Theater stage provisionally playable again after damage

After the dramatic water damage in November 2022, the Gerhart Hauptmann Theater in Görlitz can use its large stage again, at least provisionally. A concept has been developed that allows a full-fledged, albeit limited play operation with conditions in the Great House, said artistic director Daniel Morgenroth on Thursday at the presentation of the program for the new season. For the first time, the upgraded stage is to be played on Oct. 1 for the philharmonic concert entitled "Bohemia."

Morgenroth expressed relief to have a permanent venue in Gorlitz again. "We are back," said the artistic director. He estimated the losses incurred by lost revenue as well as increased costs for performances at various alternative venues at 500,000 euros. In view of the current financial problems at municipally supported theaters in Saxony, Morgenroth would like to see a long-term solution to "not just live from hand to mouth."

For the new season under the motto "Wanderlust," the Gerhart Hauptmann Theater has planned 20 premieres at its locations in Görlitz and Zittau. The first production to come out is "Prince of Prussia," the play that literally fell through in Görlitz last fall. Only a few days before the first performance, a fire alarm had triggered the spray flood system for an unexplained reason, so that around 28,000 liters of water poured over the stage. Now the rediscovered musical by Dieter Brand and Harry Sander will be performed in Zittau.

The first musical theater premiere in the Görlitz Stammhaus will be the baroque opera "Saul" by George Frideric Handel on November 4. The premiere of the play "The Exemplary Life of Samuel W.," commissioned by the theater and written by Goerlitz author Lukas Rietzschel, has been announced for Jan. 20, 2024.