 Ever Kissed in the Dark? Love and Music in the Third Reich Written and directed by
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The controversial role of artists in the Nazi-era is intimately connected with the popular songs of composer Michael Jary and his lyricist Bruno Balz. Their songs were interpreted by stars of the Third Reich such as Zarah Leander and Heinz Ruhmann and part of the Goebbels propaganda machine which used film and popular music to divert Germans from the increasingly oppressive realities of the regime. "Don't show the world your heart" - this line from a Bruno Balz song lyric might best describe a world in which artists' thoughts and feelings had to be hidden behind masks and between the lines. 'Blackout measures' ordered by the Nazi regime in preparation for war, and satirized by the master of double entendre, the courageous comedian Werner Finck, are a metaphor for this musical about Love in the Dark Age. Life as a balancing act: in the style of a 40's variety show at the famous Berlin Wintergarten and Scala, 'Ever Kissed in the Dark?' mixes dramatic scenes with clown sketches or acrobatic numbers. The artists are forced to wear false masks and walk thin lines throughout the show. The pretty, smiling 'number girls' seem to be performing a countdown to catastrophe with every new glittering number they carry across the stage. The stories of six different artists are pasted together into a colorful collage: Michael Jary's secret affair with film star Zarah Leander, the unrequited love of singer-dancer Evelyn Kuenneke; comedian Werner Finck's duel of words with Goebbels, the flirts of the 'chilenian nightengail' Rosita Seranno with the Reich and Bruno Balz' dangerous life as a homosexual artist. And behind it all: the long shadow of Joseph Goebbels. From his private screening room in the Ministery for Propaganda, he updates his personal diary and pronounces judgements on the artists under him. Those willing to pay he price are crowned 'State Artists', the willful ones are harassed, the desperate driven to suicide or concentration camp. Goebbels personal drama is the dark-haired slavic actress Lida Baarova. When the lights go down on opening nights of Baarova films, calls of "Nazi whore!" are heard. Goebbels career is in danger. 'Ever Kissed in the Dark?' is a musical that is also a piece of German entertainment history. More. |