DIRECTOR’S NOTES
It was a great honour to have been invited by David Winter to lead the production team for the world premiere of his modern musical The Piper. Together with the Executive Committee of the English Theatre Group of Zug, it has been a cohesive team effort to premiere this family show in the Casino Theatre of Zug. We were all inspired by the toe-tapping score and story-telling lyrics of The Piper with its relevant morals relating to adults and children alike.
The Grimm Brothers’ fairytale entitled Die Kinder zu Hameln, was published in 1816, based on an obscure historical event occurring on June 26, 1284 during a terrible rat plague in the German town of Hameln, or “Hamelin” in English, when local children were supposedly led to safety by a musician, but were never seen again. The Rattenfängerhaus, or “Pied Piper House,” was built in Hamelin between 1602 and 1603. The motif of the Rattenfänger, or “Rat Catcher,” was born, and there still remains a lane in Hamelin called the Bungelose Gasse, or the Drumless Lane, where it is still forbidden to sing or play an instrument. Subsequently, Der Rattenfänger von Hameln was made famous in London for the English speaking world by the British poet, Robert Browning, when he wrote The Pied Piper of Hamelin in 1849. Since the publication of the oldest remaining manuscript in the 14th century by Lüneburg, there have been varied artistic, musical, poetic, pantomime, ballet, operatic, and film interpretations of the legend, which have all gained accolades. David Winter has now composed a 21st century musical version of the story. This world premiere of The Piper was a culmination of a truly multi-cultural cast and crew, to appeal not only to the local citizens of Zug, but also to a wider international audience.
To present this amateur production in such spectacular fashion, a thoroughly dedicated production management team worked tirelessly to offer unparalleled support for the fifty-five cast and over thirty production crew. As Stage Manager, Dolores Baretta coordinated the entire on-stage cast and backstage crew to ensure the smooth running of the show. It also seems that few shows can be produced by the ETGZ without the unswerving support of Costume Designer, Kathy Glass and her wardrobe team, who received rave reviews for their creative work. The faultless reliability of the Associate Props Manager, Linda Schürpf, also makes for an essential “prop” herself, for the majority of ETGZ productions, working closely together with her team of assistants. The artistic vision of Set Designer, Andrew Gray, gave us a “Rat’s eye view” of Zug, both above, and below ground. To make his vision a reality required the envious abilities and persistent commitment of the set construction crew, led efficiently by Pedro Esslinger and Urs Steinhauser. Choreographer, Ina Seidl, coached the chorus and particularly worked miracles to take the innocent children you see on stage, and modify their behaviour into those nasty rodents, who annoyingly disturb the peaceful existence of the Townspeople of Zug. Lighting Design by Philip Heselton, and the Sound Supervision of Dave Baird, provided those colourful and technical touches respectively, to clarify the finer details which are so essential to complete the picture for the audience. The band of seven musicians, conducted by David Winter, also provided the delightful tunes to complete the harmonious entertainment of the show.
In addition, the much appreciated dressing room supervision during the production run, and chauffeur services throughout rehearsals, by all the family members, teachers and friends who coordinated the kids with much patience, but then returned those even more energized Rats home! Heartfelt thanks must also be extended to all those front-of-house volunteers who willingly gave their free time to supervise the cloakroom and promote The Piper merchandise. Finally, the public relations efforts of many cast members were greatly needed to assist in publicizing the production in a variety of ways, to both promote the show, and secure local sponsorship for the theatre group.
Due to my Scottish heritage, following the family motto shown on the coat of arms of my Anderson clan, I gain my inner strength and self-motivation, to ‘Stand Sure.’ This motto guides me to bring into fruition such team achievements as presenting The Piper for the enjoyment of audiences of The English Theatre of Zug. Perhaps we too, can all learn to also integrate the morals portrayed in The Piper into our personal and professional lives.
Morris Anderson, Producer & Director