Amsterdam stages musical about old neighborhood

ESSENCE OF AMSTERDAM The Brouwersgracht canal, a scenic highlight of the Jordaan district in the Netherlands capital. —Agence France-Presse

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands — The Netherlands’ capital kicks off yearlong celebrations this weekend to mark its 750th anniversary with one ancient and formerly down-at-heel neighborhood playing a starring role in the festivities.

Sitting cheek by jowl with the city’s Canal Belt, the once working class Jordaan neighborhood is the setting for a new musical which its producers said captured the essence of the Dutch capital and its residents.

“We specifically designed a musical to celebrate Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary,” said Marc Muller, producer at the DeLaMar Theatre where the musical “Onze Jordaan” (Our Jordaan) hit the planks to a full house on Wednesday evening.

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“From Oct. 27 the city will enter its yearlong celebration and we thought a musical is an ideal way to contribute to the festivities,” Muller told Agence France-Presse (AFP) a few hours before the show opened to the public.

Enriched by migrants

Any mention of the Jordaan in the Netherlands will be greeted by a knowing smile.

For many Dutch citizens, Amsterdam is best exemplified not by its gritty, notorious red light district, but by the Jordaan.

“This is the best neighborhood in the Netherlands,” Jordaan born-and-bred Evert Jansen, 82, said during a visit.

“The best actors, the best singers, the best footballers are all from here,” he said.

Built in parallel to the Canal Belt during the so-called Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, the Jordaan still carries the names of plants and flowers in many of its streets and canals.

Historians say one of the possible origins of the name is the French word “jardin” meaning garden.

In the 17th century many migrants from all over Europe moved to the Jordaan, working in the city’s factory and harbor, “all attracted by the wealth of Amsterdam,” said Annemarie de Wildt, historian and former curator of the Amsterdam Museum.

Jordaan’s population grew exponentially for the next two centuries and living conditions plummeted.

But even back then, the neighborhood became famous for its music and singing—especially when Italian laborers brought their love of opera to Jordaan’s tiny streets.

“Somehow… the Jordaan had a sort of notorious culture of its own, characterized by a lot of music, theater,” De Wildt told AFP.

For the producers of the musical “Onze Jordaan” it was the ideal mix.

“You need several ingredients to make a musical: a good story to start with, and the Jordaan on many levels has a good story to tell,” said Muller. —Agence France-Presse