Great Art - Struwwelpeter

A few years ago Sugar, Jack and I went to a theater performance of Struwwelpeter - Shockheaded Peter.  It's a musical puppet show with the musicians also performing onstage.  The sets are child-sized and the musicians are The Tiger Lillies, an eclectic band featuring Martyn Jacques, an accordionist with a magnifent falsetto voice. 

Struwwelpeter is a German children's book written by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845.  The stories in it are a series of macabre tales of disastrous consequences for mischievous children. 

Among the stories are The Dreadful Story of Harriet and the Matches about a girl who burns herself to death because she can't stop playing with fire.  The Story of Flying Robert who flies his kite in a rainstorm and gets carried off by the wind.    Snip Snip is a tale of Conrad who won't stop sucking his thumbs and as a result he gets them cut off.

We walked out of the theater and Jack turned and said, "This is the Germany that gave us Hitler.  Why were we surprised?"

Incidentally, Garrison Keillor sat in the row in front of us that night.  He said he very much enjoyed the performance.  I wonder if he's ever had the Tiger Lillies on Prairie Home Companion? 

I'm giving you a sample of two of the songs from the play.  I say, Bloody Brilliant.
(the lyrics are below each video)

Conrad's mother said Conrad dear
I must go out and leave you here.
but mind now, Conrad, what I say,
don't suck your thumbs while I'm away.

snip! snip

that great tall tailor, he always comes
for naughty boys who suck their thumbs
and ere they wonder what he's about,
he's got his great long scissors out.

snip snip the scissors go
and Conrad cries out oh!
snip snip they go so fast,
and Conrad's thumbs are off at last.

well,mama had scarcely turned her back,
when the thumbs were in , alack! alack!
the door burst open and in he ran,
that great long legged scissor man.

snip snip the scissors go
and Conrad cries out oh!
snip snip they go so fast,
and Conrad's thumbs are off at last.

well, mama comes home and there Conrad stands,
and he looks quite sad as he shows his hands,
Ha! Ha! said mama, I knew he'd come,
for naughty little suck-a-thumb.

CHORUS and Conrad breathes his last.
CHORUS and Conrad bleeds to death at last.

When the rain comes tumbling down
In the country or the town,
All good little girls and boys
Stay at home and mind their toys.
Robert thought, - "No, when it pours,
It is better out of doors."
Rain it did, and in a minute
Bob was in it.
Here you see him, silly fellow,
Underneath his red umbrella.

What a wind! Oh! how it whistles
Through the trees and flow'rs and thistles.
It has caught his red umbrella;
Now look at him, silly fellow,
Up he flies
To the skies.
No one heard his screams and cries;
Through the clouds the rude wind bore him,
And his hat flew on before him.

Soon they got to such height,
They were nearly out of sight!
And the hat went Up so high,
That it almost touch'd the sky.
No one ever yet could tell
Where they stopp'd, or where they fell;
Only this one thing is plain,
Rob was never seen again!

rick, surprised indeed.

Comments

[a rose is a rose]

i hope no children were in the audience. funny i was JUST going to ask if you listened to prairie home companion or have ever been to see it (i'm guessing there is an audience)

[Craig]

I love Struwwelpeter. I learned about this book when I was living in Germany. I've never heard till now that there was a stage performance based on it.

Awesome.

I love Germany.