Lotte Lenya News

Though Julie Wilson was certainly not the first and by all means not the last great singer to have her heart stomped upon by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's 'Surabaya Johnny,' there is no one I can name more deserving to claim it as their signature song.  (Okay, maybe Lotte Lenya, but you know that's a special case.)  Though for many years now the 83-year-old beloved cabaret star has been singing songs less and less and speaking them more and more, there are few who can match her for painting vivid word pictures and bringing complex dramatic subtext to a lyric.  With pianist Christopher Denny doing a marvelous job of softly supporting her many pauses and tempo changes, Wilson's crushing performance of Marc Blitzstein's translation, played to a pin-drop silent crowd on opening night of her new show at The Metropolitan Room, is an emotionally striking portrayal of a woman who can explode with anger at the mistreatment she endures from her faithless lover while moments later barely control a sob at the admission that she still loves him.  Through the years I've seen Julie Wilson sing 'Surabaya Johnny' many times but her performance that night was the best I've ever seen or heard from anyone.  (And as is typical of her modesty, she actually introduced the song by complimenting Donna Murphy's performance of it on Broadway in LoveMusik.)  She follows it with a devilishly humored 'Mack the Knife' (also Blitzstein's translation) that builds so slowly and precisely that she goes through the entire song twice in order to hit the climax.  I heard no complaints.

Award-winning showbiz entertainers, Corky Hale and Charlotte Rae, will perform in a show emceed by Carl Reiner, with Jeff Lass serving as Music Director. The show, 'A Festive Evening For Westside Center for Independent Living,' is a benefit for WCIL.

Ute Lemper sings Kurt Weill's SEVEN DEADLY SINS in concert with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in October. Two performances at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto followed by a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The legendary director/ producer Harold Prince has won an astounding 21 Tony Awards for his body of work. He returned to Broadway last year as the director of the new musical Love Musik, about the relationship of Lotte Lenya and Kurt Weill. Here he talks about the musical and working with Lenya on the original production of Cabaret.

Last season Donna Murphy tackled the role of Lotte Lenya in Harold Prince's musical Love Musik. Here she talks about capturing the essence of this remarkable woman.

The no-holds-barred production of the classic stage musical Cabaret, which has been running at the No Exit Café in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, deserves many kudos for bringing this show to life. And what a life!

Ghostlight Records, a division of Sh-K-Boom Records, will release the world premiere recording of the Manhattan Theatre Club's new Broadway musical LoveMusik, which was nominated for four Tony Awards. The production starred Tony Award winners Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy and featuring the songs of Kurt Weill. The recording, produced by Joel Moss with Kurt Deutsch serving as Executive Producer, will be available in stores and online on November 27.

Gerard Alessandrini's newest edition of the long-running satirical revue may not be most vicious version of the show but it certainly ranks up there among the best.

Morrison, now costarring in a NYMF show, talks about healing and working after 'Merrily We Roll Along' and returning to NY after 20 years.

TheaterWorks has announced the 20th Anniversary production of Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, starring stage and screen favorite Rosemary Prinz in the title role.

The cast of LoveMusik, the new musical about theatre legends Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, recorded a cast album of the musical for Ghostlight Records on Sunday, July 15th at Avatar Studios.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of LoveMusik will begin its final week of performances Tuesday, June 19. The limited engagement will end on Sunday, June 24 at the Biltmore Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The production will have played 24 previews and 61 regular performances.

We talk to Tony Nominee David Pittu, who is currently playing 'Bertolt Brecht' in LoveMusik (Outer Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical).

LoveMusik's Tony nominated stars Michael Cerveris and David Pittu will be guests on Bloomberg's 'Muse' Friday, June 8 at 11:30 PM

LoveMusik's Tony nominated stars Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy will be guests on the WNYC's 'The Leonard Lopate Show' live from 1:00 PM - 1:20 PM tomorrow, Thursday, June 7.

For the second year, Baltimore/DC columnists on who they pick to win this year's Tony Awards

The embryonic lump of coal now inhabiting the Biltmore Theatre has more gem-like qualities to savor and enjoy than the majority of fully gestated musicals now playing around town. It just ain't ready yet, but boy has it got a lot going for it.

BroadwayWorld.com takes you from Berlin to Hollywood with these highlights from LoveMusik!

Legendary director Harold Prince announced at a recent performance of the acclaimed Manhattan Theatre Club musical LoveMusik that Donna Murphy, who plays Lotte Lenya, and Judy Blazer, who plays Tilly Losch and one of Brecht's Women, will be out of the show until Tuesday evening.

Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris, currently starring in MTC's world premiere of the new musical LoveMusik, is featured on the Associated Press' 'On Broadway' Podcast.