Christian Broekemeier, playing German revolutionary Ludwig Bogen (right), delivers and impassioned speech to a crowd in an early scene from State Street Theater’s “A Life of Revolution.” In early 1800s Germany, Bogen was a heavily involved in the revolutionary movement against the entrenched aristocrates. Photo by Clay Schuldt

NEW ULM – State Street Theater invites the public to explore the revolutionary history of one of New Ulm’s most influential citizens with its new play “A Life for the Revolution.”

Performances will be held 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16 and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at the State Street Theater. Following the 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, Erich Beck, the German playwright of “A Life for the Revolution,” will be on hand for a question-and-answer session with the audience.

“A Life for the Revolution” is based on a true story about Ludwig Bogen, who led a lifelong fight for justice in early 19th-century Europe before eventually immigrating to the United States, ultimately settling in New Ulm, Minnesota, where he became the editor of “The New Ulm Post,” a German-language paper.

Play director Lorie Jewell said State Street Theater has the honor of being the first North American and first English-language performance of “A Life for the Revolution.” The original play premiered in Germany in 2018. Some of the actors performing in State Street’s production were fortunate enough to attend the premiere in Michelstadt, Germany.

Bogen was born in Michelstadt, Germany, in 1810. The play spans most of Bogen’s life, beginning with his early days with the German revolutionary movement that opposes the entrenched aristocratic order dominating Germany in the early 1800s.

Bogen’s opposition to the ruling order did not go without consequences. Bogen was imprisoned for his actions, facing harsh interrogation and separation from his family.

As Germany’s political climate grew more volatile, Bogen became a representative in the first democratically elected assembly in the German lands. However, the monarchies controlling Germany crushed the democratic movement and Bogen watched as friends and fellow reformers faced censorship, exile, or even execution.

Seeing no hope for freedom in Germany, Bogen fled the country.

“He didn’t find the freedom he wanted, so he moved to the United States,” Jewell said.

Bogen eventually came to New Ulm shortly after the 1862 U.S/Dakota Conflict and helped rebuild the community. As the editor for the New Ulm Post, he continues to speak out for reform. He would use his voice to advocate for fairness and stand up to corruption.

Jewell said Bogen was a freedom fighter his entire life, always advocating for those struggling. This included speaking out for Native American rights in a time and place where that was not popular.

At the end of his life, it was estimated that Bogen had written 1,000 editorials for the New Ulm Post between 1876 and 1886. The last editorial he wrote before his death was about the labor movement against the railroads.

In the production, Ludwig Bogen is played by Martin Luther College (MLC) freshman Christian Broekemeier. This is his first production at State Street Theater. After reading the play’s synopsis, he was eager to get a part in the play.

“I was interested in the revolutionary plot at the center of the story,” Broekemeier said. “I thought it was fascinating.”

Broekemeier said he was not too intimidated to play a real-life person, but he wanted to make sure he was being true to Bogen’s emotions.

He said the play is very exposition-heavy, with characters delivering a lot of dialogue about real-world historical events.

“What was Bogen’s opinion on these events?” Broekemeier asked. He explained that even though Bogen was very vocal about his opinions its not always clear what he is really thinking in the moment.

“Bogen always speaks with confidence even when he’s wrong,” Broekemeier said, describing it as an interesting character flaw. However, Broekemeier said one of Bogen’s strengths was he was able to grow in his thinking and change his mind on some issues.

In the play, Ludwig Boegen’s father is played by actor Tom Kaehler, who was fortunate to see the original German production in Michelstadt.

“It was surprising to find out about this and see it tied to New Ulm,” Kaehler said.

Kaehler said translating the play to English was a challenge for the production because there are certain word choices are lost in translation, but the spirit of the play works in any language.

“The historic aspect of the play is fun,” Kaehler said. “I think a lot of people will appreciate that. I am not sure many people in New Ulm know about Bogen.”

“Though the story is about German politics in the early to mid 1800s, the story still has a modern impact,” Jewell said. “Many of the freedoms Bogen fought for are things Americans are still fighting for today.”

Another exciting part of this production is that the original playwright, Erich Beck, has been involved in this production. Beck not only assisted State Street Theater with translating the play into English, but will also take part in the performance.

Jewell said Beck has a couple of cameos in the play and his wife, Valarie Cribbs, will be playing the harp during scene transitions.

Jewell said the best part of the production was having the chance to work with Beck to tell a true story that had an impact on New Ulm.

“This is a rare opportunity to teach New Ulm about its history,” Jewell said.