‘Hope’-ful: New Obama musical set to premiere in Germany

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A new musical about the 2008 presidential election featuring the characters of Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin is set to open this weekend in Germany.

The musical, titled ‘Hope -- the Obama Musical Story,’ is a bilingual production that will be performed in a mix of English and German. It dramatizes President Obama’s rise to office through songs and dance numbers. Thirty singers, actors and dancers will perform in the production, which opens in Frankfurt with the possibility of a tour, according to a report in the Associated Press.

Randall Hitchins, an American writer, conceived the project and brought it to the attention of Roberto Emmanuele, a German-Italian producer. The cast is mostly made up of American performers who have experience in theater in Germany.

According to one report, the musical features a number in which the Palin character performs with an ensemble of scantily clad dancers.

Germany’s Der Spiegel reports that the plot follows a group of residents in an apartment-sharing community -- a disillusioned and unemployed Puerto Rican, an ultraconservative widow of German heritage and an African American political activist. Gradually, the characters become galvanized by Obama’s message of hope and change.

You can check out scenes from the musical in the YouTube clip above.

-- David Ng