Spectacle & Barbecue
By Beat Fritsch
By Beat FritschWhat does an 85-year-old travesty artist look like? Have you ever wondered how Elvis would sing today? Do you think the Rolling Stones would still be on stage in 20 years' time? - The Young@Heart Choir's spectacle "Road to Heaven" anticipated the answers to these questions. What was going on there - you would have thought you were in the wrong movie or even on a drug trip gone wrong if you hadn't known better. The Tages-Anzeiger invited guests to the exclusive theater spectacle premiere in the Werfthalle one day before the official opening, and traditionally very extravagant fare is served. Like this year's [email protected] The idea for this troupe was born in an old people's home in - where else? - America. The youngest of the performers is 68, the oldest 94. The show began in all-American style: a couple of old Texas cowboys in their original outfits sang "Rawhide", the theme song from a western series from the 1950s. Then it was time for the oldies to go home. The stage setting was transformed into an old people's home with a reception, nurses and a four-man combo. However, the inmates got straight back into the swing of things and drew on the full range of their repertoire. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elvis - you would have expected that after the initial surprise effect. But the old guys went one better and one better. When they came up with interpretations of Devo and the Talking Heads, the audience would have started dancing if there had been enough room.
The guests went through a rollercoaster of emotions, the show was an emotional all-round blow with the really big hammer. From absolutely tear-jerking interludes - even hard-boiled advertisers pulled out their handkerchiefs - to songs to clap along to, all the ingredients of an absolutely perfect performance were there. Suddenly, the lyrics began to take on a completely different meaning: for example, during the intonation of "Forever young", which was also the leitmotif of the stage show. Or when the wild mob from the old people's home belted out their "I can't get no satisfaction" to the audience. When they danced to "Staying alive", albeit with slightly rusty moves. And when an old man in a wheelchair performed "Every breath you take, every move you make". The definitive hammer blow then came with "Stairway to heaven" in a version that would have done Led Zeppelin proud.
Quintessence: The Young@ Heart Chorus proved in the most impressive way that you are exactly as old as you feel. And made you think: Every visitor is likely to have taken some very personal thoughts and feelings home with them. In any case, it had never been so quiet as the visitors made their way towards the Theater Spektakel's tent city and pub landscape for a late-night snack.
After a few missteps, all visitors agreed that the organizers of this year's Tages-Anzeiger preview not only hit the bull's eye, but also the heart. However, the mood soon changed from thoughtful to cheerful again thanks to all the delicious food served from the buffet and barbecue. And when the Young@Heart stars also arrived later for dinner, there was another loud and prolonged standing ovation.
"Marchel Barbecue" was the name of the game on Sunday at the "Giardino Verde". The biggest family event in the advertising industry took place in the tropical garden in the direction of Reppischtal - Markus Marchel's barbecue. It has always been held in the past: Children welcome, but for the first time the BBQ took place on a Sunday and started at midday. Normally, advertisers accompanied by their kids have to leave an event after an hour or two because the kids won't shut up. Not so at Marchel. Rarely have parents stayed seated for so long, because the children were almost better looked after than the adults. Marchel's nursery outshone everything that had gone before: professional childcare, a trampoline tent, clowns, games of all kinds - all made of wood, no Gameboys - lots of space to romp around and a painting, make-up and tattoo studio. "Just henna of course, it'll go away in three weeks," the artist reassured the parents. And so soon little and bigger Fischlins, Hallers, Küngs, Marchels, Müllers, Stuckerts, Sutters and all their other names were scurrying in and around the "Giardino Verde" in all their colors. All guests with offspring will have to come back to the Marchel BBQ next year, for better or worse - otherwise the house could get into trouble.
As Marchel, formerly advertising manager at the Beobachter, now performs this function at Hotellerie Suisse, the sponsorship could be placed on a much broader gastronomic basis. So the adults also got their money's worth. One or two people did miss the lamb gigot marinated according to the original Marchel recipe from earlier times. However, the invited barbecue world champion Andreas Arbter conjured up so many different types of meat and other barbecue specialties from his three Cactus Jack grills (the ones that look like locomotives) that nothing was left to be desired. And extensive buffets ranging from A for aperitif to K for cheese and S for salad to Z for dessert delighted all the guests who had gathered to feast and chat. Saxophonist Roland Graf and singer Eve Kay once again provided the perfect accompaniment. Conclusion: the eleventh Marchel BBQ was a five-star event. And for all those who missed it; there will certainly be a twelfth.
Beat Fritsch
The guests went through a rollercoaster of emotions, the show was an emotional all-round blow with the really big hammer. From absolutely tear-jerking interludes - even hard-boiled advertisers pulled out their handkerchiefs - to songs to clap along to, all the ingredients of an absolutely perfect performance were there. Suddenly, the lyrics began to take on a completely different meaning: for example, during the intonation of "Forever young", which was also the leitmotif of the stage show. Or when the wild mob from the old people's home belted out their "I can't get no satisfaction" to the audience. When they danced to "Staying alive", albeit with slightly rusty moves. And when an old man in a wheelchair performed "Every breath you take, every move you make". The definitive hammer blow then came with "Stairway to heaven" in a version that would have done Led Zeppelin proud.
Quintessence: The Young@ Heart Chorus proved in the most impressive way that you are exactly as old as you feel. And made you think: Every visitor is likely to have taken some very personal thoughts and feelings home with them. In any case, it had never been so quiet as the visitors made their way towards the Theater Spektakel's tent city and pub landscape for a late-night snack.
After a few missteps, all visitors agreed that the organizers of this year's Tages-Anzeiger preview not only hit the bull's eye, but also the heart. However, the mood soon changed from thoughtful to cheerful again thanks to all the delicious food served from the buffet and barbecue. And when the Young@Heart stars also arrived later for dinner, there was another loud and prolonged standing ovation.
"Marchel Barbecue" was the name of the game on Sunday at the "Giardino Verde". The biggest family event in the advertising industry took place in the tropical garden in the direction of Reppischtal - Markus Marchel's barbecue. It has always been held in the past: Children welcome, but for the first time the BBQ took place on a Sunday and started at midday. Normally, advertisers accompanied by their kids have to leave an event after an hour or two because the kids won't shut up. Not so at Marchel. Rarely have parents stayed seated for so long, because the children were almost better looked after than the adults. Marchel's nursery outshone everything that had gone before: professional childcare, a trampoline tent, clowns, games of all kinds - all made of wood, no Gameboys - lots of space to romp around and a painting, make-up and tattoo studio. "Just henna of course, it'll go away in three weeks," the artist reassured the parents. And so soon little and bigger Fischlins, Hallers, Küngs, Marchels, Müllers, Stuckerts, Sutters and all their other names were scurrying in and around the "Giardino Verde" in all their colors. All guests with offspring will have to come back to the Marchel BBQ next year, for better or worse - otherwise the house could get into trouble.
As Marchel, formerly advertising manager at the Beobachter, now performs this function at Hotellerie Suisse, the sponsorship could be placed on a much broader gastronomic basis. So the adults also got their money's worth. One or two people did miss the lamb gigot marinated according to the original Marchel recipe from earlier times. However, the invited barbecue world champion Andreas Arbter conjured up so many different types of meat and other barbecue specialties from his three Cactus Jack grills (the ones that look like locomotives) that nothing was left to be desired. And extensive buffets ranging from A for aperitif to K for cheese and S for salad to Z for dessert delighted all the guests who had gathered to feast and chat. Saxophonist Roland Graf and singer Eve Kay once again provided the perfect accompaniment. Conclusion: the eleventh Marchel BBQ was a five-star event. And for all those who missed it; there will certainly be a twelfth.
Beat Fritsch
went on an Indiana Jones safari in the "Giardino Verde". You certainly feel like a hero from Steven Spielberg's films when you enter the gardens in Uitikon-Waldegg. This year, the Marchel barbecue took place in the tropical surroundings of the "Giardino" (page 20). On the Wednesday before, the Tages-Anzeiger hosted the traditional premiere of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, preceded by a boat trip, in beautiful Lake Zurich weather (page 18).
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