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sols-dreigroschen-blog · 10 months

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on today's episode of Sol reviewing Threepenny Adaptions, the 1989 Mack The Knife movie

it was... cool? idk what to feel, some parts i enjoyed a lot, some very little, overall i am certainly happy i watched it but i probably won't watch it again

the main negative point for me was the music, i really, really didn't like the translation they used - i think it's the original Blitzstein one? i am familiar with the altered Blitzstein version that was used in the Broadway adaption, which i personally think is both the most aesthetically pleasing one as well as the closest to the original text (both in actual text as well as in Vibes™); the Donmare Warehouse one is too "edgy" (or shall i say crude?) for my tastes, and the one used in this movie was too tame AND too goofy, also the text in some parts didn't have anything to do with the original, like, at all; this really spoilt my enjoyment of the whole thing a lot

visually i was also not that much of a fan? my first thought when seeing the set was the Muppets' Christmas Carol, and it didn't really go away; the costumes were very hit or miss for me, some i loved a lot (Polly's costume with the top hat when she visits Mac in jail, the whores in general and especially Jenny, Jonathan's coat and changing hats), some were terrible (whatever Celia had going on but especially that horrible nightcap, Polly's costume in the beginning which looked like she wandered over from the set of Little House on the Prairie); i also thought the ensemble dancing scenes absolutely terrible

i don't have much of an opinion on Mackie's portrayal, he was fine, but nothing special to me, i was kind of indifferent to him, which was a little odd, since i loved Raul Julia in the Broadway staging, dunno what was the point here

Polly was also pretty boring to me, but then again, the movie didn't give her much to do, she was a little too much on the naive side for my tastes

for the first time, i really liked a Jonathan! he was tall and lanky and had a certain sleazy conman kind of vibe, which i think is essential to the character, the only thing i didn't exactly like was that he was very tame and more on the comedic side? he felt not cynical enough, and also not at all religious, which is an important facet of his character to me

Celia was nice, definitely not my favourite Celia, but her and the Jonathan played really well together, i didn't like it how she was just a bumbling drunk and nagging wife for most of the movie, but in the scenes where she wasn't, she was amazing! also i really loved that Jonathan was tall and lanky and Celia short and chubby, which is how i imagined them while reading :D

Tiger Brown was surprisingly good looking, the Filch surprisingly terrible looking, Lucy was very good although personally i would have switched the actresses for Polly and Lucy

my absolute favourite however was JENNY, she was absolutely flawless and perfect, the acting was great and she looked almost exactly like i imagined Jenny to look, tall, frizzy red hair and a big, aquiline nose, she just lacked the freckles and she would have been straight from my head, she even wore a black lace dress similar to the one i painted her in; this opinion might or might not be influenced by how goddamn GAY i am for this woman

the street singer was a really cool addition, i like narrator type characters like this a lot and he was very fun; the whole Suky Tawdry thing was less to my tastes idk it just struck me the wrong way; the ending was very Brechtian, but didn't fit with the decidedly un-Brechtian rest of the movie, so it just felt eh to me; also i sorely missed the Second Threepenny Finale (it's one of the best songs!!! how could you cut it!!) and why has seemingly no adaption ever the Kampf um das Eigentum scene between Polly and Lucy in it, why do y'all hate FUN! (maybe i should be thankful this had Lucy at all)

some details i liked a lot included the expanded conversation between Jonathan and Celia in their shop, the fact that Lucy bit Polly's fucking ankle during Eifersuchtsduett (please don't show me a staging that doesn't have this ever again), lots of funky hats, the whores in general and their costumes and set design in particular, the fact that Polly's parents both have a brogue and she hasn't, the chariot chase, the fact that the window scene with Mac and Celia was included (it's one of my favourites!), and last but not least the way the Ballad of Immoral Earnings was done almost making my cry

#it's very fun in a trash kind of way #threepenny opera #die dreigroschenoper

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dross-the-fish · 2 years

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I'm not familiar with European Musicals. I thought Dance of the Vampires was some kind of parody in the vein of Mel Brooks? Am I incorrect?

I do feel like Mel Brooks was what they were going for, which doesn't make any kind of sense unless they were trying to make a parody of the original musical. But as the German language version is already intended to be kind of tongue-in-cheek and a bit of a satire on vampire stories there's not much point to that. Also American audiences wouldn't have been familiar with the source material, so again, a parody doesn't make much sense.

This was meant to be an adaptation and it fails miserably.

From the very first scene it fails. See, the German version opens like this....

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We have our timid male protagonist, Alfred, wandering around on a dark and snowy night looking for his mentor and lamenting how lost and frightened he is only to stumble upon the Professor, completely frozen. The very next scene is Alfred arriving an inn where the townsfolk sing a catchy song about the benefits of Garlic and they thaw out the Professor, who proceeds to ask about vampires in the area. AT NO POINT HAVE WE YET SEEN VON KROLOCK OR SARAH.

Sarah is introduced in a later scene where it's established her father is overprotective, to the point of actually putting boards over her door so she can't get out.

Von Krolock for his part has been lurking around outside the inn singing "God is Dead"

Sarah hears him and is intrigued by the voice outside of her window but has no idea who or what he is yet.

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We get another scene between this and the invitation where she and Alfred kind of contemplate each other, she tricks Alfred into letting her use the bath and that's when the count shows up to give her a formal invite to the Vampire's Ball. All in all, it's lots of build up, and lots of payoff.

