I, the Blue Angel

By Lazaro Droznes

Life and Songs of Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was one of Hollywood's topmost stars and one of the greatest myths in cinema. She was born in Germany but later on, after being discovered by Josef von Sternberg, she migrated to the US to eventually become a citizen. She was the seduction icon, the fatal woman with the eternal femininity. Her intense militancy against Nazism and her participation, as a soldier in the Second World War revealed an extraordinary aspect of her life and personality. In this play, Marlene tells  anecdotes, and speaks about intimate experiences of her legendary life interweaved with the famous songs that illustrated it. What is the mystery that Marlene hides and then reveals?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unitexto. Digital Publishing
• Release date: Apr 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781507139271

Book preview

Lázaro Droznes

I, The Blue Angel

Life and Songs of Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was one of Hollywood's topmost stars and one of the greatest myths in cinema. She was born in Germany but later on, after being discovered by Josef von Sternberg, she migrated to the US to eventually become a citizen. She was the seduction icon, the fatal woman with the eternal femininity. Her intense militancy against Nazism and her participation, as a soldier in the Second World War revealed an extraordinary aspect of her life and personality. In this play, Marlene tells anecdotes, and speaks about intimate experiences of her legendary life interweaved with the famous songs that illustrated it. What is the mystery that Marlene hides and then reveals?

Translated by Pablo Barrantes

© 2015 by Lázaro Droznes

© 2015 by UNITEXTO

All rights reserved

Published by UNITEXTO

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I, The Blue Angel

Life and Songs of Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich, a woman in her 60s, still very attractive, enters the stage in a majestic, imperial walk. She wears a form-fitting beige dress, hugging her slim waist graciously. She's also wearing a white, fur-covered shawl which drags across the floor. She greets the audience like a diva, thanking them and moving forward ceremoniously. The stage is bare with just a panorama background and a screen on the side. She then addresses the audience and starts talking.

MARLENE DIETRICH

I entered school one year early because I already knew how to read, write, and count. I was the smallest girl in my class and in the rest of the school. That was the main reason for my loneliness. I was always excluded from the other girls’ secrets, confidences, and their crazy laughter. One day, I was alone, eating my snack, looking out the window, sadder than the pouring rain, when Mademoiselle Breguand, the French teacher, approached me and asked, Do you have any good reason for being sad? I shook my head to mean no, and then she said, If you do not have a good reason, then it is a sin to be sad, and the word sin -  she said it in French, un péché. From then on, we talked every day, in French. We became friends, despite our age difference. But one day, suddenly, we were made to go to the gymnasium, where we received a terrifying speech. We didn't understand a word of it, but within days, soldiers were parading through the streets with flowers in their guns - laughing, singing, celebrating in anticipation of the war against France. I never saw Mademoiselle Breguand again. She was our enemy now. That was my first experience of mourning. I had lost Mademoiselle. I had lost the French language and the phrase my teachers used to tell me: A promise lasts eternally.

BLOWING IN THE WIND

by Bob Dylan

How many roads most a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they're forever banned?

The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the