Summary: Get ready to ”say a prayer” as hosts Bobby and Kristina discuss 2002‘s ”Dance of the Vampires” on episode nineteen of MY FAVORITE FLOP. ABOUT ”DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES” Based on the Roman Polanski film ”The Fearless Vampire Killers”, ”Dance of the Vampires” follows Professor Abronsius as he attempts to prove the existence of vampires in Transylvania while his bumbling assistant Alfred falls for innkeeper‘s daughter Sarah, unaware that she is being pursued by the mysterious Count von Krolock. The musical features a book by Jim Steinman, Michael Kunze, and David Ives and music and lyrics by Jim Steinman. Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski was inspired to adapt his cult comedy for the musical stage after being approached to work on a theatrical production of Anne Rice‘s ”Interview with the Vampire”. Composer Jim Steinman and book writer/lyricist Michael Kunze were ultimately chosen to collaborate based on both of their previous bodies of work, with Steinman literally being chosen by the director after putting 5 of his preexisting songs into a rough outline by Kunze (all of which remained in the final version of the show, including the hit song ”Total Eclipse of the Heart”). The show, then known as ”Tanz der Vampire”, originally opened on October 4, 1997 in Vienna, Austria where it ran for over 2 years. A new production opened in Germany following its closing and has played somewhere in the country almost consistently to this very day. Because of that, ”Tanz de Vampire” is one of the most successful musicals in European history. From its premiere, English producers were seeking to bring the show to English-speaking countries. Composer Steinman was no stranger to the theater scene in New York, having spent five years under the professional wing of New York Shakespeare Festival founder Joseph Papp in the early Seventies. After briefly considering a West End run, it was decided to bring the musical (now titled ”Dance of the Vampires”) to Broadway instead. After several failed attempts, many rewrites, and replacements on the creative team, ”Dance of the Vampires” finally opened December 9, 2002. The Broadway version of the show was critically lambasted and the work of lead performer Michael Crawford was reviewed particularly harshly. When the reviews came out, Jim Steinman made a show of his disapproval of the project by not attending opening night and publicly distancing himself from the show. On January 25, 2003, after 56 performances, ”Dance of the Vampires” closed. According to The New York Times, it was ”one of the costliest failures in Broadway history”, losing roughly $12 million, easily eclipsing the infamous musical ”Carrie”. Original Broadway Cast • Michael Crawford as Count Giovanni Von Krolock • Mandy Gonzalez as Sarah • René Auberjonois as Professor Abronsius • Max von Essen as Alfred • Ron Orbach as Chagal • Leah Hocking as Magda • Liz McCartney as Rebecca • Asa Somers as Herbert • Mark Price as Boris • Erin Leigh Peck as Zsa-Zsa • E. Alyssa Claar as Nadja
