An interesting professional show highlighting an often overlooked time in queer history
The Pink List is the second one-man show created by and starring Michael Trauffer. He tells the story of a gay man in 1957 Germany, still being persecuted under the anti-gay laws that were instituted by the Nazis when they were in power. The framing is of one man on trial for suspected homosexual activities, as he looks back on his childhood, his time in liberal Berlin, and the horrors of the concentration camps.
This show very much shines a light on lesser told gay stories (at least outside of Germany), and definitely leaves you wanting to know more. As soon as I left I went to google to learn more about certain aspects of the show. At only 1 hour long it obviously cannot cover everything in detail, but it does give you enough to understand how unfairly and cruelly gay men were treated in Germany, even after the fall of the Nazis. My primary criticism of this show however, is that I feel like it focused on the wrong things. The first 25%-30% of the show is regarding gay childhood and first loves, which ultimately felt like well-trodden ground being explored again in a less artful and nuanced way than many other depictions. For me, the most interesting parts were in 1930s Berlin and how the rise of Nazism affected the queer community at the time, and then the post-war period and how gay men were still persecuted. Unfortunately these sections were less explored and I would have especially preferred a greater focus on the post-war period as this shows unique perspective and story, and I felt like there was a lot more that could be done here.
Michael gives an accomplished performance throughout. He is onstage alone for the full 60 minute run time and is able to maintain high energy and commitment to the show. I had been to see the very first performance of this show, and it is already well practiced, slick, and professional. One thing I have not mentioned so far is that this show is a musical. All of the songs were written and performed well enough, but with the exception of the final standout song “I’m Still Here”, the songs did not have a huge impact on my experience of the show.
The staging is very simple but effective and the costuming is quite clever, moving from a boy scout uniform, to a concentration camp uniform, to normal everyday clothes seamlessly. The music and recorded voices were also integrated very well into the show with all of the timings being flawless and helping to give this small show a professional and grander aura than the small stage might otherwise provide.
In conclusion, this is an interesting show about how queer men were treated during a dark time in human history, and how this darkness was not lifted until shockingly recently. Worth seeing if this is something you want to learn more about via an entertaining and slick show.