The world’s largest folk festival has a legendary origin, which star composer Harold Faltermeyer (“Axel F”) is dedicated to. His comedy-like musical premieres in Berlin – and not in Munich.
There is now a funny musical about the history of the origins of the Oktoberfest, which is not being premiered in Munich, but in the German capital Berlin, which is always in cultural competition. “Oktoberfest The Musical. Almost true…” is the name of the piece with music by star composer Harold Faltermeyer (“Axel F”) in the Renaissance Theater, which is scheduled to run more than 25 times after the premiere until August 11th.
The musical, which lasts less than two hours, is a kind of metadrama (play-within-a-play/play-within-a-play), because it revolves around the story of an international theater troupe that wants to perform a musical called “Oktoberfest The Musical.”
In Berlin “detached from this Bavarian seriousness”
He does not want to rule out that it will be performed in Munich at some point, composer Faltermeyer told the Munich newspaper “Abendzeitung” in advance, “but this Berlin idea was such an aha moment for me: detached from this Bavarian seriousness, from this absolutely true story, hence the nickname: an almost true story.”
The musical is a colorful comedy, says Faltermeyer (71). He slaps his thighs with laughter every time. The casting of the Pfister siblings is amazing. Behind the cabaret stars “Geschwister Pfister” are the actors and singers Christoph Marti and Tobias Bonn. The male couple recently shone at the Bern Opera as Albin and Georges in the musical “La Cage aux Folles” directed by the filmmaker Axel Ranisch.
Background: The original Oktoberfest in October 1810 was a royal wedding celebration. The whole of Munich seemed to be celebrating when Crown Prince Ludwig – later King Ludwig I – married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
At that time, it was also a matter of underlining the orientation towards the royal seat of Munich and the Wittelsbachs after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Bavaria, to which large parts of Franconia and Swabia now belonged.
In the program booklet, Faltermeyer reveals that all the songs are his “babies” that are “sent out into the world to bring joy and entertainment to people.” However, Ludwig and Theresa’s love song, “Could You Still Love Me?”, is particularly close to his heart.
Songs in English
The songs are sung in English (with subtitles): “In this wonderfully cosmopolitan world of Berlin, I have no concerns that this will not be accepted,” says Faltermeyer.
The Munich native is known for the song “Top Gun (Anthem)” from the 80s Hollywood hit with Tom Cruise, for which he also won a Grammy. Faltermeyer is also famous for the instrumental piece “Axel F”.
The box office hit “Beverly Hills Cop” from 1984 with the main character Axel Foley (played by Eddie Murphy) has just received a sequel 40 years after the first case: the Netflix action comedy “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” with the now 63-year-old Murphy.
In Munich, the Oktoberfest construction is already underway
The Oktoberfest in Munich is considered the largest folk festival in the world. The 189th Oktoberfest will take place from September 21 to October 6, 2024. The large festival tents are currently being set up on the Theresienwiese. After the “Ozapft is!” is called on September 21, around six million visitors are expected within a good two weeks.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
