What would have been rainbow folklore just a few years ago is now once again a demonstration of basic Western values, completely sans patina. And so the retro look didn’t bother at all: Not the super-masculine gay erotic drawings of the once much celebrated Tom of Finland (actually Touko Valio Laaksonen), not the bright neon flamingo and palm tree illustrations like from old TV crime thrillers like “Miami Vice” or “Magnum”, not the Rauschgold angels with towering hairstyles and certainly not the wonderful 83-year-old Helmut Baumann as a guest star, who had shone in the leading role for decades and now stopped by as the shrewd restaurant manager Jacqueline.

The only normal among crazy people

His old part of Albin, called “Zaza”, was taken over by the “Tatort” well-known Swiss television actor Stefan Kurt, and as a drag queen diva he was absolutely credible and wonderfully noble in his appearance. Basically the only normal among all the crazy people. Peter Renz as his partner Georges acted as the dutiful, confident nightclub operator who never fazes. The chambermaid Jacob was responsible for the hysteria, which Daniel Daniela Ojeda Yrueta laid down with acrobatic turbo speed.

Choreographer Otto Pichler is regarded as a veteran of contemporary show entertainment, which he likes to be loud, fast and over-the-top. That can probably be annoying for a good three hours, but here it fit perfectly. And because the Dutch conductor Koen Schoots also took part in the party with esprit, it was an acclaimed evening that sent its message in all directions, to America and Russia: Be who you are – and if it bothers others, then even more so.

Again on February 3rd and 5th, 2023 at the Komische Oper Berlin, further dates.