UA:
26.11.2022, Heilig-Geist-Saal Nürnberg
License:
Available for Performance
Cast:
4 Female
4 Male
1 Child
Ensemble
4 Female
4 Male
1 Child
Ensemble
Band:
Flute
Drums
Keyboard
Akkordeon
Guitar / Banjo
Violine 1
Violine 2
Viola
Cello
Bass
Alternatively: Backing Tracks
Länge:
1. Akt: 70min
2. Akt: 50min
Audio Sample:
Free like a Bird
Vocals: Carina Krämer
Music: Philipp Polzin & Christian D. Dellacher
Lyrics: Philipp Polzin
Effi Briest - The Musical
Book
Philipp Polzin Jo Quirin
Music
Philipp Polzin Christian D. Dellacher
Lyrics
Philipp Polzin
A young woman, an arranged marriage, an affair… a duel!
The musical EFFI BRIEST is based on Theodor Fontane’s internationally renowned novel. It is a story full of passion, dramatic twists and turns, culminating in a powerful finale – all the ingredients of a compelling musical. At its heart is the young Effi, who dares to rebel against the constraints of her time. The sense of change and possibility in Wilhelmine Germany around 1890 is infectious. At the same time, the inhumanity of a society governed by rigid conventions is deeply unsettling. And where words fail, the music takes over.
Effi, who is married off at her mother Luise’s insistence to Baron Geert von Innstetten, a man twenty years her senior, begins an affair with Major Crampas out of loneliness and a deep sense of emotional emptiness.
The affair costs her not only her marriage and her daughter Anni, but also leads to her ostracism by society and, ultimately, to her premature death.
In 2023, EFFI BRIEST – THE MUSICAL was Germany’s official representative at the Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea, where it was nominated, among other categories, for Best International Musical.
Characters
- Effi Briest
- Briest – Effi’s father / Sergeant Pallschke
- Luise von Briest – Effi’s mother
- Baron Geert von Innstetten
- Major Crampas
- Alonzo Gieshübler / Pastor Lindequist / Wüllersdorf
- Roswitha – Effi’s friend and housekeeper / Berlin Lady
- Johanna – Housekeeper in Kessin / Hertha
- Hulda / Mrs Zwicker
- Bertha / Wilhelmine / Captain’s Daughter
- Sailor Tomkin / Moritz / House Servant
- Dagobert / Friederich
- Daughter Anni
Effi Briest -
Das Musical
In 2023, EFFI BRIEST – THE MUSICAL was Germany’s official representative at the Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea, where it was nominated, among other categories, for Best International Musical.
Book
Philipp Polzin Jo Quirin
Music
Philipp Polzin Christian D. Dellacher
Lyrics
Philipp Polzin
A young woman, an arranged marriage, an affair… a duel!
The musical EFFI BRIEST is based on Theodor Fontane’s internationally renowned novel. It is a story full of passion, dramatic twists and turns, culminating in a powerful finale – all the ingredients of a compelling musical. At its heart is the young Effi, who dares to rebel against the constraints of her time. The sense of change and possibility in Wilhelmine Germany around 1890 is infectious. At the same time, the inhumanity of a society governed by rigid conventions is deeply unsettling. And where words fail, the music takes over.
Effi, who is married off at her mother Luise’s insistence to Baron Geert von Innstetten, a man twenty years her senior, begins an affair with Major Crampas out of loneliness and a deep sense of emotional emptiness.
The affair costs her not only her marriage and her daughter Anni, but also leads to her ostracism by society and, ultimately, to her premature death.
Characters
- Effi Briest
- Briest – Effi’s father / Sergeant Pallschke
- Luise von Briest – Effi’s mother
- Baron Geert von Innstetten
- Major Crampas
- Alonzo Gieshübler / Pastor Lindequist / Wüllersdorf
- Roswitha – Effi’s friend and housekeeper / Berlin Lady
- Johanna – Housekeeper in Kessin / Hertha
- Hulda / Mrs Zwicker
- Bertha / Wilhelmine / Captain’s Daughter
- Sailor Tomkin / Moritz / House Servant
- Dagobert / Friederich
- Daughter Anni
UA:
26.11.2022, Heilig-Geist-Saal Nürnberg
License:
Available for Performance
Cast:
4 Female
4 Male
1 Child
Ensemble
Band:
Flute
Drums
Keyboard
Akkordeon
Guitar / Banjo
Violine 1
Violine 2
Viola
Cello
Bass
Alternatively: Backing Tracks
Länge:
1. Akt: 70min
2. Akt: 50min
Audio Sample: Free like a Bird
Vocals: Carina Krämer
Music: Philipp Polzin & Christian D. Dellacher
Lyrics: Philipp Polzin
Creative Team
Philipp Polzin
Music, Book, Lyrics
Philipp Polzin, born in Cologne, studied audio and video engineering with piano as his principal subject at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, orchestral conducting at the Landesmusikakademie NRW, and church music, earning the C-level qualification of the Archdiocese of Cologne.
