Lazarus | Lazarus Ein Musical von David Bowie und Enda Walsh nach dem Roman »The Man Who Fell To Earth« von Walter Tevis

German by Peter Torberg | With English and German surtitles

“Look up here, I’m in heaven, I’ve got scars that can’t be seen …”

These are the opening lines of David Bowie’s “Lazarus,” the title track of his musical of the same name. Striking lines. Prophetic lines. No one suspected that the musical’s premiere on December 7, 2015, in New York would be Bowie’s last public appearance. He had kept his serious illness a secret at that time. That evening, the exceptional artist Bowie was happy to see his musical—written in collaboration with Irish playwright Enda Walsh—on stage. It was a long-cherished dream. Ever since David Bowie played the lead role in the 1976 film “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” the story had captivated him.

The alien Thomas Jerome Newton comes to Earth to procure water for his parched planet and founds a high-tech billion-dollar company to build a spaceship for his return. But Newton succumbs to the business and consumer world with all its pitfalls, falls in love with the Earth girl Mary Lou, and loses sight of his goal. Cynical and disillusioned, Newton ends up as just another Earthling. Yet he cannot age or die.
At this point, Bowie and Walsh weave the story further. Newton lives among us, spending his days in front of the TV and drinking gin. He is tormented by the demons of his past, which he tries to drown in alcohol, and mourns his lost love, Mary Lou. His immortality torments him, and he longs for redemption. When a young girl, a lost soul like him, enters his life, Newton finds hope: Could she help him embark on his long-awaited journey?

“Lazarus” features Bowie’s global hits such as “Absolute Beginners,” “Heroes,” “This Is Not America,” and “Life on Mars?” And it includes four new songs written specifically for this musical, including the title track “Lazarus”—a total of 17 magnificent Bowie songs make up the soundtrack. A little over a month after the premiere of “Lazarus,” Bowie died on January 10, 2016. In retrospect, this story of the man condemned to eternal life who longs for the afterlife is seen as his legacy. A work that oscillates between dream and reality and philosophizes about the meaning of human existence. And about death, which is part of life. The biblical Lazarus is considered a symbol of resurrection. David Bowie has already made himself immortal through his music.