Curtains on Obama musical are set to rise in Germany

Even John McCain and Sarah Palin are given stage time, with actors portraying the losing Republican candidates and belting out songs on their behalf.

In all, 30 singers, actors and dancers are to perform in the musical “Hope — the Obama Musical Story” when it opens at the Jahrhunderthalle concert hall in Frankfurt in a bilingual mix of English and German. The audience may recognize that many songs quote from the politicians' stump speeches during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.

The venue for the premiere seems appropriate since the optimism of Obamania remains largely intact in Germany, about a year after Obama, an accomplished public speaker, became America's first black president. One campaign highlight was a July 2008 speech to some 200,000 people in the heart of Berlin about the world, the U.S. and its place in it.

On Wednesday, the “Hope” performers were still working at their kicks on a small rehearsal stage in an industrial zone of the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.

The American once acted in Michael Jackson's musical “Sisterella.”

The organizers of “Hope!” said that tickets are only available for the opening night in Frankfurt and that further performances there and in other German cities were still being planned.

Set in Obama's hometown of Chicago and viewed through the eyes of people who share an apartment, the musical tries to show how Obama's campaign gave people at the time hope for change and belief in a better future.

Most of the actors are American and many have performed in other German musicals.

As part of an interactive gimmick, the audience will be asked to participate in the show by playing tiny drums built into their chairs.

Tickets for the premiere can be bought online and range between euro40 and euro149 (US$58 and US$215).

Two other musicals about the president were performed in other countries last year: “Obama On My Mind” in London and “Obama: The Musical” in Nairobi, Kenya.

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