Jeremy Lawrence's poignant and chilling evocation of Weimar Berlin's queer underground as it faced the imminent danger of Hitler on the rise has been extended at Pangea. "Lavender Songs -- A Queer Weimar Berlin Cabaret," which Q on Stage calls "a witty, proud and political evening," performs again on Monday May 22, and, in conjunction with Gay Pride, on Monday June 19. Both are at 7pM. Lawrence's once-monthly performances began, fittingly, on Inauguration Day, January 20. The show's next scheduled bow is on Saturday, April 8 at 7pm.
Directed by Jason Jacobs, this updated version of "Lavender Songs," which won a 2008 Bistro Award for Lawrence and Jacobs, is filled with remarkable gems and curios by LGBT composers and performers from the Berlin underground during Nazi Germany. Bistroawards.com calls it "a beautifully realized evocation of a club in Germany in the '30s," adding that it's "a thrilling reminder of the power and strength of cabaret at its best."
Featuring a book by Lawrence -- who also writes the English lyrics -- "Lavender Songs" is "genuinely moving and melancholy," according to The Jewish Standard, which adds, this is "a perfect time for this kind of entertainment." Theaterscene.net asserts that, "Lawrence's superb performance in this bold production is simultaneously entertaining and chilling."
As she prowls the stage in the guise of tragic fallen drag princess Tante Fritzi, Lawrence kicks up a storm of risqué, bawdy and gender-bending material. She is joined on stage by Ariela Bohrod, the music director, who accompanies on piano.
A distinguished translator, lyricist and performer, Lawrence, whose extensive translations of German repertoire are in wide usage, is the official English translator of songs by Friedrich Hollaender and Franz Waxman. He also created the English lyrics on
Ute Lemper's widely praised recording, "Berlin Cabaret Songs." As an actor, Lawrence has had a long career on New York and regional stages, screen and television (most recently on The Blacklist and Shades of Blue). His one-man
Tennessee Williams shows have received international acclaim.
Based on an evening created in 2002 by Alan Lareau for the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington DC (in conjunction with the exhibition "Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945"), "Lavender Songs" includes songs originally written or performed by Lothar Brühne;
Richard Fall; Friedrich Hollaender; Horst Platen; Rudolph Nelson; Ernst Sennhofer, and
Mischa Spoliansky. The original German texts were written by Bruno Balz; Raimund Dannberg; Willy Hagen; Friedrich Hollaender; Fritz Löhner-Beda; Marcellus Schiffer; Kurt Schwabach, and
Kurt Tucholsky.
Seven of the show's eleven composer-lyricists were Jewish. Two of these died in the camps, two committed suicide, one survived in hiding in the Netherlands, and two others escaped to exile -- Hollaender in America and Spoliansky in England. Of all the queer artists celebrated in the show, the best known is
Marlene Dietrich, who emigrated to America. Only two others survived -- one in obscurity and poverty; the other was allowed to continue his career.
A subversive cris de coeur against the dangers of intolerance,
Jeremy Lawrence's "Lavender Songs" continues its run of monthly shows at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, through June 19. Upcoming performances are Sat April 8, Mon May 22, and Mon June 19. All shows at 7pm. Music charge is $20 + a $20 food and drink minimum. To purchase tickets online visit
www.pangeanyc.com , or for info call
212/995-0900.
Photo credit: Bjorn Bolinder
