“Red Star Line Musical Spectacle Gets a Five-Star Review at the Studio 100 Pop-Up Theater in Puurs on March 19, 2023”

With ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’, Studio 100 has completely caught the musical vibes again. Their latest production combines the story of the migration to America in the 1920s with the infectious music of Steve Willaert. The story of the love between Jan and Marie is beautifully designed by director Frank Van Laecke. He uses large set pieces with technical highlights and a gigantic cast, but also knows how to use the mobile stands in such a way that the most intimate scenes come into their own in their full purity. Yan Tax’s costume designs and Martin Michel’s dance choreographies effortlessly transport you to the period of Prohibition in the turbulent 1920s. ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’ is a journey from the tripe fair in the Flemish polders to the nightclubs in the bustling metropolis of New York. It is a journey back in time to an era of big dreams of a better life somewhere far away. It is a journey into the heart of two lovers who cling to hope with an ocean of obstacles between them.

After ‘Forget Barbara’ we went with a small heart to look at Gert Verhulst’s new brainchild. The previous product did not appeal to us and expectations were therefore tempered. But all those worries turned out to be unnecessary: ​​Studio 100’s ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’ is an absolute stunner of a musical. The picture fits. There is a strong, primary storyline about the love between Jan and Marie that comes under tension when Jan goes to look for his happiness in America. His new boss Walter and his daughter Louise try to put a stop to this love luck and are helped on the other side of the ocean by Marie’s mother.

You have the fascinating, secondary storyline about the adventures of Jef and Zulma and their children Martha and Gust on the docks of Antwerp. Their life story paints a fascinating picture of life here with us at the beginning of the last century. As a common thread through these stories, you also get the rich history of the Red Star Line and the migration to America with the ship De Belgenland. ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’ therefore gives you a historically substantiated life story with hope, passion, doubt, pain, loss and joy that will captivate you throughout the performance and take you back in time.

To properly evoke that spirit of the times, set designers Piet De Koninck and Wouter Verhulst have not only recreated gigantic parts of the Belgenland, they have also very clearly incorporated many art deco elements into all sets and graphic designs. In combination with the costumes designed by Yan Tax, you can easily imagine yourself in New York in the 1920s. It seems as if the grandstands are moving time capsules. You also notice that choreographer Martin Michel has found a lot of inspiration in the classic musicals from the time of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire to bring that nice old-fashioned atmosphere to life on the stage. And he did this with great success. You can easily imagine yourself in a speakeasy where Gitty Pregers sings about the qualities of New York in a melody that resembled ‘Arabian Nights’ from ‘Aladdin the Musical’: a smooth melody that is comfortable in the ear and invites you to move along (if that is possible on the cramped seats in the Studio 100 Pop-Up Theater in Puurs). In the choreography you could see a nod from Martin Michel to the legendary Jerome Robbins, the director of West Side Story.

It wasn’t the only time this musical classic came to mind. The moment Jan has tried on his wedding suit, you get a small musical encore in which dancers turn with a broom and a wonderfully full, orchestral sound sounds through the headphones. Steve Willaert’s music and especially the arrangement of that music reminded us of Bernstein’s music. It indicates what a level Studio 100 manages to achieve with this production.

Gert Verhulst, Steve Willaert and Jelle Cleymans have succeeded in writing a very varied palette of songs; this ranges from Flemish folk music in ‘Pintje pak’, over a wonderful, traditional show tune for the scene in the Ziegfeld Follies, to a compelling duet between Martha and Marie: ‘Every Zeemijl Counts’. Lotte Stevens shines as Marie and proves several times that she has a wonderfully beautiful voice. The same can be said for Laura Seys in the role of Martha. But when the two ladies bring their vocal talents together in ‘Every Sea Mile Counts’, the result is more than just the sum of its parts. It’s a moment of absolute, vocal delight that goes straight to your heart and taps into your gut.

Because Studio 100’s ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’ also excels in this: the power of a strong cast. We already talked about the great performances of Lotte Stevens and Laura Seys. We can’t praise them enough, but actually the rest of the actors and actresses deserve a big compliment as well. The last time we saw Jonas Van Geel at work we were anything but impressed with his performance, but here he shines like no other. He plays with passion and dedication and shows good voice control. At one point, director Frank Van Laecke places him alone on the gigantic playing field in a circle of white spotlights and he knows how to carry that scene. As an audience you feel the loneliness of the moment in acting and staging.

We have the feeling that director Frank Van Laecke in ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’ makes full use of the possibilities offered by the Studio 100 Pop-Up Theater in Puurs to go gigantic at one moment in the images that he gives to the audience and at another time to have it played in a very minimalistic and intimate way. It uses gigantic sets, LED screens and a huge walkway to make the grandeur of an ocean cruiser feel. Add to that a huge cast and a large group of extras and you get real mass scenes where you sometimes don’t know where to look first. On the other hand, he sometimes lets the different grandstands form a street or a circle around a small playing surface in order to bring the audience close to the game. When the feeling of the scene then blossoms, the stands also fan open and you get a view of a larger whole.

In this spectacular musical, director Frank Van Laecke uses a lot of modern technology, but this time he manages to make the technology entirely function of the story. At no point do you get the idea that the modern bag of tricks is being used to brag about what they can do in the meantime.

Where in ’40-’45’ there was still a lack of a melody that lingered in the ear, composer Steve Willaert delivers no fewer than two earworms in ‘Red Star Line Spectacle Musical’: ‘A New World’ and ‘Our Dream Begins Today’ . Both melodies are very catchy and come back in different versions throughout the performance. They can be heard in grand orchestration and in intimate emotion. And chances are that at least one of these two will stick between your ears on the way to the car.

With ‘Red Star Line Spektakelmusical’, Studio 100 proves that people in Flanders are still capable of setting up great musicals. The combination of strong acting and singing performances, sophisticated direction, infectious music, smooth choreographies and a technically advanced set provide the spectator with an unforgettable performance that effortlessly takes him to a time when people in Flanders thought: “What have we got to lose.” and went to look for his happiness on the other side of the ocean. And that happiness always had a price to pay.

< Sascha Siereveld >

Red Star Line Spectacle Musical lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes. There’s no break.

Cast:

Marie: Lotte Stevens

Jan: Jonas Van Geel

Walter: Peter Van de Velde

Louise: Charlotte Verduyn

Jacob: Carry Goossens

Martha: Laura Seys

Rosalie: Marleen Merckx

Zulma: Hilde Van Wesepoel

Chief: Peter Thyssen

Odilon: Dirk Van Vaerenbergh

Cyriel: Michiel De Meyer

Gust: Casper Caudron

Casteels: Tim Saey

Recruiter: Martijn Claes

Zangeres Ziegfeld Follies: Lynn Mancel

Singer speakeasy: Gitty Pregers

Voice of old Jan Leemans: Jo De Meyere

Creatives:

Scenario, music and lyrics: Gert Verhulst

Screenplay and direction: Frank Van Laecke

Music and arrangements: Steve Willaert

Lyrics: Jelle Cleymans

Set design: Piet De Koninck and Wouter Verhulst

Choreography: Martin Michel

Costume Design: Yan Tax

Lighting design: Luc Peumans

Sound design: Thomas Van Hoepen

Musical director: Xander Tillon