The Marriage of Maria Braun November 17, 2010

The Marriage of Maria Braun

Part of the 2010 Next Wave Festival

US Premiere

Screenplay by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Playscript by Peter Märthesheimer, Pea Fröhlich
Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz
Directed by Thomas Ostermeier

“The Schaubühne has become one of the most important places for avant-garde theatre and dance in Berlin.” —Time Out Berlin

The damaged heroines of Ibsen—poisoned by the unforgiving social tenor of their times—came to vivid life at BAM under the vanguard direction of Germany’s Thomas Ostermeier (Hedda Gabler, 2006 Next Wave; Nora, 2004 Next Wave), who mined the emotional core of these women, exposing their innermost conflicts.

Equally fascinating is the heroine of enfant terrible filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun, a woman who uses her sexuality and cunning to secure prosperity in postwar Germany. Maria Braun is signature Fassbinder: manipulative, ruthless, and desperate. Profoundly affected by the corrupt society that surrounds her, she is the perfect character for Ostermeier, who adapts the film for the stage. In a decidedly droll work for one woman and four men—in multiple roles—he throws her into the here and now, laying bare both her flaws and innate humanity.

105min, no intermission
Tickets: $25, 45, 65

In German with English titles

A production of Münchner Kammerspiele

Official Website: http://bam.org/view.aspx?pid=2236