Interview: Adrienne Haan Sings KURT WEILL at The York Theatre

For one night only on Monday, September 22, 2025, at 7:30 pm, international cabaret star Adrienne Haan will perform Adrienne Haan Sings Kurt Weill at the York Theatre Company at The Theatre at St. Jean's (150 East 76th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

Celebrating the 125th birthday year of legendary composer Kurt Weill, Haan takes audiences on a musical journey from Berlin’s roaring 1920s to his exile-era works in France and Broadway triumphs in the 1940s. The evening will feature classics from The Threepenny Opera alongside lesser-known gems, all performed in their original languages and reimagined arrangements.

We spoke with Haan about the show and her other projects, including more shows later in the year in New York City.

What are you looking forward to about this Kurt Weill tribute show at the York Theatre?

I am showcasing Kurt Weill's musical journey through Berlin, Paris, and New York, which was quite an exciting one considering Kurt Weill was forced to flee the Nazi Regime in 1934 and start over again, whether it was France or later the United States. Like me, Kurt Weill was born in Germany, but unlike me, who came to America at her own free will in 1997 to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kurt Weill was forced to flee the Nazi Regime in 1934 because he was Jewish. This soirée features his famous songs from Berlin’s Golden 20s, his French oeuvres from his exile years during the 30s, as well as his Broadway successes from the 40s. Celebrating the Kurt Weill Year 2025 by honoring his 125th birthday, my trio and I take the audience on an emotional ride by telling Kurt Weill’s life story across the continents intertwined with my own, arranged to match my vocal range and ability to sing different music styles in various languages, which I love best.

What draws you to Kurt Weill's music?

Its ramification and dissonance. The fact that he was a musical chameleon, effortlessly taking on the colors of whichever country he lived in. And he lived in three. Besides, he was a genius. In his independently written American songs, Weill drew from the styles and genres he used for songs throughout his compositional development: his earliest classically based art songs which bled into the realm of Modernism, his popular Berlin ballads, his French chansons, and his most recent Broadway hit tunes. Weill’s music is complex which makes this a challenging show, and I absolutely love challenges. It goes into different registers, it's often very rangy, and you go from a more classical singing style, chanson and Musical Theater and to the German "Sprechgesang". The songs are long and require strong acting skills and the lyrics are brilliant. So, you must totally be able to let yourself go as an actor, lose yourself into his music and brilliant lyrics written by some of his finest collaborators, playwrights and librettists such as Bertolt Brecht, Georg Kaiser, Jacques Deval, Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash or Maxwell Anderson. Whether it's during his very dramatic songs or his more comedic ones. Since this is not a play but rather a one-woman show, you have to also find a way to involve the audience and make them want to commit to a 95-minute exciting musical journey through time, written, performed and interpreted by yours truly! It is an exciting genre to cover because I have to portray different characters in each song.

What do you think has made Weill's music endure for such a long time?

I think because of all of the above. Kurt Weill's music endures because of its unique blend of genres, from classical to popular, which is both accessible and challenging, and its thematic depth, reflecting his experiences in a turbulent Europe and the promise of America. His ability to shift from the sublime to the shocking, combined with concise musical forms, created powerful works that continue to resonate with audiences in diverse settings, from concert halls to punk clubs. Also, considering that his songs were translated in every possible language including Chinese and many interpreters have taken his songs and created their own versions simply shows the overall fascination of his music. Whether Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra, whether The Doors or David Bowie and many others, they were all fascinated with his music, so people today think it was them who composed those songs. I cannot think of any other composer of that time that had such an effect on rock ‘n’ roll, swing or even pop music. 

Working so much with Weill's music, have noticed any evolution in the way you think about it or made any discoveries about it that surprised you?

