Musical theatre is a global art form that is constantly shaped by local contexts. In Vienna, the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien produce musicals that are particularly popular in Japan, which is their oldest and largest overseas market. This book provides a transnational history of Viennese musicals from 1945 to 2019, examining how institutional forces, municipal cultural politics and audience expectations have shaped this phenomenon in both Vienna and Japan. Drawing on theatre studies, art sociology and comparative cultural studies, the analyses cover post-war performances at the Volksoper and Theater an der Wien, Vereinigte Bühnen Wien productions ranging from Elisabeth to I Am From Austria, and their adaptations by the Takarazuka Revue and Tōhō in Japan, as well as subsequent developments such as Marie Antoinette. This publication sheds light on an important facet of global musical theatre today, and will therefore appeal to scholars and anyone with an interest in musical theatre beyond Broadway and the West End.



Rina Tanaka is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Cultural Studies at Kyoto Sangyo University, and a former visiting fellow in the Department of Music Sociology at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Her research explores sociocultural transitions and (re-)contextualisation of musical theatre since the twentieth century. Her recent work appears in The Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre (co-authored, 2022) and Milestones in Musical Theater (2023).



1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background: The "Wiener Musical" Phenomenon

1.2. Hypothesis

1.3. Methodology

1.4. Goal of the Book

1.5. Structure of this Book

PART I BEFORE 2006: TOWARD SOMETHING GLOBAL



2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WIENER MUSICALS IN VIENNA

2.1. Before 1990: The Situation of Musical Theatre in Post-War Vienna

2.2. Establishment of Wiener Musicals: Freudiana (1990) and Elisabeth (1992)



3. DEVELOPMENT OF WIENER MUSICALS IN VIENNA

3.1. Musicals as "Wien Products": Tanz der Vampire (1997) and Mozart! (1999)

3.2. Facing the Century's Start: F@lco (2000), Wake Up (2002), and Barbarella (2004)



4. WIENER MUSICALS IN JAPAN (1996–2006)

4.1. Two Japanese Versions of Elisabeth

4.2. The Global and Local Impacts of the Japanese Versions

4.3. Mutually Beneficial Relation between Vienna and Japan through Musicals

PART II 2006 AND AFTER: PURSUING SOMETHING LOCAL



5. A TURNING POINT FOR WIENER MUSICALS IN 2006

5.1. Structural Reform of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien in 2006

5.2. Wiener Musicals at a Crossroads: Rebecca (2006) and Rudolf (2008)

Excursus: The Problem of the "Drama-Musical"

5.3. For a Smaller International Market: Der Besuch der alten Dame (2013) and Don Camillo und Peppone (2016)



6. EVOLUTION OF PERFORMER-ORIENTED MUSICALS IN JAPAN

6.1. Musicals for (Re-)Localisation: Marie Antoinette (2006)

6.2. Further Developments in Japan: Redī Besu (2014) and Ouke no Monshō (2016)

6.3. High Contextuality (Re-)Presented by Performers



7. FOR THE LOCAL, BY THE LOCAL: I AM FROM AUSTRIA (2017)

7.1. Production, Performance, Reception

Excursus: Schikaneder (2016) and the Problem of the Target Audience

7.2. A Jukebox Musical, or an Austro-Musical?

7.3. The Jukebox Musical as a Medium of "Cultural Memory"

7.4. Conclusion: A Musical "from, about, and for Vienna"



8. TENDENCIES AND DECISIVE FACTORS IN VIENNA AND JAPAN

8.1. Vienna

8.2. Japan



9. CONCLUSION



BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

INDEX