point about the sets. You know, in the Polish production from 2005 I believe they also had to cut on the sets cause they didn't have enough funds (at least that's what I heard) but they still had the inn - nowhere near as detailed and ornate as the Original/Kentaur version but they HAD ONE with all the rooms and the tub and the garlic and sh** and they DID HAVE A CASTLE with a pretty decent and realistic looking portcullis and a simple semi-circular staircase and the portraits and the library and the bathtub and the mirrors. They kept the stage very dark to hide the fact they didn't have such elaborate sets but it worked cause they had those few core elements that gave you the idea of the rest. This thing had a super elaborate downstairs inn set that looked like something outta Disney rather than an actual inn and the rest was like something I'd expect to see in the end of school year performance at my old school. In the boondocks. Done by 12-year-olds.

[@ThePrettyNerdie]

Hilariously offensive is the best way to describe this "translation" of Tanz! I've seen a bunch of the productions thanks to KZbin so I was eager to go into the viewing of DOTV 2002 as blind as possible about the contents of the Broadway version, especially knowing what a disaster the production was behind the scenes by its infamy in musical theater. I've made gifs of this video along with different Tanz productions on tumblr if you are interested! prettynerdieworks.tumblr.com

[@amyclarke41]

oooh

[@EntertainmentFilms26]

THIS PREMIERED 18 YEARS AGO TONIGHT!!!!

[@arboozi]

oh but michael crawford WAS more important than sets it turns out lmao to think that steinman wanted crawford on this thing so bad he was willing to tonally and generally fuck essentially his own musical over is absolutely mind-boggling. not to mention the way it came back to bite him in the ass so bad he to this day does everything to backtrack and distance himself from this shitshow, saying that his original vision wasn't this at all but like... how different could it have been at conception? it's no secret he believed that the original european book didn't match his vision either and he wanted the broadway version to "rival" it, which like?.... is everything okay at home jim? lol at any rate, i, a tanz bitch through and through, never actually had the guts to watch this thing for longer than two minutes so thank you for making it so entertaining, let alone manageable !!

[@troykawahara4496]

Crawford was absolutely the worst part of this show. His Krolock is basically making Dad jokes the entire time and has no mystique. I really hate how they rearranged the script, but the rest of the production I could take or leave. I also feel like some of the translations could use some work. Anyway, this was pretty enjoyable to watch. Maybe y’all should do that again except for with the original German. Thanks!

[@justmewood8818]

Do you have a full uncut version of y’alls reaction?

[@wwozanewmusical]

This is what happens when you let big name stars dictate the show they are in. Michael Crawford should have been fired.