What do Holocaust dramas, hip hop and weddings have to do with each other? Nothing, but we've got all of them crammed into a mere weekend.
and Brundibar at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Just as a couple of operas set in pre-World War II Europe seem an unlikely theatrical holiday offering, just as extraordinary is the fact that Berkeley Repertory Theatre (along with Yale Rep) is producing it rather than, say, San Francisco Opera. Jumping on the trend of musical hybrids (not quite Broadway musical, not quite opera), the company brings us one of the most anticipated shows of the season. Featuring the exotic design of Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's libretto, Brundibar ("bumblebee" in Czech) is the story of a couple of children who enlist the help of talking animals and some friends to earn enough money to buy milk for their sick mother. It's a tale of innocence triumphing over evil, but even more compelling is its backstory. Brundibar was performed in Terezin, the Nazi's "model ghetto," and, in a final ironic twist, the Nazis used images of these "happy" performances as propaganda. Berkeley Rep pairs the show with Comedy on the Bridge, also originally written during the same period, an absurdist tale of five people whose visas allow them onto a bridge between two warring cities, but not off it. Berkeley Rep has assembled a cast of local, Broadway and off-Broadway performers (look for Geoff Hoyle, for one) in what promises to be a beautiful, heartwrenching production.
November 16 through December 28
