Tanz der Vampire/Characters

Characters In All Productions

Alfred

Ein Mädchen das so lächeln kann, hab ich nie geseh'n.

The assistant of Professor Abronsius, Alfred is a young, shy student from Königsberg. He reluctantly goes along with the Professor's plans, mostly out of respect. He becomes instantly infatuated with Sarah upon meeting her, and determines to rescue her from Von Krolock's clutches.

And Then John Was a Zombie: And then Alfred was a vampire.
Break the Cutie: And how. If you don't feel sorry for this guy by the end of the first act, don't worry, you will soon.
Counterpoint Duet: "Nie Geseh'n"
Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: "Für Sarah". Even if, as an audience member, you're screaming things at him like "This is ridiculous - she doesn't deserve you!", "You idiot, you're gonna get yourself killed!" and, if you've seen the show before, "Come on, even Herbert would be a better match for you!"
The Dulcinea Effect: "Für Sarah" is the theme song of this trope.
Ho Yay: It's pretty heavily implied he isn't so scared of Herbert as he pretends to be. In a few productions, it's implied that they get together after his "accident".
The Ingenue: He's actually a better example of this trope than Sarah.
Tenor Boy
Vampire Bites Suck: Especially when they're given by your Love Interest.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: He acts like this throughout most of the show, only realizing the reality of the situation when Sarah is actually bitten.
The Woobie

Sarah Chagal

Draußen ist Freiheit. Dort, wo der Horizont beginnt, gibt es ein Land in dem alle Wunder möglich sind.

The daughter of Transylvanian innkeeper Yoine Chagal, Sarah is a restless young Deconstruction of The Ingenue who longs for nothing more than freedom. Seeing the local vampiric count as her opportunity, she runs off to the castle just in time for the vampires' Midnight Ball.

Cute Monster Girl: At the end.
Damsel in Distress: Subverted - Sarah's perfectly happy in the castle.
Face Revealing Turn: During the reprise of "Draußen Ist Freiheit".
Heroes Want Redheads: In several versions, most obviously the Hamburg production, she is redheaded.
The Ingenue: She absolutely tears this trope down - young and innocent, but also fully willing to manipulate others to get what she wants, and wanting to give herself over to corruption.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Her first appearance has her completely naked. What? She's taking a bath!
Interspecies Romance
"I Want" Song: Her parts of "Nie Geseh'n" and ""Draußen Ist Freiheit", as well as "Die Roten Stiefel".
Kiss of the Vampire: What she spends the whole musical longing for.
Pimped-Out Dress: The blood red gown she wears to the ball.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Only seen in a nightgown or naked for most of the musical, she descends the staircase in "Tanzsaal" in a Pimped-Out Dress and hairstyle.
Tempting Fate: In the Broadway version.

"And anyway, what's there to fear in a gloomy forest in deepest Transylvania three nights before Halloween?"

Too Dumb to Live: Really, Sarah? So, you've spent your whole life living among people who completely fear this vampire, said vampire practically tells you he's going to eat you for dinner, and yet you still go to him? And then you completely ignore the person trying to rescue you? *Head Desk*
- Alternate Character Interpretation: But what happens to vampire victims after they're eaten for dinner? They live forever, always the age they were turned at and remarkably powerful. Maybe Sarah got what she wanted all along...
Vampire Bites Suck: Ouch...

Professor Abronsius

Logik! Logik! Wer fragt, dem sagt die logik: Wie und was und wer und wo und wann?

Hailing from Königsberg, the professor ventures into Transylvania with his assistant Alfred to gather information on the bloodsucking fiends of the night. Mostly a Plucky Comic Relief character, he manages to exasperate almost everyone he meets, including Alfred.

Absent-Minded Professor: But only when it comes to books!
Comically Missing the Point: Alfred is urgently telling him that he needs to know how to rescue Sarah. What advice does the Professor give? "Everything can be found in a book."
Insufferable Genius: His big solo "Wahrheit" is him singing about being an Insufferable Genius.
Never My Fault: He blames basically every mistake he makes on Alfred.
Parasol of Pain: The Professor rescues Alfred from Herbert by whacking the vampire...with an umbrella.
Patter Song: "Wahrheit".
Plucky Comic Relief

Yoine Chagal

Eine schöne Tochter ist ein Segen, doch ein Segen, der meschugge macht...

The owner of the inn where Alfred and the Professor stay, Chagal is Sarah's father. He has grown tired of his wife, and busies himself chasing after inn maid Magda. He is also very protective of his daughter.

