Mandolinen und Mondschein "unterwegs gen Italien", a comedy revue by Thomas Bäppler-Wolf, with: Ute Ehrenfels, Eva Völl, Pierre Humphrey, Rüdiger Schade and Bäppi La Belle. Directed by Thomas Bäppler-Wolf
With the Schlager revue "Verliebt, verlobt, verheiratet" by Dirk Böhling, Theatrallalla artistic director Thomas Bäppler-Wolf has delivered his successful debut as a director. Although the play was pitted against the outsized competition of the World Cup during its first performances in the summer of 2014 and thus didn't really have an easy time attracting many spectators to the small Volkstheater in the Nordend, the charming play quickly developed into an absolute audience favorite. Later performances in the winter of 2014 and 2015 were almost completely sold out and caused downright storms of enthusiasm among the audience. And for good reason, as the play spreads an extreme amount of good humour, which makes the sun rise even in the gloomy season. The wonderful adaptation by Bäppler-Wolf and the wonderful interplay of the actors also contributed significantly to the success of the musical comedy.
Because of the success, Thomas Bäppler-Wolf has decided to stage a sequel, which he also wrote himself. "Mandolinen und Mondschein - Unterwegs gen Italien" accompanies the lovers Gisela (Eva Völl) and Erwin (Pierre Humphrey) after their wedding "Ganz in Weiß" on their honeymoon to Italy. But they can not really enjoy their togetherness, because "The mother is always there". But it's not just Rita (Bäppi La Belle) who ensures that the honeymoon turns out to be far less romantic than they had hoped. Because Ilse (Ute Ehrenfels) and Otto (Rüdiger Schade) have also joined the trip. And on the very first day, Otto stumbles over a jellyfish and ends up in hospital, so Ilse can only sigh: "Boy, come back soon". Despite the bright red rubber boat, the young couple is not really happy and they are inclined to say resignedly: "Que sera, sera". But then Gisela sees a man on the beach selling "souvenirs" - and he bears a suspicious resemblance to Otto. And suddenly the honeymoon takes a completely unexpected turn.
The reunion with the Wöhlermann and Stembke families follows on seamlessly from its predecessor - both dramaturgically and qualitatively. The play is a two-hour (including intermission) injection of a pure dose of good humor with quite a few catchy tunes that make it almost impossible for the audience not to sing along loudly and leave the theater whistling happily at the end. It is also an advantage that the actors obviously have a lot of fun slipping into the roles of Gisela, Erwin and Co. again. With a lot of verve they perform the 50s and 60s hits - some wonderful dance interludes included. This not only makes for quite a few hearty laughs, but also for a pleasant time-out from everyday life, where every mood, no matter how dull, is lifted to sunny heights.
Thomas Bäppler-Wolf has managed very well to capture the charming tone of the predecessor with his sequel. In doing so, he didn't simply copy Böhling's style, but polished the existing motifs with his own unique brand of humor. The result made for many happy faces at the premiere and a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. Who liked "Verliebt, verlobt, verheiratet", which will love "Mandolinen und Mondschein - Unterwegs gen Italien" and should not miss the piece in any case. And who knows - if this turbulent honeymoon is a complete success again, the adventures of the two chaotic families might go into a third round. After this successful sequel, that would only be desirable! (Text by Sebastian Betzold)
