About the work
Mein Freund Bunbury ("My Friend Bunbury") is a musical by Gerd Natschinski, with a book by Helmut Bez and lyrics by Jürgen Degenhardt, freely after Oscar Wilde's comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest" (known in German as "Bunbury"). It was first performed in 1964 at the Metropol-Theater in Berlin. It is regarded as one of the most successful and formative musicals of the GDR, combining Wilde's social comedy with catchy, jazz- and schlager-inflected music.
Plot
The man-about-town Jack Worthing has invented a fictitious sick friend named "Bunbury", whose supposed emergencies always provide him an excuse for trips to the city. His friend Algernon uses the same device. From the pair's double game of class snobbery, engagements and true identity unfolds a turbulent comedy of mistaken identity, at the end of which — after various revelations about origins and real names — the couples are happily united.
Cultural significance
Mein Freund Bunbury was a box-office hit of GDR entertainment and ran successfully for decades; several songs became popular evergreens. The work represents the attempt to establish a distinctive, ambitious musical genre in the East. At the Komische Oper Berlin it was brought back to the stage as part of a series of light music theatre from GDR times.