Marlene Dietrich was born in Germany in 1924 and became a huge movie star in America back in the days of the Studio System. She was a strong independent woman. She answered to no one and even said "NO" to a request from Adolf Hitler - if you think strong, independent women are only a recent thing then you are very wrong.
If you think strong independent women are only a recent thing then you are very wrong.
Doppel Dietrich is a one-woman show with Patricia Hartshorne who looks uncannily like Dietrich as she takes to the stage. Hartshorne plays the part of narrator and Dietrich in a very informative and entertaining way. The on-stage costume changes are very well choreographed and the changes between narrator and Dietrich are seamless and easy to follow. Bonding and engaging with her audience with ease, Hartshorne takes us on a journey of the rise of Dietrich’s fame from a young girl to an old lady. This is done through stories about Marlene and her infamous songs which Hartshorne sings and sings very well. When Hartshorne sings the song Where Have All The Flowers Gone?, a song that Burt Bacharach wrote when he worked with Dietrich, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
There were fascinating stories in the show about how Dietrich would not be controlled by men or anyone else. She was the controller of her destiny and even told Hitler she would not leave Hollywood to return to Berlin when he requested she came back.
In fact, she became an American citizen and made a significant contribution to the war effort there.
The show is a great tribute to Marlene Dietrich and in the short interval the audience could be heard busy discussing the facts that they had learnt about this movie star.
It’s obvious that Patrica Hartshorne is very passionate about the subject of Marlene Dietrich and has done a lot of research on her subject and this shines though in the show she has created.
