About the work
Ku’damm 59 – Das Musical is the sequel to "Ku’damm 56", again by Annette Hess (book) and Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer (music). It was premiered on 5 May 2024 at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. The musical carries the story of the Schöllack family into the closing years of the decade, linking it with the social upheavals of the late 1950s.
Plot
Berlin, late 1950s: the Schöllack sisters Monika, Helga and Eva continue their headstrong path through a society that sets women narrow limits. Between family duties, professional dreams and the longing for self-determination, they struggle for their place in a changing world. Against the backdrop of the economic miracle, the Cold War and a dawning liberalisation, the piece again tells of four fearless women, their emancipation and the question of what freedom means for them.
Cultural significance
As the sequel to one of the most successful German musicals, Ku’damm 59 followed seamlessly on its predecessor's success while standing as an independent work. The series established the Theater des Westens as a home for original German musicals and confirmed the Plate/Sommer/Hess team as a defining force of the genre in the German-speaking world.