Seth Gaaikema (11 July 1939 – 21 October 2014) was a Dutch cabaret artist, writer, and lyricist. Gaaikema was born in

Uithuizen Uithuizen () is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of 4,885 in January 2017. The Uithuizen railway station is located on the Sauw ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, as the son of a Mennonite minister. After studying Dutch and founding the student cabaret at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is the ...

, he became a lyricist writing for established artists such as

Wim Kan Willem Cornelis "Wim" Kan (15 January 1911 – 8 September 1983) was a Dutch cabaret artist. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld, he is considered to be one of the Great Three of Dutch cabaret. In 1936, he established the ABC Caba ...

. He had met Kan while he was at university, and Kan soon became his idol and later his competitor. Gaaikema and Kan collaborated for a long time in what Kan later called a love-hate relationship; he criticized Gaaikema as a clone, as did other critics. Gaaikema was a solo artist since 1967, though his cabaret shows were often considered slow or too serious by critics; not until 1994 did he have a show praised by all critics. Gaaikema found it more and more difficult to maintain the audience's interest, especially when the new generation of cabaret artists introduced a harder-edged, more direct type of humor. He did, however, receive praise for his translations of musicals, including ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flowe ...

'' (his first, 1959), ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

'', ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', and ''

The Phantom of The Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

''. He was praised as, "above all, a playful master of language"; his reputation as lyricist and translator was celebrated more than his showmanship.

Freek de Jonge Frederik "Freek" Jan Georg de Jonge (born 30 August 1944) is a Dutch cabaret performer and writer. Biography Early life and career De Jonge was born in Westernieland as son of a pastor. His family moved to Workum, and later to Zaandam and ...

, another Dutch comedian and minister's son, first saw Gaaikema perform in 1963 and though de Jonge's direction in cabaret was decidedly different, he greatly admired and was inspired by him, calling him a virtuoso of language. Gaaikema came out as a gay man in 1988, in a New Year's Eve show. He married his manager, and the two lived in

Schijndel Schijndel () is a town and former municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Schijndel is located approximately southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch. Schijndel was founded on 6 December in the year 1309. On 1 January 201 ...

, until Gaaikema died after a brief illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaaikema, Seth 1939 births 2014 deaths Dutch male comedians Dutch cabaret performers Dutch translators Dutch male dramatists and playwrights LGBT cabaret performers Dutch gay writers Dutch LGBT dramatists and playwrights Dutch LGBT comedians Gay comedians Gay dramatists and playwrights People from Eemsmond 20th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 20th-century translators