Grand Hotel (Musical)

Grand Hotel is a musical by Luther Davis ( book), Robert Wright and George Forrest (music and lyrics ) and Maury Yeston (additional music and lyrics ).

History

As template 1929 written by Vicki Baum 's novel Menschen im Hotel and the subsequent Hollywood film people served in the hotel ( Grand Hotel) from 1932., The musical explores the events that take place in 1928 on a weekend in an elegant hotel in Berlin. The life stories of the eccentric guests overlap to some amusing, some tragic way. The prima ballerina Elizaveta Grushinskaya has its best years behind it, the terminally ill accountant Kringelein examined "life" at the Grand Hotel, the young and handsome Baron Felix von Gaigern is bankrupt and still enjoy the luxury of the cynical doctor Otternschlag was severely wounded in the war and considered disbelieve the on and off at the hotel ( "Never done something ") and a stenographer named little flame sees on his way to Hollywood.

On Broadway, the show ran from 1989 to over 1000 times in the staging and choreography by Tommy Tune. The production was nominated for twelve Tony Awards and won five, including the. For Best Director and Choreographer The German premiere was in January 1991, the theater of the West Berlin. In London's West End, the musical ran in 1992 at the Dominion Theatre as a guest of an American touring production.

Background

With the Roman people in the hotel began in 1929, the impressive career of the Austrian author Vicky tree. In the same year they produced a stage adaptation, which ran with great success in Berlin. In the early thirties the play on Broadway was successful and was filmed in 1932 as a grand hotel with John Barrymore, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. The MGM production was awarded the Oscar for best film.

Davis, Wright and Forrest had in 1958 created a musical adaptation of Vicky Tree substance under the title At the Grand. The Berlin of the late twenties was replaced by the contemporary Rome and the Ballerina by an opera singer who strongly resembled Maria Callas. The story was heavily modified by Davis, and the piece was in Los Angeles and San Francisco mediocre reviews. Producer Edwin Lester finally decided to cancel the planned later Broadway debut.

Grand Hotel

More than three decades later, decided Davis, Wright and Forrest, to give the fabric a second chance. They hired a director and choreographer Tommy Tune, who entrusted to him material as construction concept with great self- confidence and turning it into a two-hour production without a break, in the overlapping dialogue scenes, music and dance numbers, or even run simultaneously to the atmosphere of a lively hotels justice to become.

The team of authors opposed any amendment proposed Tune. " Quite frankly, the show did not work. With the exception of the choreography and the optical attractions, the show was doomed to die, " Tune remembered in his memoirs Footnotes. Frustrated Tune renounced ultimately to the other employees of Wright and Forrest and Maury Yeston dedicated for new songs and editing the existing musical material and Peter Stone for the processing of Davis ' book. Tune later remarked: "I hate it when it gets ugly at a show. But it always happens, and you have to show courage to survive. If the authors do not make trouble, then it is the producer or the performer. Vortex, there is always, but with a little luck still something good can come of it. I 've always tried to be friendly towards everyone, but you should not confuse my kindness for weakness. "

Broadway production

After thirty-one Previews Grand Hotel had shown on November 12, 1989 at the Broadway Theatre, where it was 1017 times. The original cast included Liliane Montevecchi as Elizaveta Grushinskaya, Michael Jeter as Otto Kringelein, David Carroll as Baron, Timothy Jerome as Preysing, John Wylie as Otternschlag, Bob Stillman as Erik and Jane Krakowski as flames. Later had among many others Cyd Charisse with over 70 years as Grushinskaya their late Broadway debut.

Because of legal clashes with Wright and Forrest the Cast Album was nearly two years away.

List of musical numbers

  • The Grand Parade ( Yeston )
  • Some Have, Some Have Not - It has or not ( Wright / Forrest )
  • As It Should Be - house of cards ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Maybe My Baby Loves Me - Whether my love ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Fire and Ice - Fire and Ice ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Twenty Two Years - All the time ( Yeston ) / Villa on a Hill - Villa above the sea ( Wright / Forrest )
  • I Want To Go To Hollywood - Girl in the Mirror ( Yeston )
  • Everybody's Doing It - Anyone doing ( Yeston )
  • The Crooked Path - The crooked path ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Who Could not Dance With You? - Nobody dances like you ( Wright / Forrest )
  • No Encore - No Encore ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Fire and Ice - Fire and Ice ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Love Can not Happen - Love would not fall from the sky ( Yeston )
  • What She Needs - What she needs ( Wright / Forrest )
  • Bonjour Amour ( Yeston )
  • HAPPY - The Grand Charleston ( Wright / Forrest )
  • We'll Take A Glass Together - We drink on the lives ( Wright / Forrest )
  • I Waltz Alone - I ' dance alone ( Wright / Forrest )
  • HAPPY (Reprise) - The Grand Charleston (Reprise)
  • What She Needs - What she needs ( Wright / Forrest )
  • How Can I Tell Her? - As just tell her ( Wright / Forrest )
  • The Grand Parade / Some Have, Some Have Not (Reprise) - The Grand Parade / They or not ( Reprise)
  • The Grand Waltz - Grand Waltz ( Wright / Forrest )

Awards

  • Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical ( Jeter )
  • Tony for best costumes
  • Tony for Best Lighting Design
  • Tony Award for Best Choreography
  • Tony for Best Direction of a Musical
Robert Wright (writer) George Forrest (author) West End of London
276947
de