Geschwister Pfister have been a sure-fire bet for more than 30 years. The fictional Swiss-American family of musical entertainment devotees was established in the early 1990s by Christoph Marti, Tobias Bonn, Max Gertsch (as Willy Pfister) and Lilian Naef (as Lilo Pfister), who had all met at drama school in Bern. Since 1995, Christoph Marti alias Ursli Pfister, born 1965 in Bern, Tobias Bonn alias Toni Pfister, born 1964 in Bonn, and Andreja Schneider alias Fräulein Schneider, born 1964 in Zagreb, have been the core line-up of Geschwister Pfister. The musical cabaret is performed with live accompaniment from the Jo Roloff Quartet. Most often, Geschwister Pfister première their pieces in Berlin’s Bar jeder Vernunft before taking them on extended tours throughout the German-speaking countries. The team have been honoured with awards including the Salzburger Stier in 1993 and a Prix Walo in 1995.
For more than three decades, Geschwister Pfister have been presenting programmes honed to perfection that are more than musical cabaret: they employ overemphasis as a stylistic technique without making fun of the show sector. In addition to Pfister shows such as “Melodien fürs Gemüt” (1991), “Die Geschwister Pfister in der Klinik” (2009) and “Ursli & Toni Pfister als Cindy & Bert” (2019) the group members can be seen in many other productions under the “Pfisters zu Gast” label. Christoph Marti, for example, was involved in “Coco – ein Transgendermusical” (2018) at the Stadttheater Bern and received a German Musical Theater Award for his role as Gilette. Tobias Bonn and Christoph Marti also make frequent guest appearances together in productions such as, most recently, “Murder on the Orient Express” in Berlin and “Paradise City” in Bern (both in 2020). In December 2022, the latest Geschwister Pfister show, “Relaxez vous!”, receives its première in the glittering mirror tent in Berlin.
You can’t just “watch” Geschwister Pfister: these professional entertainers sing and dance their hearts out, the audience luxuriates, languishes and even links arms to sway along – often to pop songs, Schlager and operetta hits whose artifice, in the precise yet humorous renderings by Geschwister Pfister, becomes entertainment that is as grandiose as it is self-revelatory. The way in which the Pfisters play with our dreams is so skilful, their interpretations so loving, that nobody can resist them. You emerge from an evening of Geschwister Pfister longing for more, almost like an addict, craving your next dose of Pfister magic.
