Word: german
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...different perspectives - that of his family and that of the residents of a middle-class suburban Chicago neighborhood. Barack and Michelle have their first date against a backdrop of red roses, and later he mourns the death of his beloved grandmother Toot. Meanwhile, in the Chicago suburbs, the conservative German-American widow Mrs. Schultz and the Obama-supporting Johnson family bond over their worries (the Johnsons' son is missing in Iraq; Mrs. Schultz has lost her house) and their excitement about the 2008 presidential election. Mrs. Schultz, a McCain supporter at first, is eventually wooed to the Obama side...
...actors speak mostly English, but there is also a German-speaking narrator to ensure that non-English-speaking members of the audience can keep up with the plot. He explains what terms like soccer mom mean and describes cultural differences, such as Americans' tendency to speak more openly than Germans about their political preferences and affiliations. But there are still a few misunderstandings. When the audience is prompted by the actors to sing, "Rock the vote," the response is hesitant. "What do they want us to say?" a confused young woman whispers. (See a TIME package on Obama's first...
...Obama been running for President in Germany, he would certainly have gained more that just 53% of the vote. Among the crowd at the musical, he would easily have gotten 99.9% - a result that even East Germany's Communist Party would have been proud of," a reviewer for the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted. "The audience kept finding reasons to cheer on the black Messiah." (See a TIME video on how much the world knows about Obama...
...Still, the producers of the musical, the Michigan-born Hutchins and Italian-German director Roberto Emmanuele, say they didn't want to create a tribute to Obama or pander to the crowd by playing up his star appeal. Instead, they aimed to tell the story of the people who were inspired by his message of change - themselves included. "This musical is not about politics but about the effect Obama has on people," Hutchins says. "Making the musical resembled Obama's story in a way. We had very little in the beginning, meager means, a meager budget ... Obama inspired...
...Even the few Germans who disagree with Obama's decisions as President seemed to enjoy the show and connect with his vision of the future. "I'm not an Obama fan in terms of his politics," Marnie Verhoven said after the show. "But he's a shining light. He gives people hope." Or, as another audience member, Uwe Dragon, put it: "Try to make a musical about [German Foreign Minister] Guido Westerwelle, and then see who shows...