What happens when two heavenly bodies collide? That is exactly what we encounter in Puma, a play that explores the life-long, obsessive and tempestuous love affair between Marlene Dietrich, the German actress who became a Hollywood icon, and Erich Maria Remarque, the celebrated author of All's Quiet On The Western Front. As the inevitable conflagration of World War II loomed over Europe, both Dietrich and Remarque fled Nazi Germany to the United States. Remarque was already an acclaimed wunderkind and Dietrich had made her mark and had gained international fame with her performance as Lola in the film, The Blue Angel directed by Josef von Sternberg.
The play takes the audience through their unconventional relationship over the decades as they both work to establish themselves in their new homeland while struggling with the challenge encountered by all immigrants, displacement. Along the way they meet and sleep with an impressive cavalcade of Hollywood's luminaries while at the same time attempting to accommodate their respective marriages. Jimmy Stewart and Paulette Goddard are also featured in the play as they are pulled into the powerful and seductive orbit of these two larger-than-life characters. Puma provides a glimpse into a time in history when the true world order was being destroyed, and when long established cultures and societies were being swept aside while at the same time the fantastical illusion that we know as Hollywood was being created.Click image for online ticketingThe Cast of Puma
Puma is directed by NJ Rep's Artistic Director, Suzanne Barabas and stars Ylfa Edelstein (Marlene Dietrich), John FitzGibbon (Erich Maria Remarque), Christopher Vettel (James Stewart), Natalie Wilder (Paulette Goddard).
NJ Rep is year-round, non-profit, professional theater located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, only minutes from the Jersey Shore. Free on-site parking and easy access from NJ Transit (North Jersey Coast Line) and Academy Buses.
Funding for NJ Rep is provided in part by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Baumol Family Foundation, JENNJOE Fund, Investors Savings, OceanFirst Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Actors Equity Foundation, Redel Foundation, National New Play Network, Jewish Communal Fund, The New Jersey Cultural Trust and The New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
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