It's spring time for Hitler and Germany.

Things that are awesome about this post:

1. That the initial reaction to an idea that is not one that you subscribe to is to assault that person. 

2. That this would be the strangest thing someone has seen in downtown Duluth.

3. That just because someone is a Nazi they should not be allowed to appreciate the awesome train museum. 

4. That I found out that a common Nazi stereotype is being drunk and driving around. Nazis have no respect for human lives. 

5. That Germany was apparently defeated because instead of using submarines they were tooling around in tall ships.

I leave this post with a collection of facts with which to dazzle my peers at R.T. Quinlans.

Burly is back! (starring as Jv Ribbentrop)

Assume everything research nothing

I want to be a producer!

Every baby is a blessing! Except Baby Hitler.

Don't be smug, people. I have heard of The Producers but didn't know it involved Hitler - it's presumptuous of Erin to think that just because the poster is unfamiliar with The Producers, he's unfamiliar with the entire local arts scene.

And Kujawa, calling Nazism "an idea that is not one that you subscribe to" is relativism taken too far. Being tolerant and accepting doesn't mean blindly embracing every philosophy.

Theater people love to be scene.

Way to take offense, Erin. There's a huge portion of Duluth who are not into theater, and it's time you got used to that fact.

I chuckle.  Oh, how I chuckle.

I'm glad local theater is alive and well in Duluth and getting a reaction.

Come see The Producers before it closes this weekend.  It's a hoot.

Wow! Red Iguana, you got owned!  Or is the term pawned?  Either way, it was hilarious!  Please keep posting your inane comments and "quirky" observations; they are the best!  You could do stand-up...while "here is your sign!" is already taken as a catch phrase, by maybe "something ugly JUST blew in!" is still available.

At ease, people. Rediguana obviously jumped to conclusions, but has a bit of a legit point. It should have occurred to the folks doing the play that if they have actors walking around outside in Nazi regalia, it could freak people out. I doubt Rediguana's the only one. Most people who drive by there have no clue what play's going on inside, nor should they have to.

Yea, fergus, Yea I say!  A voice of reason at last. Not so many people posting here are walking their talk me thinks.

Is there also a character with @$$-less chaps in the Producers? I saw a person walking around with his bum hanging out earlier this week by the Depot.

@ Barrett - The problem is Nazi regalia is (unfortunately) common enough that it doesn't automatically register as a costume one would wear in a play. Some people wear that stuff for reasons I'd rather not think about.

@Kujawa - I seriously doubt Rediguana was really going to beat this person up. I had assumed he was just expressing his reaction to the site of someone in a Nazi costume.

You knuckleheads! It was the new head of AFSCME here in Duluth on the way to his labor negotiations.

@hmmmm, first of all, ALL chaps are assless.  Otherwise they'd be pants. 

And secondly, Yes.

You guys should just go see the show. This is honestly the best advertising, ever.

For late comers, the best comments to date:

Sorry. All of my jeans and t-shirts were in the wash.

Say what you will about em, but the Nazis were snappy dressers.

Some actors dress like Nazis, though not many Nazis are actors. I don't know about Mel Gibson.

Every baby is a blessing! Except Baby Hitler.

Theater people love to be scene.

I saw a group of people down by the harbor dressed as pirates. And they were armed with a tiny cannon! Pirates are bad guys, let's get 'em!

Darn those theater people for making fun of Nazis!

Thank you HotRod. Hey, how are you doing?

Hypothesis:  The original post is guerilla marketing designed to heighten awareness of The Producers.

For those interested, here is Duluth Playhouse website for the play...
http://www.duluthplayhouse.org/TheProducers.html

There are only three more showings left in Duluth.  Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, and Sunday at 2pm!

Thinking about similar themed post pwnage, wasn't there one on here about four-five years ago where someone was rallying to protest all the pollution being dumped in the lake because the water was appearing brown, when really it was just natural river run off or something?

Uh, Kiki? Considering that you are German (as am I) and keeping in mind the terrible things the Nazis did and the fact that it wasn't all that long ago...maybe you should have a little more of a stick up your ass? Nazis are a pretty good thing to have a stick up your ass about. I'm not humorless, I'm just not insenstive either.