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Broadway opens like this...

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After the Overture there's an abrupt tonal shift while the scene cuts to Sarah and her friends in the woods doing shrooms or something, idk. Then the friends get abducted by vampires. Nothing comes of that btw, they're just gone, presumably dead, unless all of this is a shroom induced trip.

Count Chef Boyardee rises from the earth in a light up coffin like a cheap Las Vegas show magician as the announcer declares "God has left the building"...yeah...him and my hope for a decent experience... After breaking the fourth wall so egregiously it would make the Muppets cringe he just launches right into his invitation. Making the scene where he comes back and performs the actual "Invitation to the Ball" number later totally irrelevant. Then he just straight up bites her in the grossest, creepiest, dirty-old-manest way possible, again, completely undercutting any anticipation or drama for a later scene.

Speaking of the invitation scene....

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....a rubber bat on a string? REALLY? Why is he Italian??? What was the purpose of that? Why does he sing like he's trying to lull her to sleep? It's not like he CAN'T be dramatic, he was the Phantom of the Opera, one of the most dramatic characters in all of exitance. Why is he not bringing his A-game for this production? What's all this extra bullshit at the end of the scene? What is that staging? Why is there so much fog in her bedroom? Is she still high from those mushrooms and this whole thing is just her hallucination???? That would make more sense than anything else.

This isn't just a bad adaptation, this had to have been done on purpose. Someone either wanted this to fail or they got spooked and thought American audiences needed to be laughing every five seconds to stay invested.

The whole Broadway musical is like watching a sweaty college boy choke at open mic night while looking into the eyes of his embarrassed friends and mouthing, "please laugh at my jokes" into a microphone that smells like microwave burritos.

Anon, if you ever watch any version of this play, watch one of the European productions, they have them on youtube with subtitles. You'll get a lot more out of it. All you'll get from the Broadway version is second hand embarrassment and the knowledge that we've forever blown our shot at an English language adaptation.

And we're not even through the first act.

#Tanz Der Vampire #Michael Crawford #tdv #a rant #this wasn't supposed to be a roast but I have a lot of feelings

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hazelwiddecombe · 4 years

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hey ! have you seen HAZEL WIDDECOMBE around ? SHE works as a RESERVATIONS AGENT at big bear resort, but she must be off her shift by now. well, if you do see her can you let me know ? she’s 24 years old & she’s been working here for FIVE YEARS. she tends to be +LIVELY & +ALERT, but can also be -TOUCHY & -STRICT. the other employees have labeled her THE QUIXOTIC. thanks a lot !

stats or whatever✨

as you can tell from her intro, hazel is a big bear veteran. she’s been working at the resort since she was 19 and has held a variety of different positions over the years.

now she’s a reservations agent, and she loves all that sweet responsibility. the power.

totally doesn’t abuse it, unless someone particularly annoying yells at her. then maybe their reservation gets misplaced... totally accidentally

she’s the second youngest out of four siblings, so she’s learned the hard way that if you want your voice to be heard in a crowd, you have to shout the loudest

more specifically she has two older brothers and a younger sister who’s like, 4 years old almost 5!!

her parents are still married, and we love that for them

as a result, hazel can be a bit bossy, a bit of a know-it-all. she means well, but she has been known to kind of get on people’s nerves.

hazel is also mormon, she would call herself a mostly cultural one at this stage in her life, but she still holds a lot of the values she was raised on.

she may throw bible/book of mormon passages into casual conversation... bc old habits die hard

accidentally got drunk one time years ago but otherwise doesn’t drink, ever

she doesn’t drink coffee or tea either, never had it even once!

personality stuff etc

she really likes long furbies, showtunes (though she’s not... that much into sitting through long musicals), dancing in her bedroom, hiking, elton john, boyband music and the spice girls, baking, buster keaton movies, weird diys, and any show that airs on tlc

she’s also 200% that bitch who always has clear skin but if you ask her about it she’s like, ‘idk did you try drinking water?’

hazel is allergic to both cats and dogs, which makes her very sad but she has adapted and overcome! she has a pet tortoise named garfield who’s been with us for about 12 years but is still going strong.

her other very treasured pet is a long furby. his name is kyle, and she has been known to wear him as an awkward scarf, sort of cruella de vil style.

she also raised baby squirrels with ivan but they’ve all grown up and returned to the wild. they are empty nesters :/

her favorite christmas movie is muppets’ christmas carol. cause it’s the actual best. some people will say that christmas with the kranks is better, but those people are wrong.

she’s really bad at texting people back, answering her phone in general, and checking in on social media when people want her to... but she’s always early for work, so catch her there. and experience the hypocrisy of her complaining that she can never reach people.

she has also had the sloth group chat on mute for literal years. she will check it maybe once or twice a month.

also catch her updating her instagram story while she’s not replying to texts or answering her phone. that’s just how it goes.

she’s definitely also the mom friend, always making sure her friends are well cared for. and probably also giving them lectures whenever they make questionable choices.

getting a lil deep on main but hazel lowkey highkey carries a lot of guilt around from the struggle of being a mormon but not a particularly good one. definitely calls aylie to freak out about eternal damnation :/

connections page (still a wip but imma link anyway)

#bigbearintro #i actually expanded like i said i would wow!!

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