Christel Alexander grew up in Berlin, Germany, in the years during and following World War II.  Times were tough and money was tight, but the love and support she received from her family inspired this show about the city and her place in it.

Alexander’s natural warmth, old-world charm and her simple but evocative way with lyrics combined to draw the audience to her and to relate to her as they might to a favorite relative with interesting stories to tell.

She sang a series of stunning original songs in English, plus three medleys of “Gassenhauer”—songs that were popular while she was growing up—which she performed in German.  Among her self-penned ballads, one of the most beautiful was “Château Margaux” —“a peaceful locale somewhere in the eye of my mind,” she explained—reflecting thoughts of her father, a professional cook, who had learned his trade in the French countryside.

Another lovely original song—dealing with Alexander’s “Opa,” or grandfather—was entitled, “Were His Eyes Blue?” and is about a man whose features she can barely recall but whose warmth when he held her she cannot forget. Then there was her mother, who kept the family together while her father was a prisoner of war in Italy and then later, when money was tight, whom she recalled touchingly in another original, “How Did We Survive?” Alexander then related how her mother managed to trade five pounds of potatoes for a pair of 14-karat gold hoop earrings—pieces of jewelry she has loved her whole life, she said, pointing to them hanging from her ears.  It was a poignant moment—one Alexander prolonged by singing “Mama, a Rainbow” (Larry Grossman/Hal Hackady).

She also talked about the ingenuity it took for many Berliners to survive, illustrating her point with the amusing Kurt Weill-Alan Jay Lerner song, “Economics.”

The “Gassenhauer” were songs Alexander listened to on the radio.  Though most of the audience did not understand the specific meaning of each one, they were joyous to hear — up-tempo songs with infectious melodies that dealt with life in Berlin and how resilient its people were.

At the end of the show, Alexander sang two traditional German songs that became international hits: “Lili Marleen” (music by Norbert Schultze, with German lyrics by Hans Leip and English lyrics by Tommie Connor), which she said became popular among soldiers on both sides during the war because it reminded them of life outside the war zone; and “Auf Wiederseh’n” (Eberhard Storch), which she sang as an encore.

The show was bookended with two more original songs: “This Was Berlin”—which she sang at the beginning of the show to recall the city as it was when she was growing up there—and “When in Berlin,” about the changes the city has undergone over the years.

Alexander was accompanied by Todd Schroeder, whom she called her “stimmungskanone”—a person who is able to stimulate even the dullest party, which this show definitely was not.  Aside from playing piano, Schroeder sang with Alexander a bit and also served as the voice of the audience, asking pertinent questions from time to time.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
October 27, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org