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Theater directors Sommer and Plate: “Delighted”

Photo:

Nicole Kubelka / Future Image / IMAGO

The theater building on Kantstrasse in Charlottenburg has a long history; the Theater des Westens was opened in Berlin in 1896. His two new directors, on the other hand, are very new to the business: Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer were previously known primarily in the music scene. After the two of them attracted more than 500,000 spectators to the house with the musical productions “Ku'damm 56” and “Romeo & Juliet”, they are now taking over the management.

As the musical group Stage Entertainment, which has been running the Theater des Westens since 2003, announced on Tuesday, the duo Plate and Sommer are taking over the artistic direction with immediate effect and will rent the traditional theater exclusively from Stage Entertainment for at least two years from 2025.

"Ku'damm 56", "Romeo & Juliet", "Ku'damm 59"

“We are overjoyed to not only be taking over the artistic direction of one of the most beautiful theaters in Berlin, but also delighted to be able to intensify the wonderful collaboration with our fantastic colleagues,” Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer are quoted as saying in the statement.

November 2021 saw the premiere of their musical adaptation of the ZDF series "Ku'damm 56" written by Annette Hess, for which they also contributed the music and lyrics. The musical “Romeo & Juliet – Love is Everything” followed in March 2023. From May 2024, the duo will present the sequel “Ku'damm 59”, for which, according to Stage Entertainment, 50,000 tickets have already been sold in advance.

Peter Plate, 56, became known as one half of the pop duo Rosenstolz. Alongside singer AnNa R., he was responsible for twelve studio albums between 1992 and 2011, five of which made it to number one in the German charts. Songs like “Herzensschöner”, “Liebe ist alles” and “Gib mir Sonne” were hit parade successes between pop and pop. Ulf Leo Sommer, 53, was involved in the background as a lyricist and composer.

Since Rosenstolz took an indefinite creative break in 2012, the duo Plate and Sommer have been working on songs and music productions for others. Their songs shaped Detlev Buck's film adaptations of the "Bibi and Tina" stories. Helene Fischer sang songs written by the two of them. Plate and Sommer played a key role as producers in Sarah Connor's change of direction to German-language songs. They also worked with artists such as Michelle, Barbara Schöneberger and Annett Louisan.

As Peter Plate told "Zeit Online" in an interview, the Bertelsmann subsidiary BMG supported the duo's musicals at the Theater des Westens in a "kind of joint venture." Now the BMG has withdrawn under new leadership. “When it became known that the BMG would not be extending its commitment to the Theater des Westens, the distances were simply very short,” added Ulf Leo Sommer.

A return of “Romeo & Juliet” and “The Nurse” is now being planned next year, as well as a completely new production that will premiere in 2026. Ulf Dewald, Managing Director of Stage Entertainment Germany, believes that Plate and Sommer have succeeded in “greatly enriching the musical genre.” He is extremely pleased “about the deepening of our cooperation!”

Feb