Brecht Is Not for Wimps

I was shocked to read on IMDB that people walked out on the Public Theaters current production of Mother Courage. What were these people expecting, Mama Mia?

Thanks to Quiconque, I saw Meryl Streep as Mother Courage last Saturday, and she kicked ass! What floored me most was her singing. If she'd chosen to do so, she could have had a music career perhaps rivaling Bonnie Raitt or Bette Midler or someone like that. The whole huge cast was excellent. The sets and costumes were fine. The orchestra was awesome.

And as for the play, if you can't stand a polemic, then you have no business setting foot anywhere near a Brecht production. Is Mother Courage heavy? Hello! It's a play about the 30 Years War, written by a crabby dead German, translated by Tony Kushner. This isn't just dark humor, it's Special Dark, not like the stuff in The Producers. (The reason people can stomach "Springtime for Hitler" is that everyone is constantly reminded and reassured that it's just a joke.)

And how can people walk out on a play? That says more against the walkers than the players. I've seen some stinky theater in my time, and yes, I have laughed at performances that probably weren't intended to be funny, but I have never walked out on anything, even during intermission. And walking out while anyone is on stage is rude. Walking out on Meryl Streep is unthinkable.