Compared to the world premiere at Slovácké divadlo in Uherské Hradiště in Moravia (on 6th September), the Prague production does more to meet the authors’ intentions using a new set and new costumes. Although these also have for basis the same set of Prague trivia from the times of Verne and the (fictitious) Czech inventor Jára da Cimrman as the film, the production moves away from its movie model. For the very first time, a Czech musical theatre adaptation went beyond its film original template to create an autonomous and formally shaped production.
A spoof of a spoof
While Brdečka’s and Lipský’s film was a spoof poking fun at thrashy detective stories featuring Nick Carter, the stage musical is a spoof poking fun at the movie itself while also sending up other spoofs and mystifications with which Czechs amuse themselves for over half a century. (...)
But first of all, the production is a tribute to the best American musical comedies, from Gershwin to Bernstein, and the staging goes out of its way to meet the feelings of all the generations. It is a family show in the best sense of the word playing around with the cherished retro style based on swing and hot jazz music. (...)
For the first time, the Broadway Theatre came up with a production diametrically different both from its own staging programme and from other productions on offer by the current musical theatre stage in Prague. It is remindful of the best work from the times of Ladislav Županič’s management of Karlín Theatre. The production is on until the end of November, only a couple of performances are scheduled for the following months, and from April there will be approximately a week run of the show every month.
Josef Herman, MF Dnes, 27.10.2008