Soldier of Orange (musical)

Soldier of Orange (Dutch: Soldaat van Oranje) is a Dutch musical production, based on the true story of resistance hero Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema. In the 1970s, he wrote his experiences during World War II down in a book and director Paul Verhoeven made it into a 1977 film, starring actor Rutger Hauer.

TheaterHangaar Valkenburg

The musical premiered on 30 October 2010, in a theatre that was purpose-built for the production: the TheaterHangaar on the former Valkenburg air base in Katwijk (in an old hangar). Queen Beatrix attended the premiere together with Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema's widow, Karin. Soldier of Orange is produced by Robin de Levita and NEW Productions, which is a collaboration between investment company Amerborgh Nederland and Volterra, parent company of Montecatini Talent Agency.

In the autumn of 2020, Soldier of Orange is set to premier in London. The theatre is purpose-built, near London City airport.

Plot

Student Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema and his friends are carefree, until the Germans invade the Netherlands in the early days of May 1940. The war changes everything. They can no longer take friendship and love for granted. Everybody has to make choices. Fight for the country and for freedom? Focus on studying and deny what's going on? Or join the enemy?

The book of Hazelhoff Roelfzema, with the title Cave of the Rattlesnake (Dutch: Het hol van de ratelslang), was published in 1970. It reappeared a year later under the title Soldier of Orange. Paul Verhoeven created a film version in 1977. Rutger Hauer played the character Erik Lanshoff, based on the resistance hero.

Soldier of Orange – The Musical brings the true story to the theatre. After World War II starts, Erik decides to flee to Britain. He smuggles transmitting equipment to the Netherlands and, as a pilot, is involved in bombing Germany. He becomes adjutant for Queen Wilhelmina and receives the Military William Order ('Militaire Willems-Orde'), the highest royal honour in the Netherlands, for his contribution to the resistance movement.

Background

Producer Fred Boot obtained the rights to turn the story into a musical in 2005, after meeting Hazelhoff Roelfzema the year before.

Scriptwriter Edwin de Vries wrote the musical script. American duo Tom Harriman and Pamela Philips Oland was responsible for composition and lyrics. Dutch actor and composer Frans van Deursen translated the lyrics from English into Dutch. In 2008, Boot asked theatre producer Robin de Levita to join him. Director Theu Boermans joined the team in 2009.

Location

The show takes place in a former flight hangar, that is converted into a theatre. The location of the so-called TheaterHangaar is former military airport Valkenburg between Wassenaar, Katwijk en Leiden, a suitable, historical place. A foyer with a bar and restaurant is placed in front of the hangar.

SceneAround

Producer Robin de Levita invented a new theatrical performance solution for Soldier of Orange – The Musical: a rotating auditorium in the center of a venue with 1100 seats. He named it SceneAround. The auditorium is placed on a turntable. The audience rotates from scenery to scenery, accompanied by 180 degree projections on panel screens around the auditorium. Both the auditorium and the screens are motorized and automated. The set is built around the auditorium. Almost every scenery has its own set. There is even a ‘sea’ and the runway of the airport is also part of the set.

Dakota

Queen Wilhelmina returned to the Netherlands with a Dakota. The Dakota C-47 was made available for the musical by a Dutch museum and was taken to Valkenburg in August 2010. Shortly after midnight, the plane got stuck in an overpass. It was too damaged to have it repaired on time for the premiere. The Dakota PH-ALR ‘Reiger’ from 1939 that's being used in the production now, was delivered on 23 September 2010.

Cast

Matteo van der Grijn and Loes Haverkort

Part	Cast 2010/2011	Cast 2011/2012 till 14 February 2012	Cast 2012 from 14 February 2012
Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema	Matteo van der Grijn	Julian Looman	Dragan Bakema
Queen Wilhelmina	Catherine ten Bruggencate, Anke van 't Hof	Anne-Wil Blankers, Sylvia Poorta, Truus te Selle, Petra Laseur	Marisa van Eyle, Trudy de Jong
François van 't Sant	Nico de Vries Bart de Vries (from January 2011)	Bart de Vries Edwin de Vries (alternate)	Bart de Vries Edwin de Vries (alternate)
Tessa	Margreet Boersbroek	Melissa Drost	Melissa Drost
Chris	Boy Ooteman	Boy Ooteman	Thijs Steenkamp
Charlotte	Loes Haverkort Marlijn Weerdenburg (from January 2011)	Linde van den Heuvel	Linde van den Heuvel
Ada	Anne Lamsvelt	Christine de Boer	Christine de Boer
Anton	Oren Schrijver	Reinier Demeijer	Robbert van den Bergh
Bram	Jorrit Ruijs	Reinier Schimmel	Rutger Bulsing
Fred	Tijn Docter	Xander van Vledder	Harpert Michielsen
Victor	Ad-Just Bouwman	Ad-Just Bouwman	Raymond Paardekooper
Paul	Kes Blans	Kes Blans	Joey Schalker

References

External links

Official website

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