Faust (1926)
You may not know the name “Faust”, but you do know the story.
Something between a doctor, scientist, and alchemist, Dr. Faustus thirsts for what he believes is the ultimate power — knowledge. Reaching his own limits, he makes a bargain — the Faustian bargain — and sells his soul to the Devil.
“Every notable historical era will have its own Faust.”
—Kierkegaard
In 1587, a small chapbook called "Historia von D. Johann Fausten" told stories of an actual Johann Georg Faust, who traveled around Germany in the early 1500‘s performing magic tricks, telling horoscopes, and committing various kinds of fraud. He may have died in his own alchemical experiment.
Since then, his story has been superimposed with legends of a pact with the Devil and then retold in innumerable ballads, plays, novels, operas — any kind of adaptation you can imagine, including an episode of The Simpsons.
In 1947, Thomas Mann re-cast the story as a talented composer reaching for greatness. By intentionally contracting syphilis, he created music of extraordinary inspiration, but also caused his own madness and demise.
You may also recognize this as the story of the Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson, who meets the Devil at the crossroads to be given mastery of the guitar, a reason I called this show "At the Crossroads" when I performed it on the Fringe circuit in 2016. Which brings us back to this show.
“One of the most astonishing visual experiences the silent film has to offer.”
—Dave Kehr, The New York Times
Like all Modern Robot shows, this performance is a film with a live musical score, in this case the first major adaptation of Faust, released in 1926.
German production company UFA hired F.W. Murnau to direct the film. Lavish sets, complicated shots, and Murnau‘s many, many takes made this a massively expensive production as well as a financial flop. But it also makes for a fantastic movie filled with effects and compositions that seem more painted than filmed.
After a premier in Greensboro, Ben Singer performed the show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (five-star review by Broadway Baby), the Orlando Fringe, the San Francisco Fringe Festival (Best of the Fringe award), and the New York International Fringe Festival (Overall Excellence Award for Music Composition).
The score will be performed by Ben on guitar and Tyler Monroe on drum set.