Hansa-Theater (Hamburg)
The Hansa -Theater is a music hall in Hamburg. The house on the stone dam in the St. Georg district has long been the only remaining classic vaudeville in the Federal Republic. The private theater, founded in 1893 with its 1953 almost unchanged areas presented in 2001 a game operation for several years and has been used since 2009 back in the winter months as a vaudeville theater.
History
The illusionist and brewery owner Paul Wilhelm Grell (1860-1937) bought in 1893, the 1878 -built Hansa- Concert Hall in St. George. He let reshape it into a vaudeville theater with catering, on March 5, 1894 opened Hansa Theater.
This was in a short time by an obligation of international stars such as Cléo de Merode one of the most important German music halls. 1919 Paul William son Kurt Grell junior chef, 1924, he took over the theater. He managed the restaurant business from 1927 and had converted the theater, so it took about 1,500 visitors.
Among the artists appearing included, among others: Hans Albers, Josephine Baker, William Bendow, the Comedian Harmonists, clown Grock, Erik January Hanussen, the escape artist Harry Houdini, Fritzi Massary, juggler Enrico Rastelli, Therese Renz, Charly Wittong or the Wolf brothers.
When Operation Gomorrah in July 1943, the Hansa- Theater was destroyed. Kurt Grell built the theater with 330 seats on again. Already in August 1945, received by the occupying forces permission to reopen. In the first post-war program occurred among others, a juggler, a trapeze artist, a couple and four dancers. Was paid for with food stamps.
The non-subsidized private theater owned by the family became the most important West German Variethétheater the postwar period. In 1953 a new tag that made the Hansa- Theater for a show theater with integrated restaurant and 491 seats. There was a monthly changing several hours number program. Actors were among other Caterina Valente, Friedel Hensch and Cyprys, clown Charlie Rivel, the Tiller Girls, Conny Froboess, Wolfgang Neuss and the magician Kalanag. Even elephants and horses were seen. In November 1964 Siegfried and Roy were presented.
Kurt Grell died on 7 February 1967. Hansa -Theater was continued by his wife Telse Meyer- Grell. Transfers out of the theater in the increasingly popular television, who is also a competitor of vaudeville were rejected despite possible increase in brand awareness. They even successfully campaigned with the motto: Never on TV. In the Hansa- Theater, Otto Waalkes discovered later from the music television show Ronny's Pop Show known apes.
The Hansa -Theater defied long the crisis of vaudeville and remained for further closures in the 1960s as a single classic vaudeville theater in the Federal Republic, where again emerged only in the 1980s, new stages. However, because of declining visitor numbers it made annually since 1994 losses from 700,000 to 1.5 million marks. As a result of the new tax law, the theater owner Telse Grell was not allowed the loss of the theater further tax deduct from their Mietgewinnen, she decided to close. After more than 107 years, with over 36 million visitors and more than 25,000 artists in 51,188 shows the final curtain fell on 31 December 2001.
The interior of the theater (of the hand-painted stage sets to the bell for the waiter ) remained virtually unchanged since 1953 and was continued even after the closure by the owner in immaculate condition.
New beginning
On 13 January 2009, the operation was tentatively taken on the initiative of Thomas Collies and Ulrich Waller, director of the St. Pauli Theater again. The number of visitors even made an extension of the first scheduled game time shorter until April 5, 2009 possible. Due to the good experience since more seasons always followed from October to February. The sixth season will start on 24 October 2013.