Wake Up
An Austrian musical and, as such, not one of the best. “Elisabeth” was better, especially in terms of texts and music. However, the production made for a
lovely evening out and was entertaining.
The cast had wonderful voices, though the lyrics were bland, much as the performers tried to give them life. The more fun, swinging songs had a certain
Fendrich feel to them, the ‘love theme’ that carried the second part of Act II however, was just not there. Though Mr Goebel made a concentrated effort
to bring it out, it just didn’t have a ring to it, apart from the fact that the tune sounded too familiar to me. The first few notes were definitely not ‘newly written’.
Dance sequences were great, expressive, if slightly repetitive at times, but the ensemble was brilliant. It consisted of fab dancers with excellent vocals who
put enthusiasm and drive into their performance.
Rainhard Fendrich made the role of the mean, manipulative Jeff his own, I was missing a bit of enthusiasm though. What I enjoyed was his perfect
interpretation of his songs, especially “Ich Habe Ihn Gemacht”, “Geld” and “Salz und Pfeffer”. I especially enjoyed the ballad “Freunde Wie Wir” - both
Mr Goebel and Mr Fendrich have great voices that blend very well.
Mr Goebel was very convincing, both in voice and manner, Ms Shaki as Rosanna was the perfect little country girl. Though she sings very well, I feel she
has too little stage presence to pull off her part; even singing ‘Wake Up’, she didn’t get it going.
What I didn’t like at all, was that all of Mr Goebel’s songs in Act II required him to sing very high. He has a pleasant voice, perfect for rock ballads like
“Sheraton Suite”, but it was wasted on this travesty of love themes.
Of the main roles, it was only Anne Mandrella as Lydia who exhibited an ability to take the spotlight - and with relish. She was brilliant in her role as
the high-strung, money-loving lady, and her “Coole Maenner” (one of the few songs where the lyrics were at least funny) was fantastically backed up by
the male ensemble’s dancing.
Costumes were brilliant, original, creative and different. Wild, stylised wigs and, what I found especially good, practical. The female ensemble wore skirts
that they could zip up to their thighs, depending on the dance numbers, so they always had enough room to kick their legs up. Same goes for the overalls
the guys wore for the prison sequence. I also liked how they brought in the manacles. Inventive choreography there.
The lighting was good, but might have been better imo; the possibilities of the theatre weren’t fully used (‘Hair’ was staged much better on the same stage
in that regard) - mostly the whole stage was lit, lots of golden yellow wash, little use of gobos. (1)
The stage design, however, was fantastic. Few add-ons, a moving platform on stage that transformed room into room. Perfect use of theatre’s equipment
there, though not overly technical. The performers always remained the main focus.
Of the actual numbers - all of those that had the ensemble in it was good, some of them even fantastic (“Geld”, “Sheraton Suite”, “Extase Hip Hop”). “Warst Du
Niemals Im Knast” had some of the most innovative choreography of the whole show - and I have to hand it to the male ensemble, they were in perfect
synch in their movements (the whole ensemble was during their dance numbers) - and the dancing perfectly fit with the music. Lyrics were fun, prison
warder (Kai Peterson) did a great job singing: ‘Kiss me, I’m good for you’.
Another role that was wonderfully done was Christian Peter Hauser’s Max. Little as you saw of him, it was a treat to have him sing Freudensprung. The
man has a gorgeous deep voice that he knows how to use.
Ms Nistler, whom I have seen as Christine in ‘Phantom’ in Vienna years ago, had one main song “Ich Hab Sie Alle Gehabt”, which was quite amusing and
nicely done. No show-stopper though. As with the rest of the main cast, I was missing a bit of drive. It wasn’t that they weren’t doing very well, it was
more as if they weren’t happy with it.
For me, the show was a surprise in terms of quality. I had supposed it would be worse. I was especially happy with the vocals and the dance sequences
and, as I said before, the ensemble was tops. Certainly one of the best I’ve seen and I think they merit a round of applause all for their own *claps*.
(1) gobo (pl. gobos)
2 Theatre a partial screen used in front of a spotlight to project a shape.
Concise Oxford Dictionary
The story/plot was more concise and much better put together than I had supposed from the summary at the WakeUp website. Here's my own version of it.
Act I: Middle-aged singer Ronny Reno (Alexander Goebel) makes his comeback, but then decides to quit. His manager Jeff Zodiak (Rainhard Fendrich) is in
no way happy - especially since he relies on his ‘golden ass’ - whom he has financially ruined - to bring in money.
The real developments start at a party - Ronny is dumped by his girlfriend Lydia (Anne Mandrella) when she hears he’s bankrupt; left alone by his friends
and groupies, he meets Rosanna (Marjan Shaki) who works as a waitress and wants to be a singer. She wants him to write a song for her, and though he
declines at first, he warms up to the idea, but passes out from alcohol consumption on the toilet in the midst of their talk.
