Berlin, 1990: The wall has fallen, the houses are occupied, the clubs are pumping freedom. Berlin, 2026: At the Theater des Westens rehearsals for \u201cWir sind am Leben\u201d are in full swing. The new musical from Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer is meant to be a monument to a city and a generation. \u201cNot on stone, but made of music, history and feeling,\u201d as the press release explains.
On the edge of rehearsals, we spoke with J\u00f6rn-Felix Alt, who plays the central queer character in the piece: Bruno, a young drag performer who performs as Marlene Dietrich and refuses to let his HIV diagnosis define him. We talked about vulnerability, humor, and the responsibility of bringing queer characters to a big stage.<\/p>\n
First off, thanks for giving us such insights into the rehearsals. About your role: Bruno receives an HIV diagnosis and then consciously chooses life. What was your first entry point into this character?
When I got the call that I might be Bruno, I found it immediately incredibly intriguing. It\u2019s such an important story\u2014one that exists in Germany in a very particular way. After the fall of the Wall, a sense of freedom swept over everyone. Right into that euphoria came this terrible disease with such force. I see it as a major and wonderful task to bring such a fate to a musical stage.
What would you want audiences to notice first in Bruno before his infection?
His courage and his strength. Bruno is a vitality-filled person who wants to change things and has a vision.
Now, there isn\u2019t only Bruno; there\u2019s also an alter ego, Marlene or \u201cthe Dietrich.\u201d What exactly is she? Pure drag performance? A safe space? Empowerment?
Bruno is fascinated by Marlene \u2014 by her power, her clear sense of purpose, and her determination. He seeks those traits in himself. That\u2019s why he allows himself to be inspired by her for his drag performance. A homage to Dietrich.
The song \u201cIch werd\u2019 nicht weinen,\u201d which has already been released, is Bruno\u2019s reaction to his HIV diagnosis. A clear rejection of self-pity. Where is the vulnerability of this character?
I see this as my mission to give her that vulnerability. Bruno doesn\u2019t want to pity himself, nor to receive pity from others around him. He tries to come to terms with everything on his own and tends to push his friends away in difficult moments. It\u2019s precisely in that loneliness that a deep vulnerability resides. I think it\u2019s crucial to present Bruno\u2019s character as multifaceted and nuanced as possible on stage.<\/p>\n
Direct link | Video for \u201cIch werd\u2019 nicht weinen\u201d
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The other big number that\u2019s already known is \u201cSupernovadiscoslut.\u201d This one goes in a very different direction. It\u2019s about desire and freedom. How does that come across on stage?
\u201cSupernovadiscoslut\u201d is Bruno\u2019s nightclub performance as \u201cthe Dietrich.\u201d A blend of protest and party. He wants to change things and has a lot of fun doing it. It was a pleasure to craft a distinct sound for this song, which marks an important difference from the other numbers and helps separate drag performance from Bruno\u2019s private life.<\/p>\n
Direct link | Video for \u201cSupernovadiscoslut\u201d
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Was there a moment in rehearsals when you felt, now I\u2019ve really got Bruno?
Probably in the scene just before the song \u201cIch werd\u2019 nicht weinen.\u201d Right before that Bruno receives his HIV diagnosis. He then reunites with his friends. He actually wants to speak with his partner right away, but ends up pulled into an argument. In the heat of the moment, something slips out that surprises him. A moment that feels like a key in shaping Bruno\u2019s character.
You say this diagnosis just hangs in the air. HIV and AIDS are historically loaded topics. They still shape the entire community today. What responsibility do you feel as an actor, as a representative?
We\u2019ll perform this show eight times a week, for a long time, to a broad and mixed audience. Many people won\u2019t have this topic on their radar day to day. I see it as both a responsibility and a major opportunity to bring this story to life on stage with all its nuances and subtleties. It\u2019s important to me that we don\u2019t forget what happened to our scene, to an entire generation back then.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all heavy material; the piece is also supposed to be very funny, as the title suggests. How do you balance these two poles?
I always look for humor within tragedy and the tragedy within comedy. If we stand on stage for three hours and everyone starts sobbing, the moment won\u2019t really hit. As an actor, I\u2019m drawn to finding the counterpoint in the emotional moments \u2014 a bit of laughter in the sadness, a few tears in the laughter. We tackle many serious topics in this show, so it\u2019s crucial to weave in enough humor to maintain a healthy balance.
If you had to describe Bruno in one sentence, without using the word \u201csick,\u201d what would that sentence be?
A brave man who wants to move something.
And finally, you mentioned you\u2019ll be performing the show for a long time, for a wide audience. But specifically for TheColu.mn: what do you hope queer audiences will recognize in Bruno as a character, and in the show as a whole?
I hope we can capture the essence of that era on stage. The 1990s are a while ago, yet they still feel quite present and somehow close. The musical tackles so many topics: homosexuality, AIDS, family and friendships, the reunification of East and West Germany. I think everyone will find something to identify with. At the same time, I hope the queer community sees themselves reflected\u2014not by staging clich\u00e9s, but through real people and their stories.
The musical \u201cWir sind am Leben\u201d (We Are Alive) premieres on March 21, 2026 at Theater des Westens in Berlin. Tickets are on sale now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Berlin, 1990: The wall has fallen, the houses are occupied, the clubs are pumping freedom. Berlin, 2026: At…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[99],"tags":[20850,112,190,20851,20852],"class_list":["post-36021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-berlin","tag-alive","tag-berlin","tag-germany","tag-musical","tag-queer"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116199020645139925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}