Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin extends its most successful VIVID Grand Show for one more year

Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin extends its most successful VIVID Grand Show for one more year

With 689,361 guests and ticket sales totaling €38.8 million, the VIVID Grand Show is the Palast’s most successful production since 1945. In light of the theater’s state-ordered closure until 19 April and the general uncertainty about the time thereafter, the runtime of the current Grand Show is to be extended until summer 2021.

The measures imposed by the federal and state governments to contain the pandemic also pose major organisational challenges for the Friedrichstadt-Palast. General Director Dr. Berndt Schmidt explains: “We fully support the responsible decision of the Berlin Senate. At the same time, we must now set the course for our theater’s future.”

On the order of the Senator for Culture and Europe, Dr. Klaus Lederer, the Palast has cancelled all events due to take place at the theater between 11 March and 19 April 2020. More than 40,000 tickets for the VIVID Grand Show must now be re-booked or refunded for Berlin’s most visited stage. Many of the cancelled performances would have been completely sold out – even in its second year, the dazzling production remains hugely popular.

In terms of the number of guests (545,000) and ticket sales, 2019 was the most successful year at the Palast to date.

Extending the show’s runtime for another season will mean people have one whole year longer to experience the Palast’s hit Grand Show. Both the countless cancelled performances and the rehearsals for the follow-up production, which were originally planned for March and April but have now also been cancelled, as well as the disruption to the global supply chains (including deliveries for stage sets and technical equipment) inevitably lead to changed conditions: “Our current situation is changing dynamically and unpredictable. I strongly believe that the potential of VIVID, our most successful production to date, is far from being exhausted – despite the current closure period – and I am convinced that we will be able to continue to grow. Hence we will extend a Grand Show’s runtime by one more year to a total of three years for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Berndt Schmidt continues.

‘When was the last time you did something for the first time?’ is one of the central questions asked in the VIVID Grand Show. Not only our guests must be asking themselves this very question these days when they observe what is happening both in the world at large and in their immediate surroundings. The Palast answers this question with an exuberant celebration of life – this seems particularly apt in the current confusing and at times unsettling situation. The Palast Ensemble can hardly wait for this gigantic rush of color featuring over 100 outstanding artists to once again be able to bask in applause. Given that it is still unclear whether 1,900 seats will be permitted again immediately, the Palast is planning to offer 1,000 seats for the first few weeks after reopening so that a distance of 1.5 meters can be maintained between guests if need be.

- eTurboNews | Trends | Travel News

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