Tea with Mussolini's Mistress: Summit Conference Begins Off-Broadway Feb. 5 | Playbill

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News Tea with Mussolini's Mistress: Summit Conference Begins Off-Broadway Feb. 5 Eva Braun and Clara Petacchi, the mistresses of Hitler and Mussolini, respectively, might not be your idea of ideal tea time company, but they are good enough for each other in Summit Conference, which see the two World War II concubines chatting over some English Breakfast.

The Robert David MacDonald play, directed by Kit Thacker, begins performances at Urban Stages Feb. 5 for a run through Feb. 28. Starring are Rita Petropinto and Sarah Megan Thomas, as well as Eric Altheide, as their Jewish guard. Braun and Petacchi's conversation explores music, fashion, power, anti-Semitism and gender roles. Historically, the two women did not do well by their relationships. Petacchi was executed along with her lover on April 29, 1945, and hung by her ankles at an Esso gas station in Milan, where the gathering crowds vented their anger on the corpses. When Hitler heard of the nature of Mussolini's death, he shot Braun and poisoned himself in the safety of his bunker. Their bodies were burned by German troops, in accordance with Hitler's orders.

The play, originally written for the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, had a notably West End debut, featuring Gary Oldman, Glenda Jackson and Georgina Hale.

For tickets, call (212) 868-4444.

 
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