WOLF BROTHERS | THEATER

"Die Jungs mit dem Tüdelband"
a musical and literary revue by Ulrich Waller

On January 18, 2002, Ulrich Waller´s musical and literary revue "Die Jungs mit dem Tüdelband" had its highly celebrated premiere at the Hamburger Kammerspiele. The theatre play tells the life story of the Gebrüder Wolf and also shows an overview on the historical situation from 1900 until the takeover by the Nazis. In vivid words taken from Arie Goral´s "Jeckepotz" Waller´s theatre play also describes the political situation in Hamburg during this time.

The actors Peter Franke (Ludwig) and Gerhard Gabers (Leopold) start up with the Wolf´s signature tune "Snuten un Poten" and are brilliant in a lot of songs up to Hamburg´s secret anthem "An de Eck steiht´n Jung mit´n Tüdelband", arranged by Gerd Bellmann as all the other Wolf songs in this revue.

About 25.000 visitors had seen the play in 2002, when it became one of the theatre´s biggest successes.

After Waller´s change to the St.Pauli-Theater "Die Jung´s mit dem Tüdelband" will be replayed there again.

For further information see: www.st-pauli-theater.de.

"Stateless"
by Dan Wolf (Synopsis)

In 1911 Ludwig Wolf/Isaac wrote the lyrics to the song "Een echt Hamborger Jung" and there by created the roots of the most famous song from Hamburg, Germany: "An de Eck steiht´n Jung mit´n Tüdelband". That same year, the "Gebrüder Wolf" (Wolf Brothers) also achieved national and international popularity with their spectacular revue "Rund um die Alster". By 1933, with the Nazis in power and Jews banned from all professional performances, these popular Jewish artists are erased from memory in Germany.

Nowadays, you can stop almost any Hamburger (native of Hamburg, Germany) on the streets, sing the Tüdelband song, and by the second or third line they will join in. Next, ask them who wrote it and a blank look will cross their face. "Where did you learn the Tüdelband song?" "I used to sing it with kids in school. My dad taught it to me" "Who taught it to him?" "His dad." "But who wrote it?" Silence. The story is always the same.

The action of the play follows Dan Wolf, the great grand nephew of Ludwig Wolf, as he returns to Hamburg, Germany to make a documentary film that unearths his family roots. With material found in his grand mother´s basement; a picture of two dockworkers, a costume, a 42-page "letter" from his grandfather, and old photos, Dan begins to link his Jewish past with his present search for self. The story of the Wolf/Isaac Family takes us from Hamburg via Shanghai, NY, San Francisco and back to Hamburg, through Anti-Semitism and the assimilation of Jewish culture, and the rediscovery of an artistic legacy.

"When people ask me why I do what I do I reply ´It´s in my blood´. The art form of theater, the act of writing plays, and music, is my family business. Every time I create I am influenced by the Gebrüder Wolf. I am Leopold and Ludwig and James and Donut. German and Jewish. Strong and liberated. Feared and oppressed. A seeker of beauty, of truth, and of tradition, both theatrical and Jewish. Hopefully my ancestors are at peace."

Dan Wolf

Biography Dan Wolf

Dan Wolf is an actor, rapper, playwright, producer, and educator.

His recent credits include Malloy in Beatbox: A Raparetta (co-author) at the 4th Annual New York Hip Hop Theater Festival at P.S. 122, Adam in Paradise with Traveling Jewish Theater´s Educational Outreach Touring Program, and The Hybrid Project at Intersection for the Arts where he is currently a Resident Artist. He is a Graduate of the Actor Training Program at Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts (P.C.P.A. Theatrefest) and was a company member of Shotgun Players, a theater company in Berkeley, from 1996-1999. He is a member of the live hip hop band Felonious: onelovehiphop whose mission is to produce and promote original music, theater, and film as well as developing arts education.

His plays Beatbox: A Raparetta and Is Life a Dream? (both co-authored with Tommy Shepherd) have been work shopped at San Jose Rep´s New America Playwright´s Festival in 1998 and 2000. Dan is currently working on Stateless a play that uses Hip Hop, vaudeville, German, and Jewish history to explore the story of the children of children of immigrants who use their art to search for the lost state of their identities. Dan has taught Hip Hop Theater at the Alternative Theater Institute at Intersection for the Arts, Playmaking with Berkeley Repertory Theater at juvenile facilities throughout the Bay, and Mentors young writers in the art of the spoken word for Youth Speaks.