The Three Faces of Linn Maxwell in New Musical Lilli Marlene

Ah, the music of the WWII era has to be some of the best music ever written. It was a very emotional time in history and the music was intensely reflective of this. And now, you can experience a new work which will allow you to journey back to a time gone but not forgotten.

LILLI MARLENE, a new musical featuring the hits of the WWII era starring Linn Maxwell will open Monday, September 22nd at the Abingdon Theatre (312 West 36 Street - between 8th and 9th Avenue), it was announced by producers John Osher and Bob Roskam.  Previews begin September 18th.   Directed by Erv Raible, with book by Kathryn Ryan, the show features such songs as "As Time Goes By," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square," "It Had to Be You," "The White Cliffs of Dover," " Mad About the Boy" and "Lilli Marlene," which was made famous by the legendary Marlene Dietrich.  Paul Trueblood is the musical director.

Maxwell gave me a little bit of insight into the show and her involvement in the show.

TJ: Hi Linn!  I personally love the music of the WWII era! How about you?

MAXWELL: Absolutely!  There is a spirit in the music of the WW II era that goes beyond the self-centered themes of songs from later years.  The "Great Generation" expressed their can-do spirit and self-sacrifice, while putting personal feelings in the background.  When I see the older patrons grooving to the songs I perform in the show, it reinforces this notion of the enduring quality of the music.

TJ: So, you started out as an opera singer?

MAXWELL: Well, you have to do something, and opera was a good way to earn a living while using the musical skills I had acquired.  I don't envy today's young singers because there are so many of them in ratio to the actual opportunities for them to develop their craft.

TJ: When did you first get involved in the musical theatre aspect?

MAXWELL: During the years I only sang classical music (opera and concerts) I was so consumed with all the preparation for those genres that I didn't have any time or interest in musicals.  About 10 years ago while living in Zurich, I got hooked on musicals!  Someone told me about an audition for Sondheim's "Company" and I got cast as Joanne, that wonderful role made famous by Elaine Stritch.  That led to several other shows and I never looked back.

TJ: How did you get involved with this show?

MAXWELL: This is my third one-woman musical.  It was partly necessity because I had been hired to do one of my previous shows and it wasn't possible to do it, so I needed a replacement.  A director I had met, Charles Maryan, helped me shape the material and the three women were born.

TJ: Now, am I right that you play three different women in this one woman show? Tell me about the characters.

MAXWELL: Because we wanted to include the songs from 3 countries involved in World War II, we chose the three women to perform them.  Our writer, Kathryn Ryan, shaped the women into three friends who had very different experiences, reflecting the war as it affected the citizens of American, England and Germany.  The three women had met some 20 years earlier during their student years at the Vienna Academy of Music.  They remained fast friends even after returning to their respective countries.

Daphne is the American, very traditional and Midwestern, who gave up her promising singing career to marry her college beau and have kids.  She was never really convinced this was the right choice for her, but life happens.  Her big chance to fulfill her dream comes when Tom goes off to war and she starts singing at the USO.  She really finds herself as she pursues her passion for performing, and then must come to grips with reality when the war ends.  Can she return to her old homemaker status?  Coincidentally, the writer placed Daphne in Indiana, not knowing that I was born there. 

Rose is the British music hall singer.  English music halls were important centers of entertainment and they flourished until the war, and this is the background of Rose's world.  She is well aware that her stage persona attracts men to her, but she has never really found love.  But then, during the war...well, see the show!

Lilli is the German opera singer.  I worked in the German opera houses as a young singer myself, and it is easy for me to identify with her musical world.  Every opera house has a canteen or cafe that is exclusively for the performers and stage hands, and that is where much of the action takes place for Lilli.  It is the center of social interaction and gossip, and if you want to know what's going on in the house, you hang out in the canteen and keep your ears open.

TJ: From what I have read, this sounds like a very emotional show.

MAXWELL: The music and the relationships make for an emotional experience.  Everyone has relationships and everyone is affected by music of one type or another.  We all feel love and fear, and we all seek fulfillment.  But in the end I believe the impact is still a mystery, an unknown that we can't quantify or dissect.

TJ: Do you have a favorite song in the show?  Tell me about it.

MAXWELL: That's like asking a mother which child is her favorite!  Every song has a dramatic job to do in the show.  Every song delivers its message.  I suppose as pure music, not giving weight to its dramatic function, I am drawn to "Solomon Song" from "Threepenny Opera" by Kurt Weill, and the title song, "Lilli Marlene," made famous during WW II by Marlene Dietrich.

TJ: Did you always want to be a singer?

MAXWELL: Yes.  There was never a time when I didn't sing.  My mother told me that when I was 4 months old I would lie in my crib and "sing" to my doll.

TJ: Who were some of your musical inspirations?

MAXWELL: Lotte Lenya (wife of Kurt Weill and interpreter of his music), Ute Lemper, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, famous Wagnerian singer from the last century, and renowned British mezzo soprano Dame Janet Baker, now retired.

TJ: Is it tough having to play three different characters in the same production and the show is, from what I understand, just you?

MAXWELL: Playing 3 characters is part of the exciting challenge of this script.  When I see brilliant performers like Sarah Jones, who plays 12 to 16 characters in one show, I am humbled by that talent, and also encouraged to pursue this worthy goal.  I was in an off-Broadway production of Virgil Thomson's opera, "The Mother of Us All" with Music Theater Group in the early 1980's.  The cast was pared down from 30 characters to 10 singers who did multiple roles.  One evening an audience member told me she didn't realize I was the same person in my two roles until the bows at the end.  That was the highest compliment anyone could have paid me.

TJ: Linn, thanks for your time and best to you with the show!

MAXWELL: Thank you so much for asking me these thought-provoking questions.  It has been a pleasure to delve into the show this way.

Take the journey with Linn Maxwell and catch LILLI MARLENE opening Monday, September 22nd at the Abingdon Theatre,312 West 36 Street - between 8th and 9th Avenue. The schedule of performances is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM, with matinees on Sundays at 3PM.  Tickets are $25 and are available at Smart Tix at (212) 868-4444 or by log in to www.Smarttix.com.  And so, this nightingale bids you ciao and remember, theatre is my life!