Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933
- Introduction: Past and Present
- I “PONIM ET CIRCENSES”: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN CIRCUS ENTERTAINMENT, 1870–1933
- II COMIC RELIEF: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN JARGON THEATER, 1890 TO THE 1920S
- III THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
- Introduction: Spectacular Berlin
- 9 The Metropol: Between Culture and Kapital
- 10 Leading Characters
- 11 Stardom and Its Discontents
- 12 The Art of Pleasing All
- Conclusion to Part III
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion to Part III
from III - THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933
- Introduction: Past and Present
- I “PONIM ET CIRCENSES”: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN CIRCUS ENTERTAINMENT, 1870–1933
- II COMIC RELIEF: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN JARGON THEATER, 1890 TO THE 1920S
- III THE LONELINESS OF THE LIMELIGHT: JEWISH IDENTITIES IN REVUE THEATER, 1898–1933
- Introduction: Spectacular Berlin
- 9 The Metropol: Between Culture and Kapital
- 10 Leading Characters
- 11 Stardom and Its Discontents
- 12 The Art of Pleasing All
- Conclusion to Part III
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Metropol Theater was instrumental in the formation of a new elite in Imperial Berlin. By the turn of the last century, that elite included the upper echelons of Berlin's Jewish community. Revue theater proved itself to be a perfect stage for rejuvenation. The celebration of the big city and modern urban life at the Metropol Theater allowed affluent Berliners to inscribe themselves in a rapidly changing environment. By stylizing the experience of living in the capital, Richard Schultz helped to create a dynamic image of Wilhelmine society. The Metropol and its revues were instrumental for new and old elites seeking to redefine their boundaries. It was an exclusive establishment to be sure, but by marrying merit and birth it was far more heterogeneous than other leading circles in Imperial Germany. To integrate its relatively wider spectrum of spectators, the Metropol revue did not provoke or polarize its audiences. More typically, it played upon common denominators such as wealth, class, and style. By idealizing the capital's traditional and newly emerging leadership, the Metropol Theater glossed over existing political, social, and ethnic gulfs among its spectators. The Metropol could not, however, bridge those gulfs. Religious and political antagonisms were rarely formulated or explored; to call them irreconcilable, however, was considered ungentlemanly.
By focusing on Berlin as a metaphor for modern times, the Metropol revue also reflected on Gentile–Jewish relations in the German city with the largest Jewish population. Jewish characters were commonplace in the prewar Metropol Jahresrevue.
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- Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment, 1890–1933 , pp. 277 - 280Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006