Recklinghausen Recap

Now that I'm back in the States, I wanted to post these publicity shots of some of the great shows I saw at the Ruhrfestspiele in Germany. First of all, here's the wonderful cast of Heute: KOHLHAAS, based on the novella by Heinrich von Kleist.

And here's that great scene with the fabric in Red Giselle.

This photo doesn't quite capture the mask puppet in Songs for Alice, but it can give you an idea of what it looked like.

Here's the dish-smashing scene in Carl Sternheim's Die Hose / Burger Schippel.

Dancing maenads from Thomas Mann's Death in Venice.

The cast of Maria Milisavljevic's Brandung in front of their ice set.

The cast of Der Weibsteufel with their equally impressive set.

Why don't we get theater like this in the U.S.?

Heute:Kohlhaas... heute!

I know there are people who read this blog in Germany. (At least that's what Google analytics tells me.) Well, if you are in Germany today and anywhere near Recklinghausen, run as fast as you can to see Heute: Kohlhaas for it's final performance as a part of the Ruhrfestspiele Fringe festival!

Five amazing actors perform this wonderful adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist's novella Michael Kohlhass using music, puppetry, clowning... even unicycle riding! The production, skillfully directed by Claus Overkamp, is endlessly inventive. The scene where Kohlhaas meets Martin Luther is worth the admission price all by itself.

Heute: Kohlhaas, a co-production of the AGORA Theater and Theater Marabu Bonn, is playing at 4:30 p.m. today, Sunday, June 2 in Fringezelt II. It's their final performance at the festival, so don't miss it!