berlin: red, red wine

by michael scott moore 

In Berlin you can buy wine with Stalin’s name and face on the label. The product is *lieblich,* sweet, unlike Stalin himself.

Last week, or the week before, I saw old Josef played as a puppet in an excellent, bitter, three-hour satire called Heroes of the Twentieth Century (HELDEN DES 20. JAHRHUNDERTS: Ein Hysterienspiel mit Puppen) at the Volksbuehne. Lenin, Hitler, JFK, and Marilyn Monroe all had major roles, though the story frankly didn’t get far beyond the 1960s. Three women played all the Heroes in front of a clever jazz and rock band; they gave brilliant physical performances, if you can believe that, *through* the foot-high puppets. A highlight of the show was Mickey Mouse disturbing a massive sleeping Russian bear, then submitting to therapy from a depressive Sigmund Freud.

Posted in: arts & entertainment, berlin