Staging a Double Take

April 08, 2019 School of Music | School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Set in a film studio, Maryland Opera Studio’s “Mahagonny Songspiel” features American icons Nat King Cole (Justin Harrison), James Dean (Jeremy Harr), Babe Ruth (Mike Hogue) and Charlie Chaplin (Dallas Gray).

New production of two works by Kurt Weill combines opera, dance and theater.

Opera, dance performance, fairy tale and dystopian nightmare all in one—that’s what’s on the docket now at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center through an unusual double bill pairing two rarely seen pieces by a German-American composer best known for “Mack the Knife.”

Kurt Weill’s “Zaubernacht” (meaning “Magic Night”) and “Mahagonny Songspiel” are two 1920s works with seemingly nothing in common: The first is a dreamlike piece in which a fairy brings toys to life, and the second is a series of songs telling the story of six people trying to reach the mythical city of Mahagonny, only to realize it’s not as idyllic as they thought.

To read the full article visit Maryland Today

(Photo by David Andrews)