About the work
"Mocha Hits and Milk Bar Dreams" (German: "Mokka-Hits und Milchbar-Träume") is a revue by Axel Ranisch and Adam Benzwi for the Komische Oper Berlin (performed at the Schiller Theater). Inspired by the legendary East German television show "Ein Kessel Buntes", the evening sketches a colourful panorama of East Germany. Musical direction is by Adam Benzwi; the cast includes Maria-Danaé Bansen, Mirka Wagner and Johannes Dunz, among others.
Plot
Rather than a continuous plot, the revue follows the logic of variety theatre: one number follows another. "Ein Kessel Buntes" ("A Cauldron of Colours") was, for two decades – on six Saturdays a year – a highlight of GDR television, and it is precisely this feeling that Ranisch and Benzwi conjure. Sprightly operetta melodies meet authentic East German pop hits and danceable tunes in a nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek tour through the entertainment culture of the East. The production celebrates the popular music of the GDR and its worlds of memory – with humour, glamour and a touch of melancholy.
Cultural significance
With "Mocha Hits and Milk Bar Dreams", a major Berlin opera house turns to the popular entertainment culture of the GDR and thus to an often underestimated part of East German memory. Director Axel Ranisch, known for his warm-hearted view of his characters, and the operetta and revue specialist Adam Benzwi combine high musical quality with pop and Schlager nostalgia. The evening exemplifies the opening of music theatre toward revue, Schlager and collective memory – and the ongoing cultural engagement with the legacy of the GDR.