Barrett, I didn't say I know nothing about comedy. I said I didn't know about The Producers. And what I was reacting to was Kiki's apparently very blithe attitude towards the casual use of Nazism. To me, some things in life are worth treating cautiously and Nazism is one of them.

Clarifcation please, are we or are we not beating the hell out of real Nazis? Not that I'm much on being PC but it seems like the Politically Correct thing would be to pound all REAL Nazis into bloody pulp. PS: my tongue is in my cheek (but only half way)

The Producers was written by the Jewish comedian Mel Brooks, who I believe is famous for often saying that one of the best ways to deal with Hitler and the Nazis is to laugh at them.

Spiegel Interview with Mel Brooks
"With Comedy, We Can Rob Hitler of his Posthumous Power"

New hypothesis:  If a person in this day and age is not at least somewhat familiar with the basic premise behind The Producers, he or she is not qualified to comment on theater, comedy, Nazism, or American culture in general.

Maybe we should start another thread discussing whether or not Mathew Broderick in fact exists.

It would appear that this thread prompted more response than anything I've seen on this site in a long time. I think that is great for the following reason: It is good to know that Nazis and Hitler still evoke strong emotions, as it should. All joking aside, as somewhat a student of history, my main problem with the much teaching and thinking on Hitler is that he has been made into a cartoon figure and therefore almost not for real, such an  aberration that it is possible to forget that he was a real individual and others such as him exist and can come to power again. Some (as Mel Brookes) explore the subject through humor others through scholastic study. Never forget Hitler was for real and he was "elected" with only about 1/3 of the vote.

Wanted:  
Photo of the Duluth Playhouse Nazi, 
Occasionally spotted Wednesday through Saturday around 8:45 p.m. outside the Depot.
Reward: A virtual High Five.

Can't we just skip to the part where we ban theater so we can use the space for something real like playing music?

Actually, it was a scene being shot for the new google movie. If you looked close enough you might have seen that it was a Mayor Doty look-alike recreating a page from Duluth's past. I think it's being screened at the Free-deranged film festival.

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Zee Gestapo

The Gestapo who?

JUST KIDDING VEE DO NOT KNOCK!!!!

The last time I was down by The Depot I saw a self-righteous, opinionated, hypocritical, wanna-be intellectual extolling his/her narrow, boorish, personal feelings as if they were unequivocal truth, while perceiving himself/herself as a progressive thinker.  

Actually...I think that was just ME.  Nevermind.

Maybe Duluth needs more Nazis and fewer of US.  Probably not...but maybe.

I think we all just need to pause and realize that before John Barrowman was an omnisexual time agent, he too was a Nazi.



Now can we all just get along?

I think we should label any theater that prominently features Nazis as "degenerate art" and lock up those actors who do it in concentration camps and then we can have a big bonfire where we burn the scripts and call it a day.

(Moderators:  I am working ahead.  Please post this in October.  Thanks.)

I was driving around near The Venue at Mohaupt Block and saw a Candarian demon, being chased by a man covered in blood.  It looked like the man had a chainsaw for a hand.  Did Nazis have something to do with this?

Wow. I'm gratified and a bit amazed by all of the reaction (some hilarious, some serious, and some just not cool) this post has gotten.

OKAY PEOPLE by way of self defense:

First of all, I think there was a lot of presumption and not a lot of accurate reading of my post by the first commenters. Go back and read it again, and you'll find out the following:

1) In no sense did I suggest that "second degree assualt" is an appropriate reaction to sighting someone wearing something you consider morally repugnant. In fact, I rather think I suggested the opposite, by virtue of withholding even a light verbal outburst. In contrast, as I was driving by, there also happened to be a couple on the sidewalk walking past the depot in the other direction who were also gawking, and as I passed the woman called out sarcastically at him, "go Hitler." I on the other hand was merely honestly expressing my initial emotional reaction. Not knowing that this was "art," I think anyone without closeted Nazi sympathies would have a similar gut reaction.

2) I do not believe I jumped to conclusions too quickly. You'll notice that in the first sentence of the second paragraph, I consider the possibility that this was indeed part of a Playhouse performance. I didn't dismiss the possibility, I was merely wondering why an actor would be outside for such a performance. Not having been to a show at the Playhouse (unfortunately, unlike some holier-than-thou art-goers in this town, I can't usually afford a $25 ticket to a performance), I did not know that there was no access hallway for performers to use to get behind the audience for a grand entry. 

