“Ghosts of Weimar Past” is a programme of musical time travel, in which we honor the spirit of cabaret and vaudeville from the birth to the death of Weimar Berlin.
Join us as we resurrect the songs of Michael Jary, Mischa Spoliansky, Kurt Weill, and more, channeled through the music of The Orchestra of the Depraved and chanteuse Artemisia LeFay.
From the gritty 20s, tumultuous 30s, and uncertain 40s, cabaret existed— most importantly, as a way to criticize and defy the faults of society. “Ghosts of Weimar Past” is full of Marlene Dietrich standards, and the LGBTQ+ anthems and anti-nazi songs that were sung under the very nose of fascism.
When we study the past, we prevent history from repeating itself. What are the ghosts of Weimar past warning us of?”
”Ghosts of Weimar Past” was performed before the pandemic, as well as last June, to glowing reviews and reception—
“Ghosts of Weimar Past” is full of Marlene Dietrich standards, and
the LGBTQ+ anthems and anti-nazi songs that were sung
“Ms. Lefay
is classically trained with a fine rich mezzo that she employs with a
purity of sound true to her training... at times; and like the women
of her favorite era, the purity of Lefay's mezzo power will suddenly
take a sharp left turn breaking away from making beautiful sounds in
order to be realistic in a very underground way; exploring the heights
and depths of what her very female voice can do.”— Broadway World
“…Ghosts of Weimar Past was decidedly captivating and enjoyable
throughout.”
—Theatre Pizzazz
"Many of us who are crawling out of our pandemic isolation might
be ready to dive into hedonism—in the hope that it could serve as a
tonic for the underlying rumble of fear we’ve lived with for the past
year. Enter Artemisia LeFay’s timely Weimar-themed show at Don’t Tell
Mama, Ghosts of Weimar Past, where we have a chance to revisit 1920s
Berlin with its playful and simultaneously dark
sensibilities..."
—Bistro Awards
“New Yorker Artemisia LeFay has devised a show in homage to all those
Weimar artists whose creativity, ethnicity, and sexual preferences
offended Nazism. Together with her pianist Renée Guerrero, LeFay
presents a clever, chatty show of ten songs, half of which are in
German.”
— Adelaide Now
Now, as we enter the dark part of the year, our humble show is
growing, evolving, developing… from one musician to five, from
thrift store scroungings to period costume reconstructions, from
unrelated songs to a story, a scene, a silhouette of a cabaret show
that never was.
We have some very exciting things planned, including renting a
bigger performance venue, and expanding the performers from 3-5, but
unfortunately, we’re in need of money to help the show get on its
feet.
By donating to this Fundrazr, you’re directly involved
within our super secret creation process, with us in spirit during
rehearsals, and, probably most importantly, helping performing
artists who lost so much during the pandemic help bring the vibrant
performance community of NYC back better than ever. Whether it’s
$5 or $500, your donation will be SO appreciated. Vielen Dank!
Check out some videos of last June’s show here:
https://youtu.be/GwmL5T_MNRk
