The German Cultural Center’s 2012 Fundraising Concert to be held April 13 in the Egyptian ballroom of the Fox Theatre will transport Atlantans to the cabarets, music halls and vaudeville houses of Berlin in the 1920s.
German-born but U.S.-raised Adrienne Haan is to bring back to life what have been called the decadent years of Berlin as the city and its inhabitants recouped from World War I.
Ms. Haan, who has appeared in many Broadway hits including Les Misérables as Fantine and Evita as Eva Peron, will be drawing on her linguistic abilities as she performs period songs in English, German, Yiddish and French.
Influenced by Marlene Dietrich, Jacques Brell, Edith Piaf and George Gershwin, Ms. Haan’s “Berlin, mon amour” is her personal evocation of the period preceding Germany’s fall to Hitler.
Her performance has been praised in New York as well as cities throughout Europe for the historical accuracy of her interpretations and for its emotional intensity.
Berlin in the 1920s was a crucible for creativity with advances in architecture, painting, film and science.
The architect and founder of the Bauhaus school Walter Gropius, the expressionist painter George Grosz, the film director Fritz Lang and the scientist Albert Einstein, all made their contributions to the period.
Enthusiastic reviews of Ms. Haan praise her for accurately capturing the musical style of Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weil, whose “Threepenny Opera” is the iconic musical work of the period.
Wolfgang Krueger, executive director of the Goethe Zentrum/the German Cultural Center of Atlanta, anticipates a great turnout for the performance as Atlanta’s cultural life catches up with its commercial life.
He also said that the funds collected from the evening would help fund the center’s German language classes and its many cultural programs.
To learn more about the center, go here. For a recording of Ms. Haan and a preview of the show, go here.
The cost of attending only the performance that begins at 8 p.m. is $40 for regular admission and $30 for Goethe members and students. VIP tickets are $100 admission ($80 for Goethe members) for the concert and post-show including a meet-and-greet and preferred seating.
On Thursday, April 12, Ms. Haan will present a lecture at the center on “Degenerate Music — What the Fuhrer didn’t want to listen to.” The lecture is to begin at 7 p.m. and attendance is free for members of the Goethe Zentrum and $5 for others.
To reserve tickets, send an email to info@german-institute.org or call 404-892-2388.
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