Psst, do you want to play mouse with the stars and even be admitted to the Holy of holies: the wardrobe? That place where the real dramas, tragedies or comedies take place, because there are not only masks put on, but also torn down? Not to mention drunkenness and orgies in this particular place? Only the question remains, where in the Rhine-Main area such a fabulous space could be.
Christian Riethmüller (cfr.), Rhein-Main-Zeitung Follow I follow
You don’t really have to think long, because if one place in the region had them all, the stars from rock, pop, classical, ballet, show and comedy, then it is the Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt. Everyone recognizes that famous dome, which was opened on 11 January 1963, even if he has only seen it once from a distance. But the Jahrhunderthalle does not only consist of the dome. Its rectangular base building offers not only a large foyer space, but also, yes, what exactly? What is hidden behind all the doors and what in the belly of the hall? What does it look like behind the big stage? And where do the stars disappear after their performances?
Two insiders as guides
Answers to these questions now a safari through the Jahrhunderthalle wants to give, in times like these of course virtual, but with two absolute insiders as guides, who at least find the way from the stage to the changing room without detours, they have walked it several times under the enthusiastic applause of the audience: Gerd Knebel and Henni Nachtsheim, also known as comedy duo Badesalz.
Nobody can get past them: The Security (Gerd Knebel, li.; Henni Nachtsheim): Image: Christoph Seubert
Under the title Badesalz-Backstage-Safari Knebel and Nachtsheim explore the famous hall, which they not only simply roam, but play in the truest sense of the word. The two comedians slip into different roles and look behind the scenes as service ladies Moni and Hannelore, for example, and chat about the odd extra wishes they already had to fulfill for the ladies and gentlemen stars. And what the Ramazotti bottle in the flower vase was all about, the viewer also learns. In further sketches, Knebel and Nachtsheim appear sometimes as roadies, then as security dressed in black or even as bell-ringer with key powers and thus explore the most remote corners of the building, never embarrassed, nor to reveal its last secret.
Virtual comedy format
The virtual comedy format, which can be streamed from May 17, originated from another project idea for the Jahrhunderthalle, which could not be implemented due to the corona pandemic. The idea of offering the Safari live for small groups also proved “incalculable”, as Henni Nachtsheim says, in contrast to the digital version filmed a few weeks ago in the Jahrhunderthalle. Andreana Clemenz and Alex Burgos, two experienced producers who in the past also worked with Helene Fischer and Peter Maffay, among others, and who now specialize in digital storytelling, provided the implementation. In the case of the bath salt safari, this should also offer users various gimmicks, “which do not exist on Youtube”, as Gerd Knebel praises the platform-based offer, financed with the support of various sponsors. This is not yet complete, as Henni Nachtsheim says: “In this format, we can always add more sketches to the safari.”The walls of the venerable hall still contain many anecdotes, not only from the Blessed Sacrament.
Tickets for the bath salt backstage safari are now available at the price of 24 euros at the address www.bath salts-backstage safari. They can be redeemed around the clock on-demand from 17 May.