This year's THEATERSOMMER Idar-Oberstein begins on Saturday, August 12, 2023. The festival kicks off with lots of music, with a concert of old-time jazz and swing and a blues matinee on the program on the first weekend. But there will also be plenty of drama: the NN Theater from Cologne will once again be presenting a rousing and vibrant piece of popular theater. The THEATERSOMMER is an event organized by the city of Idar-Oberstein. The festival is supported by Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, OIE AG, Effgen Schleiftechnik, the Bürkle Foundation and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Swing meets Hip Hop
To kick off the festival, Goldmeister and the Ragtime Bandits will play a concert on Saturday, August 12, 2023, at 8 pm at the Historische Weiherschleife. Under the motto "Welcome to the Twenties!", they will mix the music of the glorious 1920s with the hip hop of today.
The old-time jazz and swing of the Gatsby generation has a name again: Goldmeister. The duo Chris Dunker and Phil Ohleyer from Goldmeister present a mix of German hip hop lyrics and 1920s swing with their band Ragtime Bandits. Songs such as "Sie ist weg" by Fanta 4, "Bon Voyage" by Deichkind and "Dickes B" by Seeed are given a fabulous new interpretation. But the two humorous musicians also bring their own songs in hip-hop style to the stage with a wink. A musical journey back in time to the 20s that becomes a rousing party experience.
Blues matinee at the castle
On Sunday, August 13, 2023, at 11 a.m., the band Bluespapas will play a concert at Oberstein Castle. The matinee is organized in cooperation with the Blue Note association.
Three experienced musicians from the Rhine-Main region have come together under the Bluespapas label. Guitarist and singer Bernd Simon, a native of Idar-Oberstein, has been successfully on the road in the German blues scene for around forty years, for example with the Matchbox Bluesband or the Down Home Percolators. Harper Reiner Lenz and bassist Thomas Heldmann have played well over five hundred gigs at festivals and street parties, in clubs and pubs as Papa Legba's Blues Lounge with Jürgen Queissner, who died far too young. With this concentrated stage experience and a lot of joy in playing, they bring the blues to the stage in all its different facets.
From street theater to the palaces
On Friday, August 25, 2023, at 8 pm, the NN Theater Köln will present the play "Molière - Drama, Dirt and Don Juan" at the Historische Weiherschleife. With a wink and echoes of its own 35-year history as a touring theater, NN presents the audience with a rousing, humorous and touching play with live music.
A theater cart pulls through the French provinces. It is the "Illustre Theater", an impoverished folk theater run by director, actor and author Molière and theater manager Madeleine Béjart. The rural population acclaimed Molière's new play "Don Juan", but the income was meagre. Probably also because Molière fell out with the powerful church and was repeatedly banned from performing. It is not for nothing that he is considered the sharpest pen in France.
In the role of Don Juan, he exposes all the double standards of the authorities in a humorously biting way. While the "greatest lover in the world" stands between hundreds of women, Molière "only" stands between two. A disastrous love triangle that is highly explosive for the troupe. Molière and Don Juan increasingly blur into one character - what is stage, what is reality?
And suddenly Molière receives an invitation to the court. The Sun King Louis XIV intends to capitalize on his fame. Between censorship and affection - a dangerous balancing act begins for the gang of actors.
- All information about THEATERSOMMER can be found at www.kultur.io. If the open-air events have to be postponed due to the weather, the alternative venue will also be announced there. Tickets are available at www.ticket-regional.de and the associated advance booking offices. Holders of the Volunteer Card and the OIE Card as well as theater subscribers receive a 10 percent discount.