LoveMusik

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LoveMusik
Poster for LoveMusik
Music Kurt Weill
Lyrics Various
Book Alfred Uhry
Based upon Lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya
Productions 2007 Broadway

LoveMusik is a musical written by Alfred Uhry, using a selection of music by Kurt Weill. The story explores the romance and lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, based on Speak Low (When You Speak Love): The Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, edited and translated by Lys Symonette & Kim H. Kowalke[1]. Harold Prince had read Speak Low and suggested the idea for a musical to Uhry. Uhry and Prince worked on LoveMusik for four years to develop it into a stage work.[2] The story spans over 25 years, from the first meeting of Lenya and Weill as struggling young artists, to their popularity in Europe and America, to Weill's death from a heart attack at age 50.

The musical was produced on Broadway as a limited run production by the Manhattan Theatre Club beginning previews on April 12, 2007, opening on May 3, 2007, and closing on June 24, 2007.[3] The show was directed by Harold Prince, with musical staging by Patricia Birch and starred Michael Cerveris as Kurt Weill, Donna Murphy as Lotte Lenya, David Pittu as Bertolt Brecht and John Scherer as George Davis. The ensemble included Judith Blazer, Edwin Cahill, Herndon Lackey, Erik Liberman, Ann Morrison, Graham Rowat, Rachel Ulanet and Jessica Wright.

It got mixed to estatic reviews . It was noted for its preformances of Donna Murphy & Micheal Cerveris

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

Act I

In 1924, Weill is visiting a friend in Europe, and Lenya is sent to meet him. They are immediately attracted to each other and their subsequent romance and marriage follow the course of events in pre-World War II Germany. Weill collaborates with Bertolt Brecht, and the two write The Threepenny Opera, among other important works. But Brecht's ego and politics cause a rift, and the two part. Weill and Lenya divorce and later remarry. As the Jewish Weill becomes a popular and successful composer, Weill and Lenya are forced to leave Germany.

Act II

Now in the United States, Weill has successful musicals produced on Broadway, such as Lady in the Dark, and also spends time in California. The couple have an open marriage – both have other romantic interests; and Weill is a workaholic. But they remain with each other until his death in 1950. Lenya, although devastated at his loss, is urged to return to the stage in Weill's The Threepenny Opera.

The musical uses songs written by Weill for stage musicals such as One Touch of Venus, The Threepenny Opera, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Street Scene, Knickerbocker Holiday, and Happy End, as well as individual songs.

[edit] Japanese Production

A production of 'Lovemusik' has been confirmed for Japan for the 2009-2010 Japanese theatre season. This production will be translated entirely into Japanese. Masachika Ichimura has been cast as Kurt Weill in the Japanese production. No other casting or a theatre has been announced.

[edit] International productions

Productions, translated into their native languages, have been confirmed for Buenos Aires, Berlin, Budapest, Haifa, Madrid, as well as a planned production in London's West End. A production translated into Spanish, has been confirmed for Buenos Aires.

[edit] Musical numbers

Act I
  • Speak Low (Lyrics By Ogden Nash) - Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya
  • Nanna's Lied (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Woman on Stairs
  • Kiddush -- Weill's Family
  • Songs of the Rhineland (Lyrics By Ira Gershwin) - Lenya's Family
  • Klops Lied (Meatball Song) - Kurt Weill
  • Berlin Im Licht - Lotte Lenya
  • Wooden Wedding (Lyrics By Ogden Nash) - Kurt Weill, Lotte Lenya, Magistrate and Court Secretary
  • Tango Ballad (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Bertolt Brecht and Brecht's Women
  • Alabama Song (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Auditioners and Lotte Lenya
  • Girl of the Moment (Lyrics By Ira Gershwin) - Ensemble
  • Moritat (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Bertolt Brecht, Lotte Lenya, Otto and Ensemble
  • Schickelgruber (Lyrics By Howard Dietz) - Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht
  • Come to Paris (Lyrics By Ira Gershwin) - Ensemble
  • I Don't Love You (Lyrics By Maurice Magre) - Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya
  • Wouldn't You Like to Be on Broadway (Lyrics By Langston Hughes and Elmer Rice) - Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya
  • Alabama Song (Reprise) (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Lotte Lenya, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht and Ensemble
Act II
  • How Can You Tell an American (Lyrics By Maxwell Anderson) - Ensemble
  • Very, Very, Very (Lyrics By Ogden Nash) - Kurt Weill
  • It's Never Too Late to Mendelssohn (Lyrics By Ira Gershwin) - Kurt Weill, Lotte Lenya, Stenographer and Judge
  • Surabaya Johnny (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Lotte Lenya
  • Youkali (Lyrics By Roger Fernay) - Bertolt Brecht and Brecht's Women
  • Buddy on the Night Shift (Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II) - Allen Lake
  • That's Him (Lyrics By Ogden Nash) - Kurt Weill
  • Hosannah Rockefeller (Lyrics By Bertolt Brecht) - Bertolt Brecht and Brecht's Women
  • I Don't Love You (Reprise) (Lyrics By Maurice Magre) - Lotte Lenya and Kurt Weill
  • The Illusion Wedding Show (Lyrics By Alan Jay Lerner) - George Davis and Ensemble
  • It Never Was You (Lyrics By Maxwell Anderson) - Kurt Weill
  • A Bird of Passage (Lyrics By Maxwell Anderson) - Ensemble
  • September Song (Lyrics By Maxwell Anderson) - Lotte Lenya and George Davis

[edit] Recording

LoveMusik (the world premiere recording) was recorded in July 2007 at Avatar Studios in NYC and was released on November 27, 2007 by Ghostlight Records (an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records).

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] 2007 Tony Award nominations

[edit] 2007 Drama Desk Award nominations

  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (WINNER)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (Patricia Birch)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical (Harold Prince)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations (Jonathan Tunick) (WINNER)
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design of a Musical
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
  • Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design

[edit] References

  1. ^ University of California Press (1996)
  2. ^ Article from NPR.com
  3. ^ Article from Playbill.com

[edit] External links