Producer Bernhard Kurz

Producer Bernhard Kurz has a real passion for entertainment and can look back on a career in show business spanning more than two decades. His extraordinary productions featuring celebrity look-and-sound-alike artists have earned worldwide acclaim and established his reputation as the world‘s leading expert for tribute shows. Bernhard Kurz has produced the “Stars in Concert” at the main venue Estrel Festival Center in Berlin since 1997, ... more and it is the only live show out of Germany ever to have an engagement on the Las Vegas strip. With over 6,000 performances attended by more than four million people to date, the show is one of the longest-running and most successful productions in German history. In this spectacular homage to music industry greats from the last 60 years, the world‘s best impersonators succeed in dazzling audiences each evening and creating the perfect illusion of being stars like Cher, Elton John, Robbie Williams, Louis Armstrong, Amy Winehouse and Madonna. Kurz has also produced tribute shows to the Beatles (“all you need is love!”), ABBA (“Thank you for the music”), Elvis Presley (“Elvis – The Musical”), the Blues Brothers (“I‘m a Soulman”), and the legendary Motown record label (“Memories of Motown”), all of which have enjoyed enormous success worldwide. Kurz went back to his roots with his most recent production, “It‘s all musical”, a dazzling extravaganza featuring the most popular show tunes from hit musicals. Musicals were what originally sparked his passion for working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry. Bernhard and his brother Friedrich teamed up on several Andrew Lloyd Webber productions during the 1980s, with Friedrich acting as producer and Bernhard as managing director and production manager. It was a highly successful collaboration, and the Kurz brothers can claim much of the credit for the popularity of Lloyd Webber‘s musicals in Germany. “Cats” – probably the most famous musical of all – premiered in Hamburg in 1986. “Starlight Express” began its run in Bochum two years later and is still playing to packed houses today. In 1990 “Phantom of the Opera” took to the stage of the Flora Theater in Hamburg, which was built especially for the purpose. Kurz followed up those hugely successful productions with the internationally acclaimed musical “Marlene” and with “Shakespeare & Rock ‘n‘ Roll”, which was featured at the Musical Theater Berlin. Looking back, Kurz says that “Stars in Concert” has been the most important show of his career, opening doors to numerous other productions and cementing his reputation as the world‘s premier producer of tribute shows. His standing has been underscored by numerous awards, including “Best Producer“ at the Artist Choice Awards (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007) and at the Reel Awards (2004 and 2009) in Las Vegas. He was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Las Vegas in 2006 and has served as the European President of the Las Vegas-based International Association of Talent Agents and Producers since 2008. less