Brecht: Difference


In the early 20th century, another German artist – a man named Bertolt Brecht – began to develop a very different idea of how song and story should fit together in the theatre. Brecht wanted theatre audiences to be aware as they watched the play that what they saw on stage was only a representation of reality. He wanted people to feel engaged and curious about his plays instead of sitting passively and safely in the audience. In order to keep his audience members on their toes, Brecht used several methods from the tradition of Vaudeville. He had his actors talk directly to the audience, sing songs that interrupted the story and use signs to introduce scenes or characters. Brecht referred to this as Verfremdungseffekt, or the “estrangement effect.”


Meryl Streep as Mother Courage in the 2006 production of Mother Courage and her Children by Bertolt Brecht.


Musicals that use methods from the estrangement effect include Cabaret, Sweet Charity and Chicago. In these musicals, characters might look at you and speak to you in the audience or sing and dance just to sing and dance, not because the music has anything important to tell us about the story.


Can you think of any other musicals that do not try to integrate the music and dance into the narrative?


Which category do you think best describes ONCE the musical?


How do the songs fit into the story of ONCE? Why do you think the creators of ONCE chose to put songs where they did? How does the music help us understand the story?


You Try it! Imagine that you are writing a musical. Try to


write a song. Who will sing the song? Will it be a part of the story of the musical? What does the song mean to the character who sings it?


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