Winter 2019 - Piaf and Dietrich

Piaf and Dietrich

Original Posters of Piaf and Dietrich

Did you know that Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich were bosom buddies? They might even have been lovers?  Well the play we saw yesterday was an eye opener. It sure was not a play for prudes. 

 

Those two really cared for each other. Marlene with her glamorous personality was such a contrast to small, always dressed in black, Edith. How could that be? Dietrich was the ‘femme fatal’ and Piaf the ‘addict’ throughout the show, but their relationship was very deep. Both needed each other, it seemed.

Dietrich Bio

The theater is a great venue to show how a small, chancy meeting can turn into a lifelong relationship. They met when Piaf had a hissy fit after a performance and Dietrich gave her a handkerchief to dab her eyes. They introduced themselves and started a lifelong friendship that lasted even through the many ups and downs of their lives. 

I have attached pictures to show some of each woman’s history, as it was written in the program.

You can see both women had a full life. The women were total opposites but both were fully absorbed in their artistic lifestyles. Dietrich with the German nickname Blaue Engel (Blue Angel from her German movie), and the Parisian ‘Moineau’ (Sparrow) were worlds apart yet cared a lot for each other and were true friends. 

Piaf Bio

Naturally their songs were center stage at this performance and I must be showing my age, but I knew them well. Dietrich sang some in English but I noticed the translations were not as good as the originals in German. I noted that especially with the song “ Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe Eingestellt (Falling In Love Again from the 1930 German Movie “Der Blaue Engel’). The English translation did not do it for me. 

Marlene, to me, was always a guy who was born in woman’s body.

Edith however was emotional to the extreme. She was extreme also in her chosen lifestyle. Drugs and alcohol controlled her at the end yet… those emotions were what made her performances so outstanding.

I loved her songs much more than Marlene’s especially the song at the end: Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No, I Don’t Regret Anything)

It was a powerful performance, an outstanding show, showing us that behind the glamour and the destitute are just humans; people with their ups and downs, with their pain, their joy, and their lives just like ours. 

And how do they handle their misfortunes in life?   Well, that is shown, too. Age, illness, addiction, loss and other sufferings were part of the performance. 

Actress Who Played Dietrich

Actress Who Played Piaf

Those women were so different from each other, yet so just like you and me, too.

You can read more of the details in the photos attached.  It was a very insightful performance.

Bravo!

Inside the CAA Theatre

Piaf Poster

Songs Sung

Dietrich Posters