Abhorrent Admirer: To Magda.
Dirty Old Man
Expy: He's supposed to be played as, essentially, Tevye, but with concern for his daughter hiked up to ludicrous and hypocritical extremes and all the gentle charm taken out.
Fantastic Religious Weirdness: The cross that Magda tries to protect herself with has no effect on Mr.I'm A Jewish Vampire.
Fat Bastard: Sometimes played as having at least a hanging beer belly, though this isn't a de facto part of the character.
Hypocritical Humor: After singing an entire song about how men are perverted scum who will defile his daughter the first chance they get, he leaves his wife to go relentlessly hit on Magda.
Overprotective Dad: Going so far as to nail his daughter's door shut.
Vegetarian Vampire: What he promises to be to stop Alfred and the Professor from staking him.

Rebecca Chagal

Statt dem üblichen Gemecker, sagen alle "Es schmeckt lecker!"

The long-suffering wife of Chagal, Rebecca has to deal constantly with her husband's antics. Her refusal to stake her husband after the Professor warns her he'll turn into a vampire results in Magda's death.

Abhorrent Admirer: She's become one of sorts to her own husband, with the young, busty Magda in the inn.
Demoted to Extra: She's never seen or heard from again once the first act ends.
- This trope becomes pretty literal in productions where her actress spends all of Act II doubling as a chorus vampire.
Hollywood Homely: Only in Poland, but still. Polish!Rebecca simply looked like an older, much heavier version of Sarah, wavy brown hair and all, making it extremely easy to imagine her having been a beautiful young woman years ago who just aged through a difficult life.

Magda

Tot zu sein ist komisch...

The maid in the Chagals' inn, Magda is very bitter and cynical. She is turned into a vampire by Chagal and enters into a sexual relationship with him. Even then, she seems to be more fond of the sex than him, and by the end of the show she's implied to have fully come into her vampiric power on her own.

Her, er, most noticeable assets have elevated her to the status of handmaiden to Kara Zor-El, Goddess of Improbable Figures in the TV Tropes pantheon.

BBW: Implied (see below).
Big Bra to Fill: Petite, flat-chested actresses who play her are usually padded up and have their cleavage shaded with makeup to create the effect of extreme voluptuousness.
Cute Monster Girl: Usually, in the second act.
Death Is Such an Odd Thing: Well, duh!
Fan Service: Her costume in the second act is even more revealing than that in the first.
Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: She's redheaded, ridonkulously buxom, snarky, corset-wearing and tough to begin with. Then you add vampirism and an implied preference toward topping during sex in Act II.
Fiery Redhead: In pretty much every production except the Polish, Hungarian and Ronacher, which inexplicably turn her into a White-Haired Pretty Girl.
French Maid: Her outfit in the first act appears to be the ancient-Transylvanian equivalent of this outfit.
Gag Boobs
Impossibly Low Neckline: No wonder Alfred can't help but be distracted.
Letting Her Hair Down: Her braid is gone by the second act, and her hair's gathered into a messy half-updo instead.
Ms. Fanservice: Let is reiterate: How many boob tropes does Magda cover?
Shiksa Goddess

Koukol

Uuuhnghghnerrbhh!

Count Von Krolock's faithful servant, Kuokol is the first sign that Professor Abronsius is right about the vampires - he arrives to buy some candles, trying to communicate something to Sarah all the while.

The Igor: He turns it Up to Eleven.
Ugly Cute: Believe it or not, some actors actually turn him into this.
The Unintelligible

Graf Von Krolock

Gott ist tot. Nach ihm wird nicht mehr gesucht.

The dark, seductive vampire lord with a (possible) crush on Sarah, Von Krolock lives his life in an old castle in the wilderness. He welcomes Sarah to his home, and later Alfred and the Professor, knowing at least one of them will become vampire chow at his Midnight Ball.

Aristocrats Are Evil
Badass Longcoat: He gets one in the new ending's finale.
Bishonen: Played with. Between his long hair, slender hands, and costumes intended to make his legs appear to go on forever, it's a fair guess to assume he used to be one of these. However, his face is now heavily lined, said hair is now gray-streaked, ragged and just the slightest bit receded, and his hands are now clawlike and arthritic in their thinness.
Broken Ace: Elegant, intelligent, seductive lord of the night. Except that he's also harboring loads of guilt and despair, culminating in the Villainous Lament "Die Unstillbare Gier", where he practically melts in his own misery.
Cape Swish: This is required of every single actor in the role.
Classical Movie Vampire: Except with long, ragged hair instead of a Bela Lugosi-style sleek coif.
The Eleven O'Clock Number: "Die Unstillbare Gier".
Fangs Are Evil: Obviously.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Krolock/Sarah to Sarah/Alfred.
High Collar of Doom: Not in every performance, but in most of them he has this.
Interspecies Romance
Ominous Opera Cape
Our Vampires Are Different
Villainous Lament: The above-mentioned "Die Unstillbare Gier", Von Krolock reminiscing about all the lovers he's killed during his time as one of the undead.
Villain Love Song: "Totale Finsternis". Actually, it goes for any of his musical parts with Sarah.
Wangst
Who Wants to Live Forever?: The Eleven O'Clock Number is essentially Graf saying, "Don't live forever, you'll kill everyone you love."

