…from Monday Darkness… to DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN …to Semi-Darkness…
In an effort to cut expenditures, the city of Stuttgart has decided to reduce its generous funding of cultural institutions in 2026. The effect of which is already being experienced by theatre venues large and small; even the cherished Opera / Ballet will receive 4 million euros less in 2026. While much is still being negotiated in detail, our NEAT Season Schedule for the coming year has been diminished considerably; the planned performances at MERLIN have been reduced by two thirds. We will attempt to compensate at other venues. But of course, they too need to reduce or rethink their own schedules…
“After the initial shock, I have grown to accept the unacceptable” – Charles C. Urban
Going from 12 monthly DARK MONDAY shows to a mere 4 per year is going against the very foundation of the DARK MONDAY concept, which called for an exciting event at MERLIN every first Monday of each month for nearly 150 months!
I originally hit upon the idea in the summer of 2013 because nearly all theatres are traditionally closed on Mondays to give their staff and ensembles a day of rest. Quite understandable. BUT I thought why let the stage remain bare when we are brimming with ideas and in dire need of a performance space. I approached the responsible people at MERLIN about this vague vision that I had conceived of English Language performances on, at least, one „Dark Monday“ each month. To my own surprise they were totally receptive to my unusual suggestion and basically handed me the key to the house. I must have been very convincing because they totally trusted my instinct to make the DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN an institution.
So, beginning in October 2013, we were completely on our own, every first Monday of the month; we unlocked the theatre, arranged the seating to our expectations, sold tickets at the evening box office, sold drinks at the bar, took care of the Light & Sound, …and then locked up the theatre afterwards. IT WORKED! The MERLIN staff continued to have the Monday off and actually made some income on an otherwise „off night“.
For more than 12 years I had entirely free rein in programing the DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN events. This was exhilarating. The sheer joy and thrill of seeing everything that I could possibly imagine brought to fruition, i.e. producing everything that I was interested in and seeing it „staged“ was both motivating and inspiring.
Strangely, the pressure of the never-ending four week deadline never stressed me and I was always working on 3 or 4 future projects simultaneously (alongside rehearsing properly staged theatre plays at other venues!). It was definitely a good method to keep a lot of actors and musicians busy, as almost each project had an entirely different cast. And new talent could be quickly integrated into the proceedings.
I am glad that I got to work with SO many talented actors and musicians on so many popular, as well as obscure and personally satisfying projects! The opportunity to produce a new show every month allowed me great freedom and no one at MERLIN ever questioned my judgement or asked me to be profitable in my choice of material.
Introducing Stuttgart to the concept of Live Radio Plays with Psycho, …Nick Danger, …Sorry, Wrong Number, …Flash Gordon, …The Wizard of Oz, …Flywheel, Shyster & Flywheel, …The Lone Ranger, etc. etc. was a lot of fun, as was being able to feature (and perform) Live Music with Guest Artists like The Stuttgart Harmonizers, Two After 909, Spiral Running, The Stäffeles Rutscher Banjo Band, etc. as well as our own talented Gershwin Singers, The Dark Monday Orchestra, The Greenwich Village Players, The Tolling Thunder Revue, The Woody Sez Orchestra, and The Neatles.
At the new restricted rate of four shows per annum, I would never have been able to feature evenings dedicated to Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Mark Twain, Alfred Lord Tennyson, P.G.Wodehouse, Oscar Wilde, Stephen King, Albert Einstein, Tom Lehrer, H.G. Wells, Dylan Thomas, Alan Ginsberg, Rod McKuen, Don Marquis, David Sedaris, Sam Shepard, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers, William Saroyan, Edgar Lee Masters, Marsha Norman, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, The Firesign Theatre, etc. etc. etc.
THANK YOU not only to the multitude of Actors and Musicians who made my vision come alive but also the GREAT AUDIENCES that I have experienced over the years; many have become good friends… and some even ended up making their acting debut on the DARK MONDAY stage!
THANK YOU to the DAZ – Deutsch Amerikanisches Zentrum for their ongoing cooperation and support.
THANK YOU also to the Staatsministerium für Kultur & Medien who kept the series running by giving us grants to film DARK MONDAY installments during the Covid Pandemic – we never missed a beat!
Enough reflection, I am certain that the „Good Old Days“ lie ahead of us. …Only the circumstances have changed.
DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN LIVES!
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A very small sampling of DARK MONDAY program covers over the years –
New English American Theater Stuttgart 