The idea came about seven years ago, today it is finally here. The musical version of the hit series Diary of a Shepherd Dog will premiere.
The counter of the number of tickets sold now stands at more than 45,000, even before the performance has had its premiere.
Biggest ever in Limburg
This makes it the largest theater production ever in Limburg† The idea for the musical arose when director Servé Hermans of Toneelgroep Maastricht and theater producer Albert Verlinde both turned out to have a fascination for the KRO series from the late 1970s. Verlinde: “I grew up in Limburg, I lived in Susteren and Heerlerheide. When I came back to live in Maastricht decades later, I wondered: Where are the memories of my life here in Limburg? Everything has been removed. is one story that everyone knows, which is Diary of a Sheepdog. What if we make it a musical? Then we can tell the story of a province where 100 years ago the mines came, which brought prosperity but also a lot of misery, and which had disappeared 50 years later.”
Last century
The original series Diary of a Sheepdog has two seasons with a total of 16 episodes. The series ran from 1978 to 1980 at the KRO. Diary of a Shepherd Dog describes the fortunes of chaplain Erik Odekerke, who makes his appearance as an outsider in a South Limburg village. The series takes place at the beginning of the 20th century when the mines in Limburg were started and the pastor, the notary and the gentleman farmer were still the most important figures in the village. Director Servé Hermans: “Diary of a Shepherd Dog is about the history, our history, the history of Limburg. We did not experience that time ourselves. That rich, Roman life that comes under pressure, the rise of the mines, but that history is in us, and we want to tell that story.”
Wind bands and brass bands
“The two of us thought, we’re just going to make a very big musical out of it,” says Verlinde. “With 75 people, in a pop-up theater in the MECC. And that’s how we did it.” The MECC can accommodate 1800 spectators every evening. 78 performances are planned. A horse participates in the spectacle and a total of 16 wind bands and brass bands will make their appearance in the coming months to figure in the musical. The cast consists for a considerable part of Limburgers. For example, Anne-Mieke Ruyten from Venray and Susan Seegers from Roermond are playing along. And the leading role of chaplain Odekerke is for Joes Brauers from Bocholtz: “I find it exciting. And I resemble Erik Odekerke a little bit. I like how someone can be ambitious and also introverted somewhere, but still want to be part of a group. Those are stories that have some common ground for everyone. I recognize myself in them.”
The musical will premiere on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The first guests are expected on the red carpet at the MECC from 3 p.m. The Flemish actor Jo de Meyere, who played the role of Erik Odekerke in the TV series Dagboek van een Herdershond, will be present.
L1 makes a registration of the gala premiere. It will be broadcast at 6:30 PM and repeated at 11:00 PM on L1 TV.