LOVEMUSIK A musical in 2 acts. Music by Kurt Weill. Book by Alfred Uhry. Suggested by the letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya Originally produced by the Manhatten Theatre Club at the Biltmore Theatre, 12 April, 2007 SYNOPSIS ACT ONE We are in limbo. Two figures emerge. Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya. He is stolid, refined. She is a force of nature. Timeless and together. they sing and suddenly, we are transported back to Lake Peetz, Germany, 1924 - the site of Weill and Lenya's first meeting. The young composer waits at the dock as Lenya. a maid/aspiring actress approaches in a rowing boat. Their attraction is instant, their sense of intimacy immediate. Lenya recalls her days as a girl of the streets in Vienna. Weill confesses his allconsuming passion for music and his traditional Jewish upbringing. By the time they have crossed the lake. Weill is smitten. Lenya is reluctant. "Don't expect much she warns seductively. "I'm not so good with nice boys." Its not long before Lenya pays a visit to Weill's humble flat ("The shrine where Herr Genius creates"). In an effort to impress. Weill plays an extremely experimental new composition for her. Lenya's response ("I don't know anything about music") doesn't go over too well with him. After all. Weill does not write "popular ditties he intends to work with Bertolt Brecht, the greatest poet alive. Meanwhile. Lenya offers to bring Weill some cactus plants to cheer up the place. She also offers to move in with him. Outside, beneath a beautifully lit Berlin sky, Lenya sings an ode to her city. This takes us to one year later. Weill's flat exudes Lenya's personality (i.e. cactus plants). One night. Lenya comes home late and Weill confronts her. He is tired of her all too frequent indiscretions and wants her to change. Lenya is defiant. "I stay who I am." she asserts. Weill softens. "Let me be good to you he pleads, "endlessly good." And she does. And after less than a year they get married. Enter Brecht. Arrogant, intelligent, bristling with sexuality. Brecht is followed everywhere by his posse of three women. Together, they detail the ribaldry of their sordid lives. Weill shows up and convinces a stubborn Brecht to let him put some of his poems to music. Pretty soon, our newfound collaborators are themselves running auditions for their latest show. Lenya pays a surprise visit and gives the audition of a lifetime. Not only does she get the part, but she earns Brecht's respect. One year later the trio find fame and fortune with The Threepenny Opera. Lenya is the toast of the town. They are moving on up. Lenya throws a lavish housewarming party for all of their friends, where a belligerent Brecht leads everyone in celebration. January, 1933. As the socio-political climate worsens. Weill and Brecht perform a satirical vaudevillian duet about Hitler's Jewish upbringing. Concerned for his safety, Weill rushes to Lenya's dressing room in the middle of a performance and tells her that they have to flee Germany. Lenya has another idea: Divorce. She persuades Weill to grant her a divorce and sign everything over to her. Lenya's "friend" Otto has generously offered to help her manage their finances in this chaotic time. Weill heads to Paris to work on the Seven Deadly Sins, while Lenya plays Juliet in Dusseldorf. Though they are miles apart, the two ex-lovers maintain a lively correspondence. Lenya informs Weill that the divorce went through and also, that she and Otto are planning to have a baby. But soon enough, they are re-united at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. Lenya has bad news: Otto has departed with all of their money. And another thing: there is no baby. But Weill is surprisingly forgiving. He tells Lenya that he's doing a show in New York. And he wants her to go with him. As they lay in bed together, the two fantasise about life on the Great White Way. Lenya and Weill join Brecht and the rest of the Company aboard the SS Majestic. As the moon looms overhead, America beckons in the distance. The future has arrived.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODU3MzQ=