From Vienna to the World

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 with a close connection to Vienna, and Austrian culture and history. Performed in 24 countries to over a million audience members annually, they are the largest exporters of original musicals around the globe.

This is the first edited collection to focus on the musicals produced by the VBW and their remarkable impact on the global musical. From Vienna to the World brings together scholars from six different countries who analyse key works in the VBW canon using a broad range of perspectives and approaches: hermeneutics, historical analysis, literary theory, musicology, music history, queer studies, adaptation theory and interviews.

Their musicals have achieved global acclaim, successful throughout the Austrian-German theatre industry and Continental and Eastern Europe, they have taken on the affectionate nickname “Viennese Musicals” in South-East Asia following their immense popularity and drawing power.

Despite their audience appeal, attempts to bring some of the VBW hit shows to Broadway (2002, 2011) and the (Off-) West End (2023) may have proved either ill-fated or have met with critical apathy. This detailed study illuminates the production processes, creative decision-making and unique features of the VBW musicals to reveal the production entity as a force to be reckoned with.