Ich zitiere mal eine Einführung in eine Seite die ich geschaffen habe, welche sich der amerikanischen Version, allgemein hin bekannt als DOTV, gewidmet ist :
25th of November 2012, An Introduction from the Owner ...
When you build and put up a site, you have to ask yourself - what is my goal and what do I want to present?
Well, being a "Tanz der Vampire" (original German title) for many years I kept myself updated on everything Tanz related. I soon noticed that many fans talked about the infamous American version of the hit musical which was simply referred to as DOTV. Many people not only criticized, but doomed the whole production. If you use the internet to find information about the show you will still see what's left of it. Negative reviews, message board posts with hateful comments and old news about the shows closing night. And let's not forget all the websites that list this musical as the biggest flop on Broadway! You see, there are always two sides of every story.
Dance of the Vampires had a pretty big fanbase when it was playing on Broadway and you do find some positive reviews here and there. You can't deny that the show needed some time for fine tuning and to get rid of some "problems". But it never had that time. The whole Tanz fanbase splits into two groups when it comes to discussing why the show failed so badly (atleast that's what the critics said). Some people say it's because of the expensive previews, sets and team members that got paid a lot of money. And because of critics who wrote the nastiest things about the show and the many people who believed them. Others say it's because of the horrid script and changes including character designs, lyrics and jokes. And this leads me to the first answer of my question - what is my goal?
This website was not created to discuss, which is the better version of Tanz, or why the Broadway version flopped. This website was created for all those, who appreciated the production, the cast or the music or anything else. This website was also created for those, who fell in love with Dance of the Vampires because of all the things I love about it. A production that possibly went to really hard times, but managed to be produced and directed with love and commitment. Because of an epic cast that could possibly be the most fabulous one for a Tanz production, a set and costume design that's innovative, fresh and full of love for details and of course a beautiful score and songs. This website was also created to give DOTV fans a place to go with everything that they need. I tried to collect everything of the show that went through my fingers. Sadly the old fansite that doesn't exist anymore is not working properly anymore when you use an Archive software so most pictures of the production are lost. I tried to save the most stuff from that page and put it in this one. Have fun children of the night!
DOTV hatte viele Fehler die nie ausgebessert werden konnten, aufgrund der geringen Laufzeit. Ein Urteil ob die Fehler nun bei Michael Crawford selbst liegen oder beim Team hinter der Bühne, steht meiner Meinung nach keinem zu.
Ich habe die Show damals in New York gesehen und kann sagen das es zwar überhaupt nichts mit der europäischen Version gemein hat, aber eine seichte, lustige, wunderschön anzusehende Alternative darstellt. Die Cast war absolut fabelhaft und ich hätte viel drum gegeben eine Cast CD in den Händen zu halten. Das TDV Fans, zu denen ich aber sowas von gehöre, diese Show dermaßen verurteilen und zerreißen ist ziemlich bitter. Ich verstehe nicht wieso man sich da so reinsteigern muss. Wem ein Musical nicht gefällt, ignoriert es, hört sich die Lieder nicht an und interessiert sich nicht für Neuigkeiten. Aber bei dieser Show wurde voll auf Konfrontation geschalten. Es gibt einige positive Reviews, die ich an dieser Stelle noch nicht verlinke. Vielleicht lass ich erstmal die Disskusion starten.