While still a student, he worked as a répétiteur at the Bad Hersfeld Festival on FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and at Schauspiel Essen on the world premiere of DIE ERSCHAFFUNG DER WELT.
As a musical director, he has worked on a number of major productions, including the German premiere of TICK, TICK... BOOM!, productions for AIDA CRUISES, the world premiere of SHERLOCK HOLMES – NEXT GENERATION at the First Stage Theater Hamburg and the Deutsches Theater München, and the German tour of Hape Kerkeling’s KEIN PARDON.
Since 2016, he has worked as musical director and arranger for the Burgfestspiele Bad Vilbel, with productions including LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, SISTER ACT and MY FAIR LADY.
As a composer, he created the musical DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER together with Christian D. Dellacher. The work received its world premiere in concert with the WDR Funkhausorchester in Cologne in 2018, and its cast recording reached the top of the German musical theatre charts.
Their joint work EFFI BRIEST – THE MUSICAL premiered in 2022 in a production by Stadtmusical Nürnberg. It was selected as Germany’s official representative at the 2023 Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea, where it was nominated for Best International Musical.
Their musical NUREMBERG ’45, set against the backdrop of the Nuremberg Trials, premiered in Nuremberg in November 2024.
Jo Quirin
Book
Jo Quirin was born in Bassenheim.. After graduating from high school in 1987 and completing civil service, he studied German literature at the University of Essen..
In 1991, he moved to Hamburg to study acting and musical theatre, graduating with a diploma in 1994. This was followed by 60 productions across Europe—ranging from Brecht and Bernstein to Kander and Ebb and Rostand. From the Hamburg Kammerspiele to the Kassel State Theatre and the Residenztheater in Munich. His credits include BUDDY HOLLY, CYRANO DE BERGERAC, CHICAGO, THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, MARIA STUART, MOZART_IN SOTTO VOCE, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, LES MISÉRABLES, LUDWIG2, PETER PAN, SILK STOCKINGS, SWEET CHARITY, WIZARD OF OZ and WEST SIDE STORY.
He has worked with renowned directors such as Matthias Davids, Stefan Huber, Melissa King, Jerôme Savary, Katja Wolf and Wolfram Mehring. Alongside his stage work, he regularly works as a choreographer, assistant stage director, and coach, and since 2013 as a freelance director and author.
Even after 30 years on and for the stage, joy, mutual respect and passion for this world remain central to him—true to Billy Wilder’s motto: “You must not bore!” He develops new theatre concepts and brings them to the stage.
In 2019, the musical SHERLOCK HOLMES – NEXT GENERATION celebrated its successful world premiere in Hamburg and Munich and went on a Germany tour in autumn 2022. From 2019 to 2023, he served as artistic director of the Nuremberg Musical Company. There, as author and director, he successfully brought the musicals SEELENHÄNDLER, EFFI BRIEST and DAS KALTE HERZ to the stage. A former professional figure skater and roller skater, he has worked as a coach since 2000. As choreographer and trainer, he has led several skaters to the top of the world. In summer 2022, he was engaged as coach and choreographer for the new TV format SKATE FEVER – STARS ON ROLLER SKATES.
His directing work and productions have taken him internationally to Shanghai (China), Daegu (South Korea) and Qingdao (China).
EFFI BRIEST – THE MUSICAL took him to Daegu, South Korea in 2023, where his production earned two nominations (Best Musical / Best International Musical).
Christian D. Dellacher
Music, Orchestrations, Arrangements
Christian received his musical training at the Folkwang University of the Arts, where he studied composition, arranging and ensemble conducting, as well as at the University of Cologne, where he studied musicology.
His work focuses primarily on symphonic crossover projects, collaborating with leading orchestras such as the WDR Funkhausorchester, the Dortmund Philharmonic, the Filmorchester Babelsberg and the Staatskapelle Weimar.
Since 2022, he has also been involved in the Sommerspiele in Gotha with the Thüringen Philharmonie as conductor and arranger, leading concerts with renowned German-speaking and international artists including Tim Bendzko, Jan-Josef Liefers, Giovanni Zarrella and Ronan Keating.
Since 2019, Christian has served as the permanent arranger and musical director of GROOVE SYMPHONY, a concert series specialising in the fusion of classical music and electronic club music.