3) The person who suggested the drunk drivers' session idea was a co-worker who was told by Ken Buhler that the County holds mandatory counseling sessions for offenders at about that time at the Depot. So I'm not blowing smoke out of my ass on that one. With all the "nanny state big government hands off my Welfare Obama is a Kenyan Nazi Communist" tea party crap going around, this was the first idea that popped into her head and one I thought was somewhat plausible.

The other assertions made about the post by Kujawa and others come from their own wacky minds, not from me. Nazis should be barred from the train museum? I don't believe that was in my post. Neither was anything about drunk driving Nazi stereotypes or how Germany was defeated.

The last bit about something ugly blowing in on a tall ship was meant to be funny. But also, who knows? The only part of the post I somewhat regret was implying that the only alternative to that scenario was "a local dumbass making an idiot out of himself." I guess that wasn't really fair to actors. But on the other hand, isn't that part of their job description (especially in a Mel Brooks play)? 

One last thing. In the city where I grew up, the KKK and/or Aryan Nation held rallies once a year downtown. They DO wear swastikas and salute Hitler, and they're not joking. So I guess I'm still a little sensitive. I was always taught that it was their right to hold rallies, nobody should prevent them, but it was also everyone else's right to protest them (and the protesters always outnumbered the racists by at least 2 to 1) and show them how unwelcome they were in the community.

And it's rediguana, not Red Iguana. Fuck off Ribbentrop.

You were correct, rediguana, in the fact that your statements nowhere mentioned nor alluded to the points my comment made. My post was made as an example of parody, the point if which is to mock or comment on the original piece by use of satire, irony, or humor in it's imitation. Sadly, your follow up post was less melodramatic and more concise in it's meaning than your original post that garnered all of this attention. I say sadly because all of this could've been avoided. However, I'm glad that didn't happen because I had fun. My initial reaction to people jumping on my statement and saying my opinion was wrong was disappointment that they  didn't get to enjoy this in the same manner I was. But then I realized that some of the greatest parody has often been mistaken for the subject it has taken on, meaning that it has captured it's subject perfectly. So I thank you, rediguana, for helping me realize that I am a master of parody. If there is anything I can do to help you on your current lifepath, just let me know and I will offer up my assistance.

P.S. (this part is not for rediguana): When you come to an argument with only the idea that Nazism is wrong (which most adjusted people would agree with) and cannot bring anything to the table but tell everyone they are racist and wrong, you are not really qualified to be a part of that conversation. In fact, the only thing that really qualifies you for is a guest spot on a daytime talk show which will eventually devolve into the throwing of fists.

Enjoy the tall ships.

And I feel that is a worthy response.

"Military grade lederhosen" search on Google

The above YouTube link reminded me of this discussion and is only for those who are not easily offended... Which means only one or two of you out there should watch or will get it.  I cried laughing while watching... Someone took a movie about Hitler and changed the subtitles, there are others, but this was the funniest and most offensive.

@Erin, and all concerned about how to care for lederhosen! While adaptive and attractive, Lederhosen need special attention. Oktoberfest can be dry cold and cruel ... especially to decorative leathers.

"Lederhosen:
Special dry cleaning, if necessary, but as you know, lederhosen shouldn't look new -- we say used to perfection, a few stains or even a repair on them make the wearer look like a real lederhosen man!
You can also just handwash them and dry them laying flat on a towel, that will absorb the moisture. Afterwards they need a good rubbing to get the stiffness out! NEVER apply any kind of heat to the wet lederhosen -- the leather will shrink and become brittle! This may change the color and is done at your own risk!! "

...nothing of value to add. I just wante to be the 100th comment. Thanks!

Hah skimmed the comments and didn't see mention, but I'm guessing this probably has NOTHING to do with UNIFORM WEEK that is going to be happening @ the depot in like a couple weeks.  


http://www.thehistorypeople.org/exhibits.asp

Behold good people, I bring you photographic proof that there was a Nazi running around the Duluth Playhouse five days a week for the last three weeks.





There was also a Marilyn Monroe impersonator with him.

Anyone see the irony?  rediguana unintentionally sowed dissent, which is, in a sense, what the producers try intentionally to do, but fail in failing.  Love it.