Jeff enters, trying to get to Rosanna, but she tells him she’s already got a manager in Ronny’s mother (Luzia Nistler). In one last attempt to get back at
Ronny, Jeff spikes the girl’s drink with drugs, then tries to rape her. When she blanks out, he leaves her lying on the floor, pills beside her. Turning up the
stereo’s volume, he makes sure both she and Ronny are found. While Rosanna is in a coma, the singer is charged with owning illegal drugs and
attempted rape.
Act II: The prison warder talks about the ‘relationships’ amongst the men (and yes, it’s even more suggestive than it sounds, not only the lyrics, but also
the choreography). Ronny hears what he’s been held for and that Rosanna is in intensive care in a coma. Jeff wants him to plead for a temporary lapse of
sanity and go to a clinic, giving his manager all control about his finances.
Ronny declines this option, taking a few of the pills Jeff has left him. On a trip, his worst nightmares visit him; on waking up, Lydia confronts him, not without
threatening to tell paper and talk shows all about their life together. Jeff meets her outside the cell and they decide to join forces to get Ronny out of the picture.
Thinking of Rosanna, Ronny finds the song he promised to write for her. He gets the chance to sing it to her, when his friend Max (Christian Peter Hauser)
bails him out. The melody works like a charm, Rosanna wakes up. At court, she is the main witness, but instead of saying something, she opens her hand
to reveal the talisman Jeff always keeps round his neck - she has torn it off.
Ronny is freed and Jeff put into a clinic, with Lydia taking charge of his affairs. Rosanna finds Ronny alone at a piano and they sing the ‘love theme’ ("Wenn Deine
Hand Nichts Spuert") together. For the Finale, Rosanna and Lydia perform ‘Wake Up’ (the song ‘Hot Stuff’ with new lyrics).
Song List:
Act I
Ouverture (Overture)…Instrumental
Come Back…Ensemble
Was Ist Los? (What’s Wrong?)...Jeff, Ronny, 2 groupies
Freunde Wie Wir (Friend’s Like Us)… Jeff, Ronny
Ich Habe Ihn Gemacht (I Made Him)…Jeff
Mein Idol (My Idol)...Rosanna, Ensemble
Ich Hab Sie Alle Gehabt (I’ve Had Them All)...Ronny’s mum
Sheraton Suite...Ronny, Ensemble
Du Bist Gefeuert (You’re Fired)…Jeff, Ronny, Ensemble
Groupies…Jeff
Eine Chance (A Chance)…Rosanna
Talisman…Jeff
Der Besuch (The Visit)…Jeff, Rosanna’s parents
Geld (Money)...Jeff
Act II
Warst Du Noch Niemals Im Knast (Have You Never Been In Jail)…Male ensemble
Ich Bin Zu Hoeherem Geboren (I Was Born For Better Things)... Freudensprung
Genie der Psychotherapie (Genius of Psychotherapy)...Freudensprung, Ronny
Extase Hip Hop (Ecstasy Hip Hop)…Freudensprung
Coole Maenner (Cool Men)…Lydia
Salz Und Pfeffer (Salt And Pepper)…Lydia, Jeff
Sie Ist So Anders (She’s So Different)...Ronny
Eine Chance Repr. (A Chance reprise)…Ronny, Rosanna
Musik Ist Eine Sprache (Music Is A Language)…Ronny
Wenn Deine Hand Nichts Spuert (When Your Hand Doesn’t Feel A Thing)…Ronny
Es Ist Ein Wunder (It’s A Miracle)…Ensemble
Wahnsinn bei Gericht, repr. Ich hab ihn gemacht (Mayhem at Cour, repr. I’ve Made Him)...Jeff
Was Fuer Eine Story (What a Story)…Ensemble
Das ist die Melodie, repr. Wenn deine Hand nichts Spuert (That’s the Melody, repr. When Your Hand Doesn’t Feel A Thing)…Ronny, Rosanna
Wake Up…Rosanna, Lydia, Ensemble
Cast List
Ronny Reno...Alexander Goebel
Jeff Zodiak...Rainhard Fendrich
Rosanna...Marjan Shaki
Lydia...Anne Mandrella
Ronny’s mother...Luzia Nistler
J. Notgood...Joseph Helmut Ettl
Max, Ronny’s friend/Prof. Freudensprung...Christian Peter Hauser
Rosanna’s mother...Annegret Calaminus
Rosanna’s father/prison warder...Kai Peterson
Ensemble: Katharina Strohmayer, Ines Hengl-Pirker, Desiree Ziechner, Andrea Malek, Miruna Mihailesku, Maike Garden, Ina Nadine Wagler, Tanja Schön
Markus Simader, Albert Kessler, Pascal Illi, Stefan Poslovski, Reinfried Schießler, Norman Stehr, Ronny Véro Wagner, David Zinsmeister
Production, Stage Design and Lighting Design: Philippe Arlaud
Lighting Design: Ernst Braun
Stage Design: Peter Notz
Choreography: Kim Duddy
Costumes: Sue Blane
Book, Music and Texts: Rainhard Fendrich
Music and Arrangements: Harold Faltermayer
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at
ferngully_at@yahoo.com.