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On 28 September The Bodyguard will premiere in Madrid, and in the same evening Grease premieres in Paris. These are two very different musicals with one notable thing in common: both shows were developed in the Netherlands.
The musicals were produced in the last two years under a non-replica license. With this kind of agreement, Albert Verlinde and his creative team had the creative space to make their own artistic adaptation of the original production. Grease became a successful touring show in the Netherlands, and The Bodyguard went on to sell out Utrecht’s Beatrix Theater for two years. Both successes will now move on to France and Spain. The local teams will naturally take the lead because they obviously know their own culture the best, but there is also close cooperation with the Dutch creative team about the ingredients that were so successful earlier on. We ask Albert Verlinde, Managing Director Stage Entertainment Netherlands, about the details behind the European partnership.
How does the partnership between Stage countries work in practice?
‘In the Netherlands, we often make non-replicas. This means the production is not an exact copy of the Broadway or West End version. We make our own version. We’ve become very good at this thanks to all the creative talent we have. For example, The Bodyguard is different than the West End production. Some people even think that it is perhaps better than the English original. This got my colleague managing directors in France (Laurent Bentata) and Spain (Yolanda Pérez Abejón) to thinking about asking the two directors behind the Dutch creative and commercial successes to direct their new productions. I think it’s a great example that demonstrates the way all Stage countries are taking advantage of a new kind of partnership that crosses borders.’
Does every country decide itself which musical titles it produces?
‘Every country decides on the best programming of shows, but you naturally try to take a broader view from a group perspective. You hope that if the Dutch On Your Feet! works for us this season, the production can later go to, say, France, Germany or Spain—just like the return to the Netherlands of Disney’s The Lion King after continuing success in Madrid (since 2011) and Hamburg (since 2001!). Stage Entertainment does step in as a group when it comes to licensing decisions, and that is very sensible. But it is equally important that you always feel the spirit of your own country in a production and that you retain the DNA.’
How involved are you with The Bodyguard and Grease in another country?
‘I remain involved, with pleasure. In fact I’m an ambassador for those aspects of the show that contributed to its success in the Netherlands so the French and Spanish teams can benefit from what we earlier researched and thought up. That’s why I’m present at auditions, look at set designs and have close contact with the country managing directors and show directors Carline Brouwer in Madrid and Martin Michel in Paris. Of course, a show changes as soon as you produce it in another country. It has to change. Then I see it as my responsibility to be a critical sounding board for the director because I know the processes we experienced earlier in the Netherlands and the arguments that were behind certain decisions.’
Turning the tables, what musical would you like to bring to the Netherlands from one of the other Stage countries?
When I last saw Mamma Mia! in Spain again, I would like to bring the production back to the Netherlands again.
