WOMEN IN GERMAN
ANNUAL CABARET 2000
Arizona
Photos assembled by Susan Cocalis*
*I need help with the details. Please contact me at cocalis@german.umass.edu to contribute to this project.
Drafty Reconstruction of the Cabaret 2000 :
In the 2000 WiG Cabaret, held in (rainy!) Arizona, after the thunderstorms finally abated and the participants were allowed to leave the airport, the 2000 poplitical campaign and election was restructured into a format more appealing to the American public: we deposited the candidates, their wives, several local and literary figures on an island and let the audience decide, Survivor-style, who would be the last candidate standing. A Marge Simponesque Jeannine Blackwell was also running for Queen of WiG and Rick McCormick was neither fish nor foul but up on stage with the rest of us., This cabaret was particularly notable for discovering Wendy Arons's uncanny imitation of George Bush, a role that she has been asked to reprise in subsequent cabarets. The proceedings were reported by our loyal correspondent Nina Tittenberg (Jeanette Clausen). Al Gore (Susan Cocalis) and Tipper (Lisa Roetzel) were fined by the FCC later for the "Kiss" that shocked the world and cost Gore the election. Aside from the local bordercrosser (Sabine von Mehring), the island was inhabited by a mysterious figure who seemed to have come directly from Kleist's story Die heilige Caecelia (Marjorie Gelus). This ghostly apparition had fatal consequences for the 200 election because when the appointed hour came, all of the candidates were struck down and lay writhing on the floor, except for Al Gore, who was still lying there with Tipper. I don't remember all of the details--and there was no report in the newsletter--so I will need help reconstructing this. I do remember that Al Gore had been instrumental in suggesting the name "Women in German" at the first meeting of this nascent organization, while he was visiting the campus of Washington University in St. Louis in 1976.This cabaret could not have occurred without the creative genius of Cindy Brewer and her multifunctional tool.
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Sabine von Mehring adds local color. |
Marjorie Gelus doing her Kleistian thing. |
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Tipper Gore (Lisa Roetzel) is offered a banana by Rick McCormick. |
"W" makes his stump speech (Wendy Arons). |
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"W" (W. Arons), Al Gore (Susan Cocalis) & Tipper (Lisa Roetzel) |
The Gores (rollover!) |
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"W" (W. Arons) gets in on the action with Tipper (L. Roetzel). Nina Tittenberg intervenes (J. Clausen), interrupting Jeannine Blackwell. |
Jeannine Blackwell makes her case for becoming the Survivor and Queen of WiG. |
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At the appointed hour, all the men are struck down and writhe on the floor. St. Cecelia & Tipper triumph. |
W unilaterally uses force to defeat the evil St. Cecelia. |
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Jeannine Blackwell wins the contest.