To one early seventies generation of Dutch children, "Kunt u mij de weg naar Hamelen vertellen, meneer?" remains a precious TV memory. Unfortunately all but 6 of the 45 episodes were wiped after their initial broadcast, depriving all future generations of the knowledge of what happened after the rat-catcher lured all the children of Hamelen out of town. With only three long playing records to spark his memory, gossip TV columnist/budding theater producer Albert Verlinde decided to turn a childhood favorite into his first original production. After receiving writer Harrie Geelen and composer Joop Stokkermans' approval, he got writer/stage director Koen van Dijk to create a new version for all the original fans to take their children to. This television registration was taped in front of a live audience and includes only stage direction, meaning the actors are often staring past each other while speaking and gesturing broadly. You can also play "spot the microphone dangling from the wig" with every one of them.
One cast member from the series, Loekie Knol, returns to play an older Lidwientje Walg, telling the story of the rat-catcher of Hameln to her daughter (Kim-Lian in a baby bonnet). In a fan pleasing moment, Loekie sings one of her old songs to lead us into her flashback and the actual story. She will return later on playing the Queen of Bambergen (again with Kim-Lian as her daughter, albeit a different one) as just about everybody in the cast plays several parts. This make the introductory scenes in Hamelen even harder to follow, before the children, accompanied by four adults get lost in a nameless fantasy land of Elves, Gnomes and competitive Princes.
While the younger Lidwientje (Chantal Janzen) is more plucky than Loekie was thirty years earlier, the three adult males characters are more awkwardly updated: Bertram Bierenbroodspot (René van Kooten) suddenly becomes reluctant to admit his love for Lidwientje (strange, as at the start of the show he wanted her to marry him). Town crier Hildebrand Brom (Maarten Wansink) quite literally never stops shouting, while his comic sparring partner Arnout Koffij (Job Schuring) becomes a bit of a non entity once his trademark fearfulness is inexplicably transported to the formally stout and foolhardy Prince Tor (Danny Rook). Lastly the children of Hamelen (chorus) appear from the isles to sing the title track and dance some Paula Abdul inspired choreography. As in the series, two of the children get more to do than the others, but in this case Barend and Hilletje are obviously way past puberty (Barendje is balding).
Koen van Dijk managed to include all of the most memorable supportive characters and story lines from the series in a two hour show, although the villain from the last series, Ice Witch Wenzela, gets much more to do than series regular Guurt van Grasp and the enormous flying carpet that housed 25 children and 4 grown ups (or more) here only lifts two. It is the untrustworthy Gruizel Gruis (Michel Sorbach), alluded to being the same person as the rat-catcher in this version, who's dialog is most reminiscent of Harry Geelen's original. Unfortunately, his irritating squeaky voice makes him almost impossible to understand (and makes you wonder how he kept this up night after night). Most of the other characters dispense with Geelen's brilliant and witty lines and instead break the fourth wall by joking about musical conventions. There are also many references to TV commercials, mobile ring-tones, soaps and a even the marriage of Prins Willem Alexander and Prinsess Maxima (allready outdated).
Predictably, most of the songs used in this production stem from aforementioned cast album's released in the seventies, and as the lyrics were most often episode specific, they had to change some of place names and situations around to make them fit in the story. For instance, when Bertram sings his love song to Lidwientje, he mentions being locked up in a high tower, while in the play both are stuck in a cave. However, the arrangements by Ad van Dijk are quite clever, seamlessly merging several songs together (though most of this is strangely absent on the soundtrack album) and there are some very inventive scene changes: one long white sheet turns into a hand held table cloth for a banquet and a giant bed during the course of one medley, while the entire cast collaborates on creating a dragon out of paper fans during the 'Prinsentoto'.
Albert Verlinde's V en V Entertainment followed Hamelen with another musical based on a seventies children's show, "Ti-ta Tovenaar". However, since that series was aimed at a much younger audience and is still occasionally repeated, it could not count on the same hard core audience Hamelen had.
8 out of 10
One cast member from the series, Loekie Knol, returns to play an older Lidwientje Walg, telling the story of the rat-catcher of Hameln to her daughter (Kim-Lian in a baby bonnet). In a fan pleasing moment, Loekie sings one of her old songs to lead us into her flashback and the actual story. She will return later on playing the Queen of Bambergen (again with Kim-Lian as her daughter, albeit a different one) as just about everybody in the cast plays several parts. This make the introductory scenes in Hamelen even harder to follow, before the children, accompanied by four adults get lost in a nameless fantasy land of Elves, Gnomes and competitive Princes.
While the younger Lidwientje (Chantal Janzen) is more plucky than Loekie was thirty years earlier, the three adult males characters are more awkwardly updated: Bertram Bierenbroodspot (René van Kooten) suddenly becomes reluctant to admit his love for Lidwientje (strange, as at the start of the show he wanted her to marry him). Town crier Hildebrand Brom (Maarten Wansink) quite literally never stops shouting, while his comic sparring partner Arnout Koffij (Job Schuring) becomes a bit of a non entity once his trademark fearfulness is inexplicably transported to the formally stout and foolhardy Prince Tor (Danny Rook). Lastly the children of Hamelen (chorus) appear from the isles to sing the title track and dance some Paula Abdul inspired choreography. As in the series, two of the children get more to do than the others, but in this case Barend and Hilletje are obviously way past puberty (Barendje is balding).
Koen van Dijk managed to include all of the most memorable supportive characters and story lines from the series in a two hour show, although the villain from the last series, Ice Witch Wenzela, gets much more to do than series regular Guurt van Grasp and the enormous flying carpet that housed 25 children and 4 grown ups (or more) here only lifts two. It is the untrustworthy Gruizel Gruis (Michel Sorbach), alluded to being the same person as the rat-catcher in this version, who's dialog is most reminiscent of Harry Geelen's original. Unfortunately, his irritating squeaky voice makes him almost impossible to understand (and makes you wonder how he kept this up night after night). Most of the other characters dispense with Geelen's brilliant and witty lines and instead break the fourth wall by joking about musical conventions. There are also many references to TV commercials, mobile ring-tones, soaps and a even the marriage of Prins Willem Alexander and Prinsess Maxima (allready outdated).
Predictably, most of the songs used in this production stem from aforementioned cast album's released in the seventies, and as the lyrics were most often episode specific, they had to change some of place names and situations around to make them fit in the story. For instance, when Bertram sings his love song to Lidwientje, he mentions being locked up in a high tower, while in the play both are stuck in a cave. However, the arrangements by Ad van Dijk are quite clever, seamlessly merging several songs together (though most of this is strangely absent on the soundtrack album) and there are some very inventive scene changes: one long white sheet turns into a hand held table cloth for a banquet and a giant bed during the course of one medley, while the entire cast collaborates on creating a dragon out of paper fans during the 'Prinsentoto'.
Albert Verlinde's V en V Entertainment followed Hamelen with another musical based on a seventies children's show, "Ti-ta Tovenaar". However, since that series was aimed at a much younger audience and is still occasionally repeated, it could not count on the same hard core audience Hamelen had.
8 out of 10