Herbert Von Krolock

Du mußt zu mir nett sein, ich will dich verstehen.

Count Von Krolock's son, the Camp Gay Herbert becomes infatuated with Alfred as quickly as Alfred does with Sarah. Unfortunately, what could have been a beautiful romance is ruined when the vampire tries to sink his teeth into our hero's neck.

Abhorrent Admirer: Of the homosexual male variety, to Alfred.
Bishonen: The actor's makeup almost always makes him into this. Of particular note is Tim Reichwein's portrayal. Probably runs in the family, seeing as his father looks like "Bishonen + a lot of aging".
Bi the Way: Sometimes, believe it or not. Pay attention to all the flirting he does with some of the prettier female vampires at the ball in some productions (Tim Reichwein can be spotted doing this on the Hamburg proshot and apparently did it at the 10th anniversary concert performances too). In the Japanese finale, he also had a clear sexual fascination with Sarah himself.
Camp Gay: Newer productions keep making him more and more flamboyant. The Broadway version made him into a borderline Crossdresser. And the fans love him for it.
Double Entendre: He makes great use of them in the Broadway production, stringing together one after another...and then he doesn't even bother.

You wanna see my balls?

Ensemble Darkhorse: A textbook example. He has one line in the first act, shows up for one scene and song in the second, and only appears in the ensemble for the rest of the show. He's undoubtedly the most popular character in the show. This also qualifies him as a One-Scene Wonder, as seen below.
Mr. Fanservice: You bet.
Fangs Are Evil
Fan Service: What his dancing with Alfred easily is, upped drastically from the original film where all they do is sit together. And then there's some of his costumes in the finale...
Fan-Preferred Couple: Herbert/Alfred to Sarah/Alfred.
I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Completely averted. From what we can see, he and his father have a perfectly functional relationship.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Older productions had him with a shoulder-length ponytail, but almost everything after the Hamburg production gives him long, loose, flowing blond hair.
One-Scene Wonder
Villain Love Song: His part in "Wenn Liebe In Dir Ist", though the villain part is really depending on the actor. Sometimes his part of comes off more as a Poorly Socialized Ball of Woob Love Song.
White-Haired Pretty Boy
The Woobie: Severely dependent on the actor, but the musical depicts him much more sympathetically than the movie, and certain actors have milked this for all it's worth, causing the audience to feel very sorry for him upon being rejected.

The Vampire Ensemble

Sei bereit!.

The ancient fiends of the night who awaken, eager to attend the Midnight Ball and see what's on the menu this year.

Breaking the Fourth Wall: Ewigkeit ends with them walking through the aisles and lunging out at the audience members, and "Der Tanz Der Vampire" is them saying to the audience, "We're going to eat you next!"
Clown Car Grave: How the vampires appear during "Ewigkeit".
Crowd Song: "Ewigkeit".
The Dead Can Dance: Three words: Act II Finale.
- Two words: Carpe Noctem.
Gorgeous Period Dress: Subverted - while the vampires do attend the ball in costumes like this, the outfits are decaying and dusty.
Hell-Bent for Leather: Their outfits in the finale.
Holy Burns Evil: The vampires all react violently when Alfred and the Professor construct a cross in the ballroom. Except for Herbert, who simply faints.
Vampire Dance
Villain Song: "Ewigkeit", again.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: Once again, "Ewigkeit" is the vampires saying "Eternity sucks!"

Characters Indigenous To The Broadway Production

Nadja And Zsa Zsa

Hi, Sarah...

Sarah's best friends, who are abducted by vampires two minutes into the show.

Non Sequitur Scene: Nadja eating the mushrooms and getting high. It isn't talked about again throughout the scene.
One-Scene Wonder: In a reversal of Herbert's screentime, they appear for one scene and song in the first act, then have one line in the second act.
Those Two Girls

Boris

Just trying to be helpful.

A worker in Chagal's inn, Boris is bitten by Bat!Krolock and runs off to his castle, replacing Koukol's role.

The Renfield: Unlike Koukol's role as The Igor, Boris takes the part of Renfield to Von Krolock.
Replacement Scrappy: Since he got rid of a character, instead of being a different version of an old one Boris got a lot of hate from fans.
The Woobie