Hugh Grant and "Actually ... Love" meet "Arielle" and "Finding Nemo": The romcom "Everything is over, but we have each other (under water)" premiered at the Munich Volkstheater.
Around the middle of this boozy evening at the Munich Volkstheater, the question arises: "Which guppy came up with that?" The answer is as easy to give as preparing a fish stick: director Bonn Park and composer Ben Roessler are the captains Iglos on the bridge in the mermaid musical Everything Is Over, But We Have Each Other (Underwater) which was launched on Stage 1 on Friday (January 27, 2023).
After 90 minutes it is clear: Blubb did it.
The boat floats - and how!
"Everything is over, but we have each other (under water)" premiered at the Munich Volkstheater
Last season, the Park/Roessler duo set up the high school musical “Gymnasium” at the house.
For their new prank, they have now set sail towards the past.
Especially in the noughties, cinema audiences around the world fell in love with romcoms, i.e. in the genre of “romantic comedy”.
These romantic comedies always worked according to the same recipe: the two main characters, who at first glance don't seem to fit together, end up embracing each other.
Until then, there are a few obstacles, annoyances and other adversities to navigate.
But it turns out fine.
Always.
Naturally.
Love Actually, starring Hugh Grant, is the mother of all romcoms
The mother of all rom-coms is Richard Curtis' 2003 Love Actually. Hugh Grant (
the
face of the genre) smashes his way through the scene as the British Prime Minister and into the heart of his domestic servants at 10 Downing Street.
Bonn Park and Ben Roessler use this film as a blueprint.
They let the story sink in, throw in a bit of "The Little Mermaid" and "Finding Nemo" - and get a glittering, sparkling mix that never wobbles at the premiere.
The director and his composer, like the jolly ensemble, take the genre seriously and also have a lot of kitsch in their gills.
The message of "Everything is over, but we have each other (underwater)" is as clear as a mountain stream: The world - whether above or below water - is horrible and sad enough ("You burned hope like the truck the diesel"): You just have to swim your way free of that.
And what better way than with ease, laughter, mood and love?
Just.
It is told of a kingdom at the bottom of the sea, where Prime Minister Hugh receives her first state visit with Empress Li on her first day at work.
Nothing is prepared, a lot goes wrong - oh, by now you know how the rabbit runs or which lanes the dolphin pulls.
The splashing and hustle and bustle is held together by a giant octopus that Laura Kirst built in the middle of her dazzling Atlantis stage.
Sonja Lachenmayr (harp), Nino Stübinger (synthesizer), Patrick Stapleton (marimba) and Akari Nomizu (double bass) hang from their tentacles and play a rainbow fish mix à la “Aquarius”, film music and trendy pearls.
Even if not every voice in the ensemble carries - just dive down (or take off): It's fun, and everything will be ... .
Applause like a waterfall.
(More theater? Read our reviews of the premieres of “Valentiniade” at the Munich Residenztheater and “The Brothers Karamazov” at the Munich Volkstheater here.)
