What's on in Germany: January 17 – 23

This Week's Highlights: A Charlie Chaplin ballet in Leipzig, Kurt Weill concerts in Berlin, and President Obama's inauguration broadcast live in Munich.

BERLIN



Music/Concerts


Kurt Weill Week

Clever, comedic, snappy, and snarky, Kurt Weill's musicals and operettas are some of the 20th century's most iconic stage works. From a full staging of his three-act opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny to dance pieces from Mack the Knife, Berlin's Comic Opera showcases an array of the great Jewish composer's pieces this week. Go see German actresses Ute Lemper and Gisela May sing songs like Weimar era vixens.

Price: €8-36
Location: Komische Oper Berlin, Behrenstrasse 55-57
Times: Friday, January 18 – Thursday, January 24
Tickets: 030 47 99 74 00
More Information: www.komische-oper-berlin.com



Galleries/Museums


Christer Strömholm: Post Scriptum – Retrospective

He shot glamourous transvestites in 1950s Paris, took harrowing pictures of postwar Japan, and captured myriad emotions of children all over the world. Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm provides a strange yet fascinating portrait of life after World War II. See his oeuvre in all its freaky fantastic glory when the new exhibition opens at C/O Berlin Friday. Or go Saturday when Jacky and Nana from the series “Les Amies de Place Blanche," join curator Joakim Strömholm in a discussion about their experiences with the photographer.

Price: €10
Location: C/O Berlin, Oranienburger Strasse 35/36
Times: Friday, January 18 (Opening); Daily, 11am – 8pm; Saturday, January 9 – March 17 (Regular Hours)
Phone: 030 28 44 41 661
More Information: www.co-berlin.info



Children's Theatre


The Kooky Show

Platypus Theatre has created original works for young bilingual Germans for 20 years. Their repertoire includes an entertaining list of original works and plays inspired by literature classics like Alice in Wonderland. Monday's show is a hilarious bilingual play about an Aussie expat in Germany. Sound familiar? Take the kids and laugh your head off in German and English.

Price: €7.50
Location: BKA-Theater, Mehringdam, 34
Times: Monday, January 21, 11am
Phone: 030 61 40 19 20
More Information: www.platypus-theater.de




FRANKFURT



Music/Concerts


Glenn Miller Orchestra

You'll think you're back in the 1940s when bandleader Wil Salden and his music making mates step onto the stage. Preserving the legacy of the singular big band composer, arranger, and musician Glenn Miller is the orchestra's main objective and they do it well. Get “In the Miller Mood" (it's the name of their new album) Saturday when the swinging big band sets up in Frankfurt.

Price: €50-60
Location: Alte Oper, Opernplatz 1
Times: Saturday, January 19, 7pm
Ticket Hotline: 0180 504 0300
More Information: www.glenn-miller-orchestra.de




HAMBURG



Film


European Outdoor Film Tour

Get your adrenaline pumping without moving from your comfy cinema seat. Fearless daredevils from around the world take the spotlight in nine films screening at the European Outdoor Film Tour in Hamburg on Monday. Watch “Sketchy Andy" backflip across a slackline strung high over jagged canyons, and witness a French trio's journey into the Alps to play a concert atop Mont Blanc. From Alaskan snowboarding to Wingsuit Proximity Flying in the American West, this is adventure at its craziest.

Price: €14
Location: CinemaxX Dammtor, Dammtordamm 1
Times: Monday, January 21, 8pm
Tickets: 040 29 12 23
More Information: www.eoft.eu



Festivals


Arabesques – German-French Culture Days

Fifty-five years ago, Hamburg and Marseille became twin cities. In celebration of the friendship between Germany and France this festival combines cultural elements from both nations. Concerts, exhibitions, discussions, and literary evenings take place at venues around the city over the next four weeks. Enjoy music and theatre and check out black and white photographs of French cityscapes at the opening ceremony Thursday. Vive la France!

Price: Various
Location: Various; Levantehaus Hamburg, Mönckebergstrasse 7 (Opening Ceremony)
Times: Thursday, January 17, 8pm (Opening Ceremony); The festival runs through February 18
Tickets: 040 45 33 26
More Information: www.arabesques-hamburg.de




LEIPZIG



Dance


Chaplin

Choreographer Mario Schroder presents the life and work of Charlie Chaplin through dance, costumes, props, and a little clowning around in his piece for the Leipzig Ballet, Chaplin. See the dynamic dance company channel the legendary silent film actor this week.

Price: €15-60
Location: Oper Leipzig, Augustusplatz 12

Times: Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, 7:30pm; Sunday, January 20, 6pm; Saturday, February 2, 7pm; Sunday, February 3, 3pm
Tickets: 341 12 61 261
More Information: www.oper-leipzig.de




MUNICH



Events


The Inauguration of President Obama

Four more years! Four more years! Barack Obama's official inauguration ceremony Monday will kick off the president's second term in office. Can't be in Washington D.C. on the big day? Yes you can! Well, not in actuality, but you can watch the man take the oath of office at a live screening followed by a discussion at Amerika Haus.

Price: Free
Location: Amerika Haus, Karolinenplatz 3
Times: Monday, January 21, 4pm
Phone: 089 55 25 370
More Information: www.amerikahaus.de



Music/Concerts


Conor Oberst

The Omaha-born musician enjoys a highly respected place among the indie rock set. If you liked him in Bright Eyes, the Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk, you'll want to catch the stripped down acoustic show the introspective singer-songwriter's playing in Munich Tuesday night.

Price: €32.20
Location: Alte Kongresshalle,
Theresienhöhe 15
Times: Tuesday, January 22, 8pm
Ticket Hotline: 01805 669 029
More Information: www.x-why-z.tickets.de




OBERHAUSEN



Galleries/Museums


Cornelia Funke Exhibition Opening

One of the most wildly successful children's book authors and illustrators of our time, Cornelia Funke has been called “the JK Rowling of Germany." Best known for the Inkheart Trilogy, many of the German author's books have been translated into English. You're not a fan? Maybe your kids are. Go see the new exhibition dedicated to her work, which opens Saturday night at the Ludwig Galerie Schloss Oberhausen. The show is part of a series that celebrates important figures in popular German art.

Price: €6.50; €12 (Families)
Location: Ludwig Galerie Schloss Oberhausen, Konrad-Adenauer-Allee 46
Times: Saturday, January 19, 7pm (Opening); Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-6pm; January 20 – May 20 (Regular Hours)
Phone: 0208 412 49 28
More Information: www.ludwiggalerie.de




STUTTGART



Music/Concerts


Jennifer Rostock

Germany's punk rock history is long and rich. Jennifer Rostock continues the tradition mixing furious pop beats with a rapid fire vocal attack. See Jennifer Weist, Joe Walter-Müller, and the boys jump around the stage Sunday in Stuttgart.

Price: €25.50
Location: LKA Longhorn, Heiligenwiesen 6
Times: Sunday, January 20, 7pm
Tickets: 0711 84 96 1672
More Information: www.lka-longhorn.de