the return of the popular magical musical comedy
At the beginning of October, it will be 20 years since the opening of the Music Scene. The opinions of many naysayers, who claimed in 2004 that the Brno Municipal Theater would own an unused, useless building after a few seasons, seem to be mere smiling memories from today's perspective. Brno's musical scene has already permanently entered the (not only) Czech theater map, and new productions are added to the list of premieres listed here every year, whether they are premieres of original titles or performances of classic musicals. In connection with the celebrations of this anniversary, we decided to return to the musical, which many viewers still remember. Thanks to almost 150 reruns that have taken place since the premiere in 2007, under the name of The Witches of Eastwick, many people remember this production, which brought Petr Štěpán the prestigious Thalia Award for his portrayal of the demonic Darryl Van Horn, rather than the original book or film.
The adaptation of John Updike's novel The Witches of Eastwick first became a hit movie, in which three desperate women played by Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon spend their bored days in a small town, so they decide to charm a funny, intelligent, attentive and charming man, played by Jack Nicholson. For the Czech musical audience, however, the American film stars in their ideas of what the residents of Eastwick look like were replaced by the actors of our theater, in addition to the aforementioned Petr Štěpán, Petr Gazdík and the unforgettable Martin Havelka also shone in the lead role. A number of actresses took turns in the female trio, many of whom are still members of our troupe.
"Enthralling, dazzling, shining with professionalism, sexy!" That's how theater critics of Brno's Čarodějka described it already during the first performance, and there is no reason to assume that it will be any different the second time around. The author duo John Dempsey (libretto and lyrics) and Dana P. Rowe (music) wrote a successful stage version of the work, which had its world premiere in 2000 at London's Drury Lane Theater and was based on the best traditions of the classic Broadway musical, which was also confirmed on domestic stage.
So let's return together to small-town Eastwick, where the real magic happens, to remind ourselves again what the magical stage of the Music Stage with a large orchestra and a perfectly equipped ensemble can do in a new production, in which, of course, familiar faces from the original cast will also appear .
