top of page
YBIB map pink header
Writer's pictureKate Michaels

Musical Theatre in Basel

Musical theatre in Basel is different than what you would expect from productions in London, New York or Los Angeles. The variety of languages and demographics in Switzerland make the scene in Basel very unique. Musical theatre may not be for everyone, but there are many of us that are very passionate about it and love expressing the human condition and current affairs through story, song and dance. After all it is very entertaining when someone bursts out into song confidently in a street and then has by-standers join in the singing and dancing! 


Where To See It In Basel

Musical Theater

Photo: Musical.ch

The main place where you can see musical theatre in Basel is at our Musical Theater in Kleinbasel near the Messe. It was built and designed for a production of Phantom of the Opera from London in the 1990’s (which is how I came to Basel).   After Phantom closed, the theatre remained alive with touring and local productions. If you are looking for a fun family event like Lion King or Rocky Horror Picture Show, this is the place to go!  The Swiss also feature a lot of productions like Grease, Fame, Flashdance and West Side StoryLord of the Dance also makes a fairly regular appearance and many of the productions are in English.   


Currently, Swiss impresario Freddy Burger and his stellar team run the management for all the touring productions.  Hopefully the Musical Theater in Basel will stay alive as there have been serious talks in the local political scene about turning it into a swimming pool.  For those of us who love musicals, we hope this doesn’t happen. Time will tell.


Other Locations

Throughout Basel and Switzerland, you can also see a variety of local and relocated artists putting musical productions together and in a variety of languages!  Many local schools and theatre groups are also now interested in putting on homegrown pieces, so you can see a variety of original work as well.  Sometimes our Theater Basel is also bitten by the musical theatre bug.  Last year they did a wonderful production of Lady in the Dark and this fall are opening Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods - don’t miss it!


The Basel Scene

Photo: Irish Celtic, Musical Theater Basel

In Basel there are a few challenges to the musical theatre scene that are unique; number one being the mix of languages.  Most hit musicals are created in English originally, but the language can be a strong barrier for local Swiss-German speakers. Shows in Swiss-German can also create a challenge for native English speakers (who often feel frustrated listening to a piece that was originally in English).  The variety of demographics in Switzerland also creates an additional barrier, as there are not enough people in any one of the 5 language groups (if we generously include English) to make up an audience that will sustain long-run shows, multiple performances or large crowds. 


However, in spite of these difficulties, people here love the art form.  Musicals continue to be developed and the home-grown varieties are now really taking off.  When people ask me what is happening in the Swiss musical theatre scene,  I can answer, in spite of the politics, that the scene for musicals is growing in Basel and in Switzerland.


The contributing factors for this are:

  • The Swiss love to travel to big cities and see musicals. They thoroughly enjoy the experience and want to bring it back here. 


  • Our German-speaking neighbours (Germany and Austria) continue grow their own musical theatre industry successfully and we borrow and perform with them.  


  • Relocating expat artists from professional/touring productions (people who have settled in Basel after falling in love or getting a successful day-job) still love theatre, and want to act and sing locally and influence what is going on.


But the most important factor is this one:


  • There is currently only one school for professional musical theatre training in Switzerland, StageArt Musical & Theatre School (SAMTS) in Zürich. If someone wants additional, professional-level training they have to go out of the country to one of the more established schools.  As a result, very talented Swiss students have been travelling outside Switzerland for formal education.  After getting a great education, they have also realized that they don’t want to live away from their families and friends for the rest of their lives, and thus, they have brought their prodigious skills and creative ideas back to Switzerland and developed projects here.


Currently, there are more shows being done and created than ever before in Switzerland, in a variety of languages, by people who love this art form. This includes groups like Musical Lovers.


Musical Lovers

Photo: Petrick Thomann, Musical Lovers

Musical Lovers is passionate group of musical theatre lovers (hence the name) that have performances with open mic opportunities for people who want to get up on stage and give it a go! Audience members get to see an amazing show and have the chance to get an inside scoop on what a career in the musical theatre is like from industry professionals. Even if you don't want to get up on stage, it’s a great chance to have a fantastic evening hearing beautiful voices sing a fun repertoire!


The project is the brain child of founders Benjamin Fröhlich and Romina Ettisberger who had the desire to do more at a local level for musical theatre enthusiasts, producers and creators.  As such they put together an amazing team of talented accompanists, conductors and musical content creators along with special guests to perform. The performance is followed by a short personal interview where special guests are questioned by moderators. After this any brave singer, (novice or experienced), can put their name in the box (1 time!) and if their name is chosen, they get a chance to present their song with a live accompanist. As the audience is passionate about musical theatre, you could not find a warmer or more supportive response!


It’s a great chance for anyone to try out audition pieces, beloved songs, new material or just to build their performing skills in a safe and supportive environment.  There is no feedback, you just get support from a room full of people who understand what it’s like to stand up and sing on stage. 


Upcoming Shows

This event has been hugely successful in Zurich at the Maag Halle and now it is coming to Basel at Atlantis on Monday, 25 November, 2024. Tickets available here.

Photo: Benjamin Fröhlich and Tiffany Butt, Musical Lovers

As an audience member you get a chance to hear popular voices, new voices, experienced performers as well as students and newcomers.  It’s a mix of ages, cultures and languages and at the end everyone joins in with a group sing-a-long.


Benjamin Fröhlich and pianist Tiffany Butt will lead a fun pre-show session at 18:15 at Atlantis to prepare the classical musical favourite Seasons of Love from RENT, as this evening's sing-a-long. The session will include a short warm-up and a refresher on the song's harmonies.


Anyone who wants to put their name in the hat to sing should have their selection memorized and bring music (taped together and easy to read) for the live pianists.



Win Free tickets!

Photo: Christoph Wettstein and the audience, Musical Lovers

Share one of our Facebook or Instagram posts and tag us and you are automatically entered into a ticket give away contest for our November 25th Musical Lovers event at Atlantis! The deadline to share is October 31st and we’ll announce the winner on November 1st and contact you through your Instagram or Facebook account.


Musical Lovers

Instagram: musicallovers_ch

Eventfrog tickets for Basel and Zürich


I hope this article inspires you to sample some of the musical theatre offerings in Basel!



Kate Michaels

Kate Michaels (now a Bebbi!) is originally from California and came to Basel with the cast of Lloyd Webber‘s Phantom of the Opera in 1997. She fell in love with Basel and decided to stay in Switzerland and become Swiss. She performs, directs and teaches voice both in Basel, greater Switzerland and the rest of Europe. Kate has a high interest in encouraging singers to perform live and to have the courage to follow artistic dreams and goals.


She thinks this is especially important for individuals and local communities with the advent of AI as well as people becoming more and more immersed in their phones, TicTok, YouTube and other social media outlets. “Creating an environment where people can physically do something with sound, the creation of a story, or a song and bring it to life - and present it to other people feeds us and can’t be underestimated.”



Related Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page