Lilli Marlene
A New Musical from the World War II Era

In her one-woman play, Lilli Marlene, mezzo-soprano Linn Maxwell examines the disparate feelings of loneliness, optimism, grief and spirit of an iconic era almost 70 years ago. The songs of World War II, performed in the Abington Theatre, illustrate the story of war and women with straightforward simplicity and focus. The frustrations illuminated in "They're Either too Young or Too Old" and the hope in "We'll Meet Again" shine as clearly for the current generation just as they did for "The Great Generation."

Playwright Kathryn Ryan formed a loose plot around three women, all close friends since their student years 20 years earlier at the Vienna Academy of Music and now living separate lives in their own countries. Linn Maxwell plays all three women with a natural finesse.

Daphne is in her living room in Landsburg, Indiana, with two children and a husband who is always traveling. She has an open candor, and dealing with the war, she is lonely but plucky. Although she admits that "Saturday Night Is the Loneliest Night in the Week," she is far from despair and finally accepts the situation with a shrug. She joins the USO and returns to singing after years of homemaking, beginning with a timid "Buddy on the Night Shift" and then bringing the tune to a rousing, confident finish. Like many women during the war, she finally realizes the decisions to be made when peace returns and her husband returns home.

Rose, an English music hall performer, appears in her dressing room at the Music Hall in London. With a more dramatic stance, Maxwell delivers a theatre piece like "The Smart Set," with a sophisticated charm, and then renders the basic yearning in "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Rose has given her life to performing and is almost resigned to living without romance until she meets a man, falls in love, and then loses him.

The third woman is Lilli Marlene, who is perched much of the time on a stool in a Berlin opera house cafe. Maxwell does not imitate Marlene Dietrich, but for a Dietrich look, she portrays Lilli in a black fedora and later a trench coat. At first Lilli tries to persuade her friends to read the articles she sends them about the good things Hitler is doing for a downtrodden Germany. Maxwell's voice lowers and flattens singing German songs like "Lilli Marlene," but she draws on her operatic training for "Weiche, Wotan" from Das Rheingold, desperate to persuade Hitler, through his love for Wagner, to give up the fight when it seems hopeless.

Linn Maxwell, looking like a combination of Adriana Huffington and Tierney Sutton with her long red hair, is a winning presence on the off-Broadway stage. She has a keen ear for accents and a facility to subtly shift facial and body expressions with the different personalities. Her voice is expressive and she shadows the songs with sensitivity. She views her three characters with understanding and sympathy, strengthening the story by respecting its simplicity and its songs.

A strong production team supports the performance. Director Erv Raible keeps the play on a smooth and easy pace, and Maxwell effortlessly moves through Lana Fritz's efficient set. Rose's dressing table sits on one side, Daphne's desk is opposite, and Lilli's stool toward the rear. Each section is defined by a small rug and features props like Rose's china teacup and saucer and Daphne's framed photos. Maxwell's taupe dress is a background for her scarf and shawl accessories. Matt Berman provides light and sound to emphasize the drama of war. Arranger Paul Trueblood accompanies Maxwell from a piano near Lilli's stool.

All emotional upheavals, leave detritus in their wake, and the three women have seen their lives change and now face new directions. Interestingly, this World War II collection of popular music still says it all, and Linn Maxwell delivers their span of emotions with intelligence and empathy.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
September 21, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org