AFTERPARTY: A Post-Utopian Songspiel
AFTERPARTY is a unique performance that unfolds in two evocative parts: Mahagonny – Ein Songspiel, the timeless work of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, and Afterparty, a modern interpretation by Polish composer Kasia Głowicka, who brings new depth to the concept of the “songspiel” through lyrics by Bartosz FISZ Waglewski. Together, these parts create a continuous narrative told through songs and musical interludes, a story shaped by longing, disillusionment, and the search for belonging.
An absent yet central character in AFTERPARTY is the false promise of a metropolitan utopia, teeming with illusions. We meet the characters as they pursue their great dream of a better life and later, as they flee from it, journeying to rediscover themselves. This dual movement – the “journey toward” and the “escape from” – mirrors the structure of the show, with Weill and Brecht’s original cautionary tale in the first act and Głowicka’s contemporary response in the second.
The original Mahagonny warned against a fabricated city of corruption, exposing the exclusionary social dynamics of early 20th-century capitalism on the eve of World War II. Today, nearly a century later, Głowicka and Waglewski’s work views Mahagonny through a modern lens. In a world that has seen massive shifts in urban life and personal identity, where the pandemic forced many to confront lives devoid of fulfillment in sprawling cities, a new story has emerged. This composition reflects the lives of today’s Warsaw residents – both those born here and those who’ve arrived searching for a place to belong, many disillusioned with the grand promises of city life.
Głowicka’s music bridges worlds: blending rap with classical music, uniting diverse musical and vocal styles, and merging the essence of theater with that of opera. At a time when polarization runs deep, AFTERPARTY offers a gathering space, celebrating connection through song and story.
Supported in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc., New York, NY.
