Johnny Breitwieser

The Threepenny Opera meets Cabaret meets Liliom. Johnny Breitwieser is based on a true biography: Johann Breitwieser was born 1891, into poor circumstances in a suburb of Vienna. The petty criminal quickly turns into the “Burglar King of Meidling”, who takes from the rich and gives to the poor. He repeatedly and almost effortlessly manages to escape from police custody and runs his successful operation from underground. In 1919, he is shot and killed by the police, and becomes a martyr for the people.

Thomas Arzt translates this fast-paced criminal biography into a ballad of rebellion in politically tenuous times. He provides his Johnny with six sidekicks, and they bring to light different facets of his character: seducer, gangster boss, popular hero, and family man. This criminal has a keen sense for the social change that is about to take place, at the same time he is also strongly convinced of the hopelessness of his own situation, and of his lack of freedom, even after breaking out of prison. In light of this futility, his actions have an air of transcendence and symbolism, and his failure turns into a modern parable of the fight against the establishment.

The American pop composer Jherek Bishoff wrote a melancholy score for the play in eleven songs, it includes live performances by a string quartet and percussion.