While the story of the Stauffenberg plot against Hitler’s life in 1944 is well known, other episodes of dissent and defiance of the Nazi regime remain largely undiscussed outside Germany itself. The White Rose was a university activist group who distributed flyers around the university of Munich in 1943, drawing attention to the evils of the government and the imperative moral and political need to resist. They were quickly arrested and executed. Their last leaflet was smuggled out of Germany and later reprinted and dropped over Germany skies by Allied planes.
This musical started life in an Off-Broadway production and now opens at the Marylebone Theatre in an extended version. The focus of the first act is the character-development and back stories of the students – the siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, their friends Willi and Christoph, and one of their professors, Kurt Huber. Interwoven with their stories are the parallel experiences of Lila, a Jewish woman on the run, who is inspired to join the resistance, and Frederick, Sophie’s boyfriend, who is thoroughly conflicted thanks to his role as a policeman.
The set is effectively bleak and flexible, with two walls either side surrounded by rubble, an upper platform, frequently patrolled by uniformed Gestapo, and, for much of the action, a small printing press, symbolising their work. The band of instrumentalists are positioned behind the walls, and a small amount of furniture is moved in, as needed, to suggest interior spaces. There is little formal choreography but the show is far from static.
The first act struck me as overlong and lacking in dynamism. Natalie Brice’s music, while full of attractive instrumental sonorities, was somewhat repetitive and relentlessly upbeat in a way that seemed at variance with the material. I could not help thinking that the show would have worked better in its original unextended format, and without an interval to break up concentration. so that we got to the heart of the matter sooner. Expanding nuances of character is fine so far as it goes, but not at the expense of dramatic engagement. There were simply too many short sccenes that asserted emotions without really taking the action forward, or simply asserted the importance of activism without demonstrating it.
Things pick up in the second half where the cast all have fine solo moments and there are numbers of collective defiance that resonated powerfully with the audience. There are no weak links in the performances, but Collette Guitart and Tobias Turley certainly stand out, and as much for their moments of self-doubt as heroic self-assertion. I was also particularly taken with the understated yet memorable way in with Charley Robbie developed the character of Lila. She has a lovely, characterful voice, and portrayed the journey from victim to self-assertive resistance fighter most plausibly.
But while there was a lot of talent on display here, the whole fails to be more than the sum of its parts. A shorter-running time, less clunky dialogue and more real debate over the key issues, could produce a tighter and ultimately more memorable show. In any successful musical you need to feel that the movement from words to music is both right and inevitable – whereas here the shift seemed arbitrary rather than earned.
Book & Lyrics: Brian Belding
Music: Natalie Brice
Director: Will Nunziata
Cast: Owen Arkrow, Danny Colligan, Collette Guitart, Charley Robbie, Tobias Turley, Danny Whelan, Mark Wilshire, Ollie Wray
Photo Credit: Marc Brenner
Until 13 April 2025
2 hrs 20 mins with interval