I started working on this project in 2016, so the show is not new to me. The original version included a sextet, featuring musicians on 10 instruments. Now we cut it down to a trio on five instruments for budget reasons, but that’s just a minor change. Of course, I believe that when you get older, the music grows on you even more. As a young performer in my late teens or early 20s, I was not as interested in his music and only discovered it in my mid to late twenties. It takes a certain maturity to appreciate his music due to all of the above. Also, when you know the history and also his life story in detail, the music becomes even more fascinating. When I first worked on the show, I directed myself and was not happy with it (I have 14 programs, and I directed them all). Then, for the first time decided I wanted to work with a director. His name is Barry Kleinbort and he brought out the best in me, I’d like to think. He made me look at his songs from a different perspective and also helped me to dive deep into the drama without flying off the handle. I am saying this because it is easy to “overact” his songs and then it becomes ridiculous. But if you don’t go deep enough, the songs could seem boring and repetitive. It’s a fine line. Almost 10 years after I first performed it, I am still discovering new things and try out other choreographies. So, in some songs, the choreography I wrote originally 10 years ago is totally different to what it is today. I have also exchanged songs to keep the show fresh, and his repertoire is so wide that one can easily pick and choose. I think the challenge is to always reinvent yourself. I have recently read a relatively new biography on Weill called: “Kurt Weill’s America” by Naomi Graber which again helped me to see especially his American songs from another angle. Weill truly loved this country because it took him in when the Nazi’s chased him out. He never returned to Germany and died in New York in 1950 at only 50 years old. Interestingly, he never made it into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, but at least into the American Theater Hall of Fame. When I read this book, I indeed changed my performing style of his Broadway songs, knowing the things I know now. So yes, a true performer will always grow, change and take on new challenges, because otherwise I must admit, I would also get bored with myself. 

Aside from this show, what other projects or upcoming shows are you working on?

I am traveling a lot for work, so I have shows in New York and Idaho until the end of the year, then the circle starts over with shows in Europe and Cape Town, where I also live part the time. I also have some cruises planned and am supposed to play in a Shakespeare production in Idaho next summer, which would be great, as this will be my way back to playing straight theater, especially classical theater, which is my favorite.

I have also been artist-in-residence at the Triad Theater on 72nd and Broadway for ten years, so I am always performing shows there. My next New York appearances are on November 4 at 7 pm, when I am performing my show “New York, New York - My own very personal tribute to the Big Apple.” This is not the cliché show you may think it is. I came to New York in 1997 and as a German-Luxembourger was facing many challenges because I was not American. People here did not want performers with accents, and I was always “too tall” for roles. That’s a line I heard many times. So, I became a character actress even at a very young age and played some great character roles that often required accents or languages, which are my strong suit. It may sound odd, but believe me when I say, not being American in New York show business is even more of a challenge, and I had to totally invent myself to get to where I am today. It was hard and I pushed my way through. This is my life story with great songs that have inspired me over the years, so I am mixing the American Songbook with some Broadway tunes from shows I have been in. I have also invited a fabulous guest artist, a woman I have worked with before: Brittany Baratz. She is a phenomenal singer and person; our voices go so well together. I love featuring other performers in my shows, especially very talented and sexy women. Brittany and I worked together on a project called “Final Day,” which was musical reading we did together in 2023, and from then on became dear friends.

On December 2 at 7 pm and December 20 at 2 pm, I am bringing my Irving Berlin tribute back to the Triad Theater called “White Christmas at the Triad - A Tribute to the Life and Music of Irving Berlin.” It’s a fabulous (holiday) show for young and old, and I am telling Irving Berlin’s life story from Imperial Russia, to Antwerp, Belgium via Ellis Island to the lower East Side as a child, all the way to fancy Beekman Place, Broadway and Hollywood as and adult; And….his surprisingly close relation to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the tiny country in Europe, of which I am a citizen. My MD of 22 years, Richard Danley, will also be on vocals for this, and we have three costume changes in the show. We are performing this show in our eighth year, and it sells out every time. Tickets for all of the above can be found on www.triadnyc.com 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I am a storyteller, and I hope to continue to bring the joy of what I do best for years to come. My artistry is a great part of who I am. The art is my child that I cherish, and it grows and ripens like a child would. The more I travel, the more I see of this world, the more experiences I can share with the world and with it on stage, so all my shows can remain fresh.  I love to combine European intellect with the great American way of entertainment and glamour, something that defines me. And as Kurt Weill would have said: "To me, there is only good music and bad music." I don't only agree; I think it's a funny line, because he makes everything sound so simple. I want to continue of his legacy, singing only “good music”, because his music to me IS good music. 

If you would like to visit his grave, please go to the cemetery in Haverstraw, NY. Engraved on his stone is a lyric by Maxwell Anderson: 

This is the life of men on earth:

Out of darkness we come at birth
Into a lamplit room, and then –
Go forward into dark again.

Thank you so much for this interview and for your interest. I hope to see all of you at the York Theatre at St. Jean’s on Monday, September 22 at 7.30 pm for our great Rosh Hashana celebration of Kurt Weill’s life and music. No better way to celebrate Rosh Hashana than with the music of one of the greatest Jewish composers of all times. 

Follow Adrienne Haan on Instagram and Facebook and check out her website at: www.adriennehaan.com