Lady in the Dark at Theater Basel

Although Liza Elliot is at the top of her field as the successful editor of a fashion magazine, her mysteriously profound lack of fulfillment frightens her into psychoanalysis. She has been unsettled by confused and fantastic dreams, the central characters of which are, in various guises, four men: her married lover, a handsome if shallow movie star, the magazine's flamboyant photographer and her chief nemesis, the cynical advertising manager. The ensuing exploration of the psychological implications of dreams makes for the most intelligent, stylish and theatrical of musicals. Uniquely structured like a straight play, the arresting score arrives in extended interludes that dramatize Liza's dreams. Ultimately, it is the memory of a haunting childhood song that she has been unable to recall that sets her free.

Music by Kurt Weill; Book by Moss Hart; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Authors

• Ira Gershwin
• Kurt Weill
• Moss Hart