LAFPI

It’s opening night of The Threepenny Opera in Berlin, 1928 when Kurt Weill steps into Lotte Lenya’s dressing room and drops a bombshell that her name is not in the program. Absolutely furious, Kurt demands they cancel the opening night performance. Lenya laughs in his face. She has been through far worse than this in her traumatic past.Lotte Lenya grew up in a slum, beaten repeatedly by a cruel father, endured hunger and crushing poverty, rape, and repeatedly found herself in morally compromising positions as she struggled to survive and advance herself.

She’s come so far, and now that she has her dream role, Kurt must allow her to go on stage and sing. But will he? Infusing a new contemporary score composed by two time off Broadway award winner Shelley Cooper, with dazzling multimedia, this solo show takes a gritty look at a woman who fled her abusive home, survived adversity and blazed a trail as a landmark performer.