Sunday Showtunes

MUSIK (sic) OF THE NIGHT

So my first show is unexpectedly “Love Musik,” in a limited run at the Manhattan Theatre Company.  It is about the life of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, both major figures in music and theatre.  You probably know composer Weill mostly by “The Threepenny Opera” but he also wrote such shows as “Lady in the Dark,” “Street Scene,” “Happy End,” “One Touch of Venus,” and “Lost in the Stars.”  Lotte Lenya had a long and rich international cabaret and theatrical career, plus she did movies as well, and most theatre people probably remember her as the original “Fraulein Schneider” in “Cabaret.”  The play uses Weill’s songs (with varying lyricists; he had many collaborators) to tell the story of how they met, lived together, married, unmarried, re-married, and finally were buried together, all while continuously sleeping with others with the full consent of both.  It stars my fave Michael Cerveris (“Tommy,” “Titanic,” others) as Weill, and an unrecognizable Donna Murphy as Lenya. I thought it was exquisite and very special – and not my cup of tea.  It had the feel of a play with songs as opposed to a musical, and was very dark save for some “burlesque” style sequences (presentational a la “Cabaret”) that seemed to have been for a different show.  (Though I thought they were cleverly staged and well-done by director Hal Prince).  And  I appreciated the wonderful performances (the two leads carry the show and they both buried themselves in the characters with total honesty) and the incredible orchestra, who had a level of sensitivity and emotionalism that I have hardly ever seen even on Broadway but was perfect for this type of music.  The Entr’acte features the string section in a lovely movement that was so exquisite and emotional and beautiful that it almost had me tearing up.  The viola and violinists stood while they solo’d, like a classical music concert, and the audience was completely focused and silent.  What a great moment for my first night!

KSHO broadcasts to the Mid-Willamette Valley in Western Oregon.
Among the communities served are Albany, Corvallis, and Lebanon.