The art of balance - 25 years of Tigerpalast in Frankfurt

If there is one place in Frankfurt that deserves the term institution, it is the Tigerpalast. Because not only did its founders Johnny Klinke, Margareta Dillinger and Matthias Beltz, who died much too early in 2002, bring the variety theatre back to Frankfurt in 1988. With their concept, they also virtually gave the starting signal for a renaissance of the big-city variety arts. For 25 years now, the Tigerpalast has held a clear top position. This was achieved not only by the constant commitment of internationally renowned artists. Also the mixture of first-class Varieté art and top catering, worked out with co-founder Robert Mangold, makes the Tigerpalast so special.

The great love for Varieté connects the makers of the Tigerpalast and the journalist Sabine Börchers, who has often reported on the revues on this very special Frankfurt stage for newspapers such as the Frankfurter Neue Presse. The resulting contact has now led to Börchers writing a book about the Tigerpalst and its creators, allowing her to take one of the rare glimpses behind the scenes of the house and into the archives. The result is called "The Art of Balance - 25 Years of the Tigerpalast in Frankfurt" and takes the reader on an exciting, interesting and highly amusing journey through a quarter of a century of the Tigerpalast.

The book does not begin, however, with its founding, but with a brief look at Frankfurt's vaudeville history, in which the Schumann Theater at the main train station played a significant role. This is followed by chapters dealing with Johnny Klinke's eventful career, the rocky road from the first idea to the realisation of the Varieté dream and the conversion of the former Salvation Army building into the Tigerpalast. Especially in this part of the book it becomes clear not only with what passion Klinke and Dillinger pursued the realization of their dream. It also becomes clear while reading how impossible its realization actually was, which was not only due to the mistaken belief of some decision-makers in the city that vaudeville was something one would associate with the red-light district.

With the grand opening of the Tigerpalast, the book shifts its focus to the great world-class artists that Margareta Dillinger brought to Frankfurt. In the process, another special feature of the Tigerpalast also becomes clear. For the artists are offered the unique opportunity to live with their families in specially furnished artists' apartments directly in the house during their engagement of several months. Thus the tiger palace becomes evenly not only the job, but also a piece homeland, the entire team becomes a kind large family. Also that is a reason for the fact that the tiger palace enjoys a completely special, very positive call in the industry and it succeeds so again and again to win completely outstanding talents for the revues.

This high level determines however not only the happening on the stage. In the culinary field, too, the demand for genuine top-class gastronomy quickly rose, which is vividly traced in the third part of the book. The fact that high quality for the eye and the palate also attracts a corresponding audience becomes clear in the next chapter, which deals with "premieres and politics" and also takes a look at the guest book filled with prominent names. Before a final balance Sabine Börchers throws still another short view of events, which presented the tiger palace outside the house, whereby the historical high-wire run to the city anniversary here naturally a completely special value takes.

That Johnny Klinke and Margareta Dillinger trusted Sabine Börchers so much that they not only opened up to her in interviews, but also gave her access to a lot of archival material, makes "The Art of Balance - 25 Years of the Tigerpalast in Frankfurt" a book that is bursting with love for this Frankfurt institution and for vaudeville art and reveals to the reader fascinating and extremely entertaining insights into a very special world. It is a worthy contribution to a great jubilee, which reads very pleasantly and also has quite a few wonderful pictures from 25 years of Tigerpalast to offer. For this there is a more than deserved: Absolutely recommendable and a hearty "Happy Birthday Tigerpalast"!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp