Terezin Cabaret

Songs and Satire from Theresienstadt

Origunal Vienna production 1992 - 1995Book: Alexander Waechter
Lyrics to all song are by inmates of Theresienstadt
Music: Sergei Dreznin, Gerhard Bronner
as well as "Schlager" of the 1930s and 40s

directed by Alexander Waechter

with Alexander Waechter, Tania Golden and Sergei Dreznin
Premiere: Vienna Theater im Rabenhof, 8. October 1992
The production toured in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, Hambourg, Zurich, Berlin,

Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Kaiserslauten, Chur and others.

English version"KAMP!"Premiere: December 1994, Temple Beth El, Boca Raton, FL, USA
Book & translations by Thomas & Caren Neille
directed by Michael Maurer

with Ann Turnoff/Amelia DeMayo & Curt Buckler This production was shown in Washington, DC, and at the Festival of Austrian Jewish Culture in London (South Bank Center) the show is currently touring around New Jersey

Upcoming New York premiere:

April - May 2001, 78th Street Theater Lab Book by Shelley Berc & Andrei Belgrader directed by Andrei Belgrader Produced by Paul Blackman

German version SongsTerezin Music Foundation CD

Listen to the "Letter To My Child", & "A Suitcase Speaks", with lyrics by Ilse Weber (RealAudio)

Terezín (Theresienstadt in German), just north of Prague, Czechoslovakia, was displayed in 1944 as a model camp to a group from the International Red Cross who were impressed by prisoners apparently leading a well-organized life, going about their daily business, buying and selling with a special camp currency and enjoying cabaret performances and classical concerts. There was even a band playing on a bandstand in an attractive central square. But it was all a sham to persuade the world that the rumors of a Holocaust were unfounded. Although it was not a death camp on a par with Auschwitz, the conditions at "the paradise ghetto" of Terezin were horrible with overcrowding, poor food, sanitation and medical care. Of the 140,000 people who were interned at Terezín, 33,000 died and 87,000 were transported to Nazi death camps elsewhere. The irony of Terezin was that cultural freedom of the large proportion of artists was tolerated and Jewish "degenerate music" was performed on handmade and smuggled instruments. Much of the work was hidden in the attics and cellars of Terezin and recovered after the Germans left Czechoslovakia and made available after the opening up of the former Eastern bloc.

TERESIENSTADT BECOMES CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL THEATER

On October 8, 1992, Vienna was taken by storm by a small production in Theater im Rabenhof - Chansons und Satiren aus Theresienstadt.
It was conceived, written and directed by Alexander Waechter, a prominent Vienna actor, director and playwright who also costarred in the piece, written for two actors and a pianist. In this production, based entirely on poems and cabaret acts written (and mostly performed) by the inmates of Theresienstadt, Waechter told the story of his great uncle Remi, Baron von Waechter, whose wife was Jewish and who was sent with her to Theresienstadt, where he perished. His wife Emilia was then sent to Auschwitz, and killed.

Waechter carefully researched the piece, which was produced by the Vienna Theater in der Josefstadt (once home of Max Reinhardt). Some of the melodies to songs were whistled to Waechter by the survivors, some were hits of the day in Berlin or Prague. Martin Roman, the surviving leader of the Theresienstadt jazz band, the Ghetto Swingers, sent Waechter a manuscript of his "Carousel" from his home in Emerson, NJ. Sergei Dreznin, a Russian-Austrian pianist and composer had to write music to 8 poems and cabaret numbers and served as the showís musical director and pianist. Gerhard Bronner, patriarch of the Vienna cabaret scene, also wrote new music to some poems.
The show consisted of 26 songs. Some of the wittiest lyrics written in German depicted life in the camp, making fun of the small human weaknesses of the inmates and of Death itself.
Our performances were accompanied by the screening of the infamous Nazi propaganda film "The Fuehrer gives Jews a city" in the theater foyer that also hosted a large exhibit of the original theater posters, photographs and children's drawings (some of the former Theresienstadt children later came to see the show). Many of the art works, along with poems and articles were reprinted in the wonderfully published program, which is now in the archives of many Holocaust research centers throughout the United States.

The show played in Vienna and was invited to the best German stages: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Wiesbaden, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and many others. A CD was produced by Bertelsmann Group BMG Ariola.

Critics in Europe and in the US unanimously agreed that our production proved the impossible: that a cabaret about a concentration camp can make the audience laugh as well as cry, applaud and think of the unlimited power of human spirit facing horrible circumstances. ÑThose who seek joy and are not scared of tears - Go. See it," wrote Vienna daily Die Presse. Ñ A standing ovation in a packed house!" (Tiroler Tageszeitung, Innsbruck.)

On a darkened, bare stage, a macabre revue brings home the fears, desires and dreams of the prisoners, but also their cynicism and small, human weaknesses... a worthy, exemplary evening (in which) you physically feel how the audience stop breathing when Dreznin's children's songs are played, or Tania Golden sings the song of a suitcase searching for its owner. Then laughter returns, almost like liberation, with the cabaret tale of an unopened package which makes the rounds of the camp, serving each recipient as a small bribe to win small privileges (Berliner Morgenpost)

An English version of our show called KAMP! ? Song and Satire from Theresienstadt in translations and with a new dialogue by Thomas and Carin Neile was presented in Boca Raton, FL. It was later invited to the Austrian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC and was part of the Festival of the Austrian Jewish Culture in London in 1996.
In Florida as in the showís most recent performance ? its Tristate area premiere --- in the Jewish Cultural Center in Tenafly, NJ, (June 2000) the audience there included many survivors of the Holocaust. They gave the show a standing ovation. In Tenafly three former inmates of Theresienstadt then took the stage to recount their experiences and to praise the courage and professionalism of the performers.

For the performance schedule and CD contact Sergei Dreznin at SDreznin@aol.com

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`Songs and Satire from Theresienstadt`

`Origunal Vienna production 1992 - 1995``Book: Alexander Waechter` `Lyrics to all song are by inmates of Theresienstadt` `Music: Sergei Dreznin, Gerhard Bronner` `as well as "Schlager" of the 1930s and 40s` `directed by Alexander Waechter` `with Alexander Waechter, Tania Golden and Sergei Dreznin` `Premiere: Vienna Theater im Rabenhof, 8. October 1992` `The production toured in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, Hambourg, Zurich, Berlin,` `Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Kaiserslauten, Chur and others.` `English version``"KAMP!"``Premiere: December 1994, Temple Beth El, Boca Raton, FL, USA` `Book & translations by Thomas & Caren Neille` `directed by Michael Maurer` `with Ann Turnoff/Amelia DeMayo & Curt Buckler This production was shown in Washington, DC, and at the Festival of Austrian Jewish Culture in London (South Bank Center) the show is currently touring around New Jersey` `U``pcoming New York premiere:` `April - May 2001, 78th Street Theater Lab Book by Shelley Berc & Andrei Belgrader directed by Andrei Belgrader Produced by Paul Blackman`
`German version SongsTerezin Music Foundation CD`
`Listen to the "Letter To My Child", & "A Suitcase Speaks", with lyrics by Ilse Weber (RealAudio)`
Terezín (Theresienstadt in German), just north of Prague, Czechoslovakia, was displayed in 1944 as a model camp to a group from the International Red Cross who were impressed by prisoners apparently leading a well-organized life, going about their daily business, buying and selling with a special camp currency and enjoying cabaret performances and classical concerts. There was even a band playing on a bandstand in an attractive central square. But it was all a sham to persuade the world that the rumors of a Holocaust were unfounded. Although it was not a death camp on a par with Auschwitz, the conditions at "the paradise ghetto" of Terezin were horrible with overcrowding, poor food, sanitation and medical care. Of the 140,000 people who were interned at Terezín, 33,000 died and 87,000 were transported to Nazi death camps elsewhere. The irony of Terezin was that cultural freedom of the large proportion of artists was tolerated and Jewish "degenerate music" was performed on handmade and smuggled instruments. Much of the work was hidden in the attics and cellars of Terezin and recovered after the Germans left Czechoslovakia and made available after the opening up of the former Eastern bloc. `TERESIENSTADT BECOMES CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL THEATER` `On October 8, 1992, Vienna was taken by storm by a small production in Theater im Rabenhof - Chansons und Satiren aus Theresienstadt.` It was conceived, written and directed by Alexander Waechter, a prominent Vienna actor, director and playwright who also costarred in the piece, written for two actors and a pianist. In this production, based entirely on poems and cabaret acts written (and mostly performed) by the inmates of Theresienstadt, Waechter told the story of his great uncle Remi, Baron von Waechter, whose wife was Jewish and who was sent with her to Theresienstadt, where he perished. His wife Emilia was then sent to Auschwitz, and killed. Waechter carefully researched the piece, which was produced by the Vienna Theater in der Josefstadt (once home of Max Reinhardt). Some of the melodies to songs were whistled to Waechter by the survivors, some were hits of the day in Berlin or Prague. Martin Roman, the surviving leader of the Theresienstadt jazz band, the Ghetto Swingers, sent Waechter a manuscript of his "Carousel" from his home in Emerson, NJ. Sergei Dreznin, a Russian-Austrian pianist and composer had to write music to 8 poems and cabaret numbers and served as the showís musical director and pianist. Gerhard Bronner, patriarch of the Vienna cabaret scene, also wrote new music to some poems. `The show consisted of 26 songs. Some of the wittiest lyrics written in German depicted life in the camp, making fun of the small human weaknesses of the inmates and of Death itself.` Our performances were accompanied by the screening of the infamous Nazi propaganda film "The Fuehrer gives Jews a city" in the theater foyer that also hosted a large exhibit of the original theater posters, photographs and children's drawings (some of the former Theresienstadt children later came to see the show). Many of the art works, along with poems and articles were reprinted in the wonderfully published program, which is now in the archives of many Holocaust research centers throughout the United States. `The show played in Vienna and was invited to the best German stages: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Wiesbaden, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and many others. A CD was produced by Bertelsmann Group BMG Ariola.` `Critics in Europe and in the US unanimously agreed that our production proved the impossible: that a cabaret about a concentration camp can make the audience laugh as well as cry, applaud and think of the unlimited power of human spirit facing horrible circumstances. ÑThose who seek joy and are not scared of tears - Go. See it," wrote Vienna daily Die Presse. Ñ A standing ovation in a packed house!" (Tiroler Tageszeitung, Innsbruck.)` On a darkened, bare stage, a macabre revue brings home the fears, desires and dreams of the prisoners, but also their cynicism and small, human weaknesses... a worthy, exemplary evening (in which) you physically feel how the audience stop breathing when Dreznin's children's songs are played, or Tania Golden sings the song of a suitcase searching for its owner. Then laughter returns, almost like liberation, with the cabaret tale of an unopened package which makes the rounds of the camp, serving each recipient as a small bribe to win small privileges (Berliner Morgenpost) `An English version of our show called KAMP! ? Song and Satire from Theresienstadt in translations and with a new dialogue by Thomas and Carin Neile was presented in Boca Raton, FL. It was later invited to the Austrian Cultural Institute in Washington, DC and was part of the Festival of the Austrian Jewish Culture in London in 1996.` `In Florida as in the showís most recent performance ? its Tristate area premiere --- in the Jewish Cultural Center in Tenafly, NJ, (June 2000) the audience there included many survivors of the Holocaust. They gave the show a standing ovation. In Tenafly three former inmates of Theresienstadt then took the stage to recount their experiences and to praise the courage and professionalism of the performers.` `For the performance schedule and CD contact Sergei Dreznin at SDreznin@aol.com`