Mahagonny & Medium: The Search for Meaning
The Need for Belonging and Connection
People are hard-wired to seek out belonging and connection. Coming out of a global experience that made connection impossible, I want to highlight that basic need in these two productions. The story we are telling is one of seeking connection, establishing connection and belonging, and what happens when we lose it.
Connection is the lure of Mahagonny — similar to the way that Weimar Berlin lured those from all over the world that were ostracized for the way they loved and connected with others.
All the characters in Mahagonny are seeking something more. Whether it be whiskey, pretty boys, or little dollars, we receive the message that the fictional exoticized “Alabama” left our sextet seeking pleasure, connection, and parties in Mahagonny.
The Outsider as Insider in Weimar Berlin
Outsiders in society became insider during the interwar period of 1919-1933. LGBTQ+ individuals found a non-judgmental home among in Weimar Berlin. Previously forced to conceal their sexuality, these individuals seized upon the relaxed liberalism of the cabaret scene to openly display and discuss it.
Many members of the ostracized gay populations migrated to Berlin to benefit of the Weimar acceptance and lifestyle. Author Christopher Isherwood was one such man. He penned Goodbye to Berlin, which was eventually adapted into the award-winning play I Am a Camera, and eventually Kander and Ebb’s iconic 1966 musical Cabaret.
Grief and Grieving
Both Mahagonny Songspiel and The Medium center greatly on grief and the grieving process.
The Golden Years between the wars in Germany were years of grief: both for those lost in the fighting of WWI, as well as for the former way of life and financial security of the German population. This grief led to a heightened awareness of the fragility of life and the inexorability of time. A hotbed of acceptance, liberalism and art emerged in Weimar Berlin. This is the origin story of Mahagonny Songspiel and the collaboration between Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht.
There are so many grief stories in The Medium. Most prominent are how the Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan are dealing with their grief by attending séances. In the Act II scene in which Baba confesses her scheme, why don’t they accept her word? Why do they want to continue?
In 1969, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross first published On Death and Dying which identified the five stages of the dying process, which later were also attributed as the five stages of grief. The stages are:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Years later, David Kessler, Kübler-Ross’ collaborator on On Grief and Grieving added a sixth step to the grieving process: finding meaning.
Kübler-Ross and Kessler emphasized that these steps are descriptive, not prescriptive. With that in mind, consider what the characters in The Medium might be struggling with.
According to Kessler, “there is no way around the pain, but finding meaning provides a cushion.”
We are all dealing with grief. Many of us are in bereavement for a beloved professor and confidante. Some are grieving loved ones lost due to Covid. Some are grieving lost relationships and connections. We are all dealing with the collective loss of the world we knew.
It is my interest to shine a light on this grieving process and emphasize the necessity to witness one another’s grief. David Kessler also said “grief must be witnessed".” It’s about taking care of each other.
The Numbing Cycle and Searching for Meaning
Another overarching theme of these two operas lies in the search for, or the abandonment of meaning.
In Mahagonny Songspiel, while the search for connection and belonging is quite dominant, meaning — specifically belief and faith in deity as a source of meaning takes a backseat. We enter a world of nihilism and hedonism: abandonment of meaning and a search for temporary pleasures. When resources are slim and the “Mahagonnians” are accused as sinners and banished to hell, they revolt. It became an important pro-protest piece of art.
We embrace the importance of protest, and will be using the protest scene as an exhibition of protest. The cast members will select several of their most deeply held social issues. This was always a protest piece. It will be one now.
The Medium takes the opposite approach through its study of grief and fear. These characters are all searching for meaning in their own way. Baba, with irony, turns to religion and to Monica. The Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan turn to Baba and her séances. Monica and Toby turn to each other as emotional support while they undergo physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Baba.
Much of the trauma of this opera results from the main characters numbing hard emotions, especially fear.
Shame and vulnerability researcher Brené Brown posits that “you cannot selectively numb.” If you numb the hard emotions, you are also numbing the good ones.
When people numb, they become miserable, which leads to searching for meaning. A search for meaning requires vulnerability… and a fear of vulnerability is once again numbed and the cycle starts again.
Fear as the Root of Negative Emotion
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote:
“There are only two emotions: love and fear. All positive emotions come from love, all negative emotions from fear. From love flows happiness, contentment, peace, and joy. From fear comes anger, hate, anxiety and guilt. It's true that there are only two primary emotions, love and fear. But it's more accurate to say that there is only love or fear, for we cannot feel these two emotions together, at exactly the same time. They're opposites. If we're in fear, we are not in a place of love. When we're in a place of love, we cannot be in a place of fear.”
This is interesting to note as we analyze the character of Baba. She is a study of fear and what horrors it can cause if it’s denied or numbed.
What is Baba afraid of? Where does her obsession with “who touched her” emerge?
To turn this topic into a relevant one for us, consider the following:
Everyone feels fear, but everyone does not need to numb their fear. Brené Brown said:
“we all feel afraid, but not all of us armor up… they stay in the fear and work through it from a place of an open mind, open heart, and curiosity.”
This is an important lesson to learn as performers. Staying in the fear and leaning into it rather than numbing it and pulling back from your most creative, salient work will change things for you, and will allow your audience to experience your public solitude as you invite them in.
It’s my sincere invitation to this entire cast to drop your armor. It will be a process, but we’ll approach it together, as one, and it will be worth it in both your artistic and personal lives.