Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933
- Introduction: Past and Present
- I “PONIM ET CIRCENSES”: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN CIRCUS ENTERTAINMENT, 1870–1933
- II COMIC RELIEF: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN JARGON THEATER, 1890 TO THE 1920S
- III THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
- Introduction: Spectacular Berlin
- 9 The Metropol: Between Culture and Kapital
- 10 Leading Characters
- 11 Stardom and Its Discontents
- 12 The Art of Pleasing All
- Conclusion to Part III
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
12 - The Art of Pleasing All
from III - THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933
- Introduction: Past and Present
- I “PONIM ET CIRCENSES”: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN CIRCUS ENTERTAINMENT, 1870–1933
- II COMIC RELIEF: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN JARGON THEATER, 1890 TO THE 1920S
- III THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
- Introduction: Spectacular Berlin
- 9 The Metropol: Between Culture and Kapital
- 10 Leading Characters
- 11 Stardom and Its Discontents
- 12 The Art of Pleasing All
- Conclusion to Part III
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
What is a revue? A revue is … when there is no plot … and décor and costumes cost a million …. What should a revue be? A witty series of disconnected scenes that satisfy the eye, the ear and the mind. These scenes should mock our everyday life, and, on the side, provide racy singers, cute dancers, clever Don Juans and quick-witted comedians the opportunity to blow away the gloom of our days with good humor, guts, rhythm and dashing nonsense.
Fritz GrünbaumThe lavish revues at the Metropol Theater revolutionized the German entertainment industry. They were upbeat and fast-paced, seductive and quick-witted, urbane and playful. Spectators at the theater's revues were presented with an endless display of fashion, sex, and sports, with a little bit of politics and some local gossip thrown in for good measure. To date, Peter Jelavich's study Berlin Cabaret has provided the best overview of the content and style of these revues. As Jelavich points out, the Metropol revue “considered itself an up-to-the-minute chronicle of metropolitan life, a sort of Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung brought to life on stage.” From his theater's inception, the Metropol's director sensed variety entertainment's enormous potential. Even while some contemporaries were still deliberating the merits of variety entertainment, the Metropol had already adopted its winning formula. In its short and loosely connected scenes, or skits, lined up like the products in one of Berlin's modern department stores, a Metropol revue touted the qualities of Warenhaus Gross-Berlin to a highly attentive audience.
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- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933 , pp. 258 - 276Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006