ABSTRACT
The Peppermill, Erika Mann’s fabulous anti-fascist literary Kabarett that had been such a sensation in Europe, was a total flop in America when it opened in January 1937 in New York. There were many reasons. The actors, including the great Therese Giehse, did not speak English fluently, and the themes of many songs and sketches were not really interesting to New York audiences. Also, America was still quite “isolationist.” Aside from that, this form of political Kabarett was totally unknown in the USA. The engagement, planned by the Columbia Concert Corporation for a New York season at the Chanin Theater and a subsequent coast-to-coast tour throughout the States, was cut down to one week.
