The Early Years of the American Musical in Vienna

The individual most responsible for bringing the American musical to the Viennese stage was Marcel Prawy (1911–2003). Born into a Jewish Austro-Hungarian noble family, Prawy moved to the US in the late 1930s. While his first love was opera, he also developed an appreciation for the Broadway musical. He returned to Vienna after World War II and produced musical revues in local theaters that included showtunes. Upon becoming a dramaturge at the Vienna Volksoper in 1955, he began overseeing productions of American musical theater, which were among some of the earliest productions of American musicals on the European continent. The article reviews archival documents at the Prawy archive, housed at the Wienbibliothek, to better understand Prawy’s early efforts to bring American musical theater to the Viennese stage. The focus will be on the two earliest musicals Prawy produced, Kiss Me, Kate and Wonderful Town. The analysis will consider how Prawy packaged, promoted, and “sold” the American musical to his Viennese audience. A close reading of some of Prawy’s translations of libretti will be part of the analysis, revealing interesting insights into how Americans and American culture may have been viewed by the Viennese audience.