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From Vienna to the World

The Musicals of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien

From Vienna to the World cover

From Vienna to the World

The Musicals of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien

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Pre-order. Available Dec 24 2026
$37.08 RRP $46.35 Website price saving $9.27 (20%)

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Description

What do the musicals Elisabeth, Dance of the Vampires, Mozart!, Rebecca and Schikaneder have in common? Collectively, they have been seen by over 30 million people around the world, but have never been seen on Broadway or the West End.

For more than three decades Viennese theatre company the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW) has commissioned and produced musicals that have received worldwide acclaim. Performed in 24 countries to over a million audience members annually, the company is the largest exporter of original musicals around the globe. Their shows are immensely popular in Continental Europe and South-East Asia, where they are affectionately known as “Viennese Musicals”.

The first edited collection to focus on the musicals produced by the VBW, From Vienna to the World includes scholarship from six different countries, and approaches the VBW canon using a broad range of perspectives: hermeneutics, historical analysis, literary theory, musicology, music history, queer studies, adaptation theory and interviews.

Shining light on the production processes, creative decision-making and unique features of the VBW musicals, this detailed study positions the production entity as a global force to be reckoned with.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

I.
Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW): Regional Historian and International Powerhouse
1. From Local Stage to Global Success: The VBW Musical Division and Its Various Sectors – Martina Kalser-Gruber & Miriam Lisa Ljubijankic
2. The VBW and Austria: I Am From Austria as a Case Study of a Jukebox Musical of Identity Politics– Nils Grosch
3. The 'Viennese Musicals' and Their Dramaturgy – Olaf Jubin

II. Portraying Austrian Royalty
4. 'Sisi' as a Mainstay of Popular Culture – Judith Wiemers
5. Staging the Habsburg Myth: Monarchy, Memory, and Music in the Viennese Dynastic MusicalMartina Kalser-Gruber

III. Reception of a Revered Icon abroad
6. 'So tanzte Elisabeth bis zur Ostküste': the Viennese Musicals in East Asia since 1996 – Rina Tanaka
7. How to Get Away with Murder? The Habsburgs, the Hungarians and Everyone Else in Kunze-Levay's Elisabeth – Daniel Molnár

IV. The Gothic Bestseller on Stage
8. Rebecca:Dreaming of Manderley on the Musical Stage – William Everett
9. #Danbecca: Unveiling Queer Layers of Mrs. Danvers in the Musical Adaptation of Rebecca – Miriam Lisa Ljubijankic

V. The Hitmaker as Protagonist
10. Historical Reference and Musical Parody in Schikaneder (2016) by Stephen Schwartz and Christian Struppeck– Paul Laird
11. Rock me Amadeus (2023): 'Coming Home' to Vienna– Felix Nier

VI. The Cinematic Made Theatrical
12. The Musical Dance of the Vampires on the Parquet Floor of Horniness and Social Decency: a Peep Show for Wagner and SchillerTillmann Triest
13. The Third Man: Perspectives of Vienna on Screen, Page and Stage – Robert Gordon

VII. Interviews with Creatives Forces
14. Christian Struppeck, Artistic Director of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien
15. Kim Duddy, Choreographer and Director

Product details

Explore Methuen Drama
Published Dec 24 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 320
ISBN 9781350568914
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Volume Editor

Nils Grosch

Nils Grosch is Head of Department of Art History,…

Volume Editor

Olaf Jubin

Olaf Jubin was Professor of Musical Theatre and Me…

Volume Editor

Miriam Lisa Ljubijankic

Miriam Lisa Ljubijankic is a research associate at…

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