Kurt Weill is perhaps best known for his longstanding collaboration with Bertolt Brecht, but the German composer had a very fruitful American period. The musical Lady in the Dark marks a pinnacle in Weill’s creative tenure in the United States, elevated even further by Ira Gershwin’s incomparable lyrics and the book and direction of Moss Hart. It premiered on Broadway in 1941 where it garnered excellent reviews. A movie version in 1944 and a live television special in 1954 cemented the popularity of Lady in the Dark, and it enjoys regular revivals across the world’s most renowned stages. This season, Volksoper Wien in Vienna pays homage to Kurt Weill with a fresh production of this classic musical.
Lady in the Dark focuses on the perpetually hesitant Liza Elliott. Even though she is the editor of Allure Magazine, she finds it hard to come to any professional or personal decision. Her chief concern is which of the two men in her life she should pick: her still-married publisher Kendall Nesbitt, or her advertising manager Randy Curtis. Plagued by constant indecision, Liza starts seeing a psychotherapist who helps her delve deep into her dreams and memories in search for answers. Her therapy sessions act as the three movements of the musical, roughly separated into the Glamour Dream, the Wedding Dream, and the Circus Dream.