Pages

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A SIMMERING LOVE STORY OF 2 GIANTS OF SCREEN & PAGE

Presents the World Première of

Puma

By Julie Gilbert and Frank Evans
Directed by SuZanne Barabas


The life-long obsessive love affair between Marlene Dietrich and Erich Maria Remarque simmers against the steamy backdrop of Hollywood during its Golden Age.


WHEN: February 24–April 3, 2011, Thursdays-Saturdays 8 PM; Sundays 2 PM; Saturdays 3 PM
WHERE:
New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch
TICKETS: $40; previews $35; opening night (2/26) with reception $60; discounts available to seniors, students, groups or 10 or more.
For tickets, call 732.229.3166 or visit www.njrep.org  

What happens when two heavenly bodies collide? That is exactly what we encounter in Puma, a play that explores the life-long, obsessive and tempestuous love affair between Marlene Dietrich, the German actress who became a Hollywood icon, and Erich Maria Remarque, the celebrated author of All’s Quiet On The Western Front. As the inevitable conflagration of World War II loomed over Europe, both Dietrich and Remarque fled Nazi Germany to the United States. Remarque was already an acclaimed wunderkind, and Dietrich had made her mark and had gained international fame with her performance as Lola in the film The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg.

This compelling play is based on the personal diaries of Erich Maria Remarque that had been kept in a vault for years and were translated from the German and made accessible for the first time to Julie Gilbert, one of the playwrights. As a result, it reveals previously unknown details about the lives of many of Hollywood’s most famous personalities.


NJ Rep is a non-profit, professional theater located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, only minutes from the Jersey Shore. Free on-site parking and easy access from NJ Transit (North Jersey Coast Line) and Academy Buses.