FOUNDED: 1783
Bert Brecht’s “Threepenny Opera” to be presented
at Towson University with students from Germany in the cast
“The Threepenny Opera” will be presented at Stephens Hall on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, on September 30, October 1 and October 2, 2010. “The Threepenny Opera” is considered to be one of the greatest epic theater pieces produced during the 20th century. It was first performed at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm in Berlin, Germany, in 1928. Eventually it was translated into many languages and performed around the world.
The three performances at Towson University will be the dramatic pinnacle of a year-long intercontinental cooperative project between Dr. Leneida Crawford and Dr. Phillip Collister, faculty members in the Music Department at Towson University, and Dr. Peter Vollhardt, a faculty member at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität in Oldenburg, Germany.
Approximately 20 students from Towson University and another 24 students from the Carl von Ossietzky Universität will comprise the cast of this exciting, trend-setting international venture. The participating students have been preparing in coordination with each other and communicating with each other via e-mail and live video seminars. This remarkable theatrical project shows active cooperation within the college-aged generation of Germans and Americans. It represents a major step forward in the ongoing partnership between Towson University and the Carl von Ossietzky Universität in Oldenburg.
Professor Armin Mruck, History Professor Emeritus at Towson University, is the energetic and dedicated coordinator of a network of innovative exchange programs between Towson University and the Carl von Ossietzky Universität. He organized the first exchange in 1987. His initiative has led to the creation of a wide range of exchange activities involving university administrators, faculty members, students and interested members of the community. Professors from each of the two universities have spent one or two semesters teaching at the other university as guest professors in their fields of expertise. Administrators have visited the partner university to study how their specific areas of responsibility are handled at the other campus. Students from both sides of the Atlantic have enrolled in courses at the partner university. Some of these courses have been study tours to Berlin and Bonn. Community members have been permitted to sign up for these study tours along with the students. This long-standing partnership between Towson University and the Carl von Ossietzky University is an example of “grass roots diplomacy” at its best. For his pioneering work in this area Professor Mruck has been awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of German and the “Medaille” of the Carl von Ossietzky University.
The idea of bringing students from each partner university together to form an international cast for Brecht’s “Threepenny Opera” is a creative innovation within the framework of the overall partnership and exchange effort. Towson students have been busy memorizing the lyrics of Kurt Weill’s songs in German. They will sing these famous songs when they perform with the Carl von Ossietzky Universität students on May 27, 28 and 29 in Oldenburg. At the same time the German students have been memorizing the dialogue segments of “The Threepenny Opera” in English to prepare for the performances at Towson University in the fall. The cast members have been practicing with each other via Skype with headsets and cameras.This has given the rehearsals an up-to-date and innovative twist.
Members of the German Society of Maryland and the Baltimore Kickers will be interested to learn that Josh Brown will be performing in the cast of “The Threepenny Opera.” Josh is a Towson University undergraduate who has just been selected to receive one of six “Dr. Carrie May Kurrelmeyer Zintl Merit Awards” in the amount of $ 750. through the German Society of Maryland with financial help from the Baltimore Kickers. This program recognizes students majoring in German who are excelling in their college-level study of German. Josh is an outstanding student who is a very worthy recipient of this award.
It is expected that the performances of “The Threepenny Opera” at Towson University will receive strong support from Towson University, other colleges and universities in the Baltimore / Washington area, secondary schools and the community at large. Tickets for the performances will be sold through the Towson University box office beginning at the end of August. The telephone number for the box office is 410-704-2787. Please put the dates of the performances on your calendar now and plan to attend. For further information contact Dr. Armin Mruck: amruck@towson.edu
Dr. Mary Upman