The Gaiety Theater
Stave 6
In Dresden, Germany, when Kurt Vogner was three years old, his father took him to a jazz/cabaret club. Although Kurt technically was not allowed to be there, he hid underneath a table and watched the spectacle around him. A drummer going nuts, dancers going around into the audience, everybody singing and dancing. For one worrying moment, a dancer got on their table, but Kurt wasn't noticed.
They say that when children see something they enjoy at a young age, it will influence them as they grow up, and they'll pursue it in their later years. This was true with Kurt, and when he got a drum kit for his fifth birthday, he couldn't have been more ecstatic. He learned how to play Kurt Weill songs very quickly, and by the time he was eight, he was the youngest memeber of a junior cabaret company.
When Kurt was fifteen, he joined a teen cabaret group, and eventually dropped out of high school when he got a job at a real club. His parents weren not thrilled, but Kurt was paid good money and enjoying himself, so they let him continue.
Word of Kurt traveled to New York City, in America, to 42nd Street, near Times Square. This area was also known as Broadway. Kurt was offered to play in the pit band for a Broadway musical. Although at the time it didn't mean anything to him, a woman named Esme Bernotas was in the company, and a man named Stephen Linus was in the audience on opening night.
He took the job, of course, but when the show was a flop, he was fired. He found himself unable to go back to Germany, as he was short on money and spoke only German.
In the end, though, that was a reason why he ended up at The Gaiety. When he trudged past the fateful alleyway, thinking about his predicament, a man smelling of alcohol and urine came p and asked him, in English, for money. Unable to undertsand, Kurt tried to walk away, but the man wouldn't let him. So when he turned around to go the other way, he was stabbed four times in the back before the man ran away. Kurt managed to stumble down the alleyway and bang on the door of the theater. An older looking man opened it, and when he saw him, he started to call for someone, Esme, was it?
Before Kurt blacked out, he could feel himself being carried into.....a theater?
When he woke up, the blood was drying on his back. When he felt it, he could feel the puckered skin where the knife had punctured him. But he felt different inside. He felt...well, there was no way to describe it. His instincts said he was dead, but that made no sense to him. If he was dead, well, he was dead.
The man who had found him came up, and smiled at him. Saying something in English, he sat down next to him.
When Kurt shook his head, the man seemed to understand, and he nodded. Then, pointing to himself, he said "Stephen."
Kurt pointed to himself and said "Kurt."
The man called Stephen pointed all around the theater and said, "The Gaiety Theater."
Kurt sucked it all in. He stood up and walked about the theater. And then he saw it. A drumkit. He rushed over, then looked at Stephen as a way to ask permission. Stephen nodded and smiled, and Kurt immediately got on it.
So, when Kurt thought back on that night when he had died, he wanted to find the man who did it. He wanted to find him so he could thank him.
They say that when children see something they enjoy at a young age, it will influence them as they grow up, and they'll pursue it in their later years. This was true with Kurt, and when he got a drum kit for his fifth birthday, he couldn't have been more ecstatic. He learned how to play Kurt Weill songs very quickly, and by the time he was eight, he was the youngest memeber of a junior cabaret company.
When Kurt was fifteen, he joined a teen cabaret group, and eventually dropped out of high school when he got a job at a real club. His parents weren not thrilled, but Kurt was paid good money and enjoying himself, so they let him continue.
Word of Kurt traveled to New York City, in America, to 42nd Street, near Times Square. This area was also known as Broadway. Kurt was offered to play in the pit band for a Broadway musical. Although at the time it didn't mean anything to him, a woman named Esme Bernotas was in the company, and a man named Stephen Linus was in the audience on opening night.
He took the job, of course, but when the show was a flop, he was fired. He found himself unable to go back to Germany, as he was short on money and spoke only German.
In the end, though, that was a reason why he ended up at The Gaiety. When he trudged past the fateful alleyway, thinking about his predicament, a man smelling of alcohol and urine came p and asked him, in English, for money. Unable to undertsand, Kurt tried to walk away, but the man wouldn't let him. So when he turned around to go the other way, he was stabbed four times in the back before the man ran away. Kurt managed to stumble down the alleyway and bang on the door of the theater. An older looking man opened it, and when he saw him, he started to call for someone, Esme, was it?
Before Kurt blacked out, he could feel himself being carried into.....a theater?
When he woke up, the blood was drying on his back. When he felt it, he could feel the puckered skin where the knife had punctured him. But he felt different inside. He felt...well, there was no way to describe it. His instincts said he was dead, but that made no sense to him. If he was dead, well, he was dead.
The man who had found him came up, and smiled at him. Saying something in English, he sat down next to him.
When Kurt shook his head, the man seemed to understand, and he nodded. Then, pointing to himself, he said "Stephen."
Kurt pointed to himself and said "Kurt."
The man called Stephen pointed all around the theater and said, "The Gaiety Theater."
Kurt sucked it all in. He stood up and walked about the theater. And then he saw it. A drumkit. He rushed over, then looked at Stephen as a way to ask permission. Stephen nodded and smiled, and Kurt immediately got on it.
So, when Kurt thought back on that night when he had died, he wanted to find the man who did it. He wanted to find him so